Instead of eating turkey for Thanksgiving, workers at one Watkins Glen organization are actually feeding the birds.

Turkeys at Farm Sanctuary were given a special vegetarian Thanksgiving meal Sunday.

The spread included thanksgiving staples like pumpkin pie, squash, salad, and cranberries.

Farm Sanctuary's celebration of the turkey began in 1996. Since then, it's grown to other sanctuaries around the country. 

"Many are feeding them, especially in the U.S., where we have this Thanksgiving tradition of eating a dead bird," said Farm Sanctuary President Gene Baur. "We started this to have an alternative to that, that vegetarians and vegans could enjoy and could feel good about."

Organizers say an estimated 46 million turkeys are killed each year for Thanksgiving. The Farm Sanctuary has an "Adopt A Turkey" program that helps staff continue on their mission of rescuing turkeys.