Christmas is a big day for ham, turkey and steaks on the barbecue.
A turkey Christmas dinner. Photo: subbotina/123RF
But animal advocates are asking people to think about alternative Christmas fare.
Andrew Knight is the Director of Research and Education for SAFE, a New Zealand animal rights organisation.
He said the number of meat-alternatives available was growing.
"I'll be looking forward to probably something like a nut roast, or else a tofurkey, that's a tofu turkey which is one of the alternatives which has more recently become available, probably roast veges, stacks of cranberry sauce, and it is Christmas so I'll be having some cherries and deserts as well," he told Wallace Chapman on the Sunday Morning programme.
"If people are interested in alternatives to say chicken, for the Christmas lunch, I would encourage them to look for say chicken-free chicken, of the tasty chicken strips which are all plant based and available not only in health food stores but also in mainstream supermarkets now."
Andrew Knight: think about the turkey
Mr Knight is a vegan.
He's concerned about animal welfare in general and said New Zealand was not as good at animal welfare as people think.
"When you look at the conditions animals are raised in on intensive farms and the numbers that are raised and consumed per capita, per head of our population, we actually don't do too well.
"We come in around 30th on international rankings for animal welfare, so we're kind of midrange."
Caged chickens were one of the biggest cruelties happening in New Zealand, he said.
"There are three million laying hens in New Zealand and most of them are kept in these sorts of conditions."