This is the first year of my life that I will be out of America for Thanksgiving. Even though I was not a turkey eater for most of my life, I still loved the tradition of sitting around a table filled with friends and family, laughing and talking about what we are most thankful for. That is, until I realized the reality that is the carcass of a bird in the middle of our table. Alicia Silverstone, as always, says it best " I mean, if we are being grateful, it would be beautiful if we were mindful of non-violence and looked to see how we can give back, instead of just taking. We feel terrible at the end of the meal anyway because we gorged ourselves on food that our bodies don't handle well. These are the foods that are nasty to our bodies and nasty to the planet…. and not to mention nasty to the turkeys!" It can be a kinda hard being the only vegan at a non-vegan gathering, especially one that is centered around gorging oneself with meat until the point of near explosion. Just a few fun-facts about Turkeys from The Girlie Girl Army: -Between 1965 and 2000, the weight of the average turkey raised commercially in the U.S. increased by 57 percent, from an average of 18 pounds to an average of 28.2 pounds, causing commercially-bred turkeys to suffer from crippling foot and leg problems.
-Also catering to consumer preferences for “white meat,” the industry has selectively bred turkeys to have abnormally large breasts. This anatomical manipulation makes it difficult for male turkeys to mount the females, eliminating these birds’ ability to reproduce naturally. As a result, artificial insemination is now the sole means of reproduction on factory farms, where breeder birds are confined for months on end.
-Every year, more than 46 million turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving holiday dinners, but it doesn’t have to be this way. If you think these birds are as incredible as we do, you can join talk show host and animal advocate Ellen DeGeneres, Farm Sanctuary’s 2010 Adopt-A-Turkey Project spokesperson, in starting a new tradition this year by adopting a turkey instead of eating. Visit adoptaturkey.org for details or call the Turkey Adoption Hotline at 1-888-SPONSOR
Here are some good links from around the web to help plan an amazing turkey-less T-Gives:
-Farm Sanctuary
-Operation Turkey Undercover: The Frightening Truth About Your Thanksgiving Day Bird. Yeeek. -Guest blog post from Farm Sanctuary's Gene Baur on The Kind Life plus this recipe for Wild rice cornbread stuffing that looks so so flame!
-The New York Times published a collection of vegetarian Thanksgiving ideas -Archive recipes from Fat Free Vegan blog -Thanksgiving is not just about gorging yourself and being wasteful. Read: how to have and eco-friendly Thanksgiving.
-Or if you plan to go out for Thanksgiving dinner, CleanplatesNYC shares their top picks for a veg-friendly Thanksgiving.
