To most Americans, the Thanksgiving holiday is synonymous with a large turkey dinner, but not everyone is bound to tradition.
Many local vegetarians and vegans spent Thanksgiving finding ways to enjoy a meatless holiday with their meat-eating families, and the task can be a challenge for some.
University sophomore Kate Melnychuk said she has been a vegetarian for most of her life. As a native of Grants Pass, Ore. she said life isn’t always easy for a vegetarian in an environment that does not cater well to her eating habits.
“I have a very carnivorous family,” Melnychuk said. “I’m the only vegetarian.”
Melnychuk said her mother is very willing to prepare alternative meals without meat for her at home. She said the city of Grants Pass was much less vegetarian-friendly, but she has found salvation in Eugene since coming to the University in 2005.
“If you go somewhere (in Grants Pass) and ask for no meat, they look at you like, ‘Are you insane?’” Melnychuk said. “Eugene is much more accommodating. The overall attitude is the complete opposite.”
One popular option vegetarians have for Thanksgiving is Tofurky, a tofu-based turkey substitute manufactured by Hood River-based Turtle Island Foods, Inc. since 1995. The meat-free alternative is sold at all five Market of Choice locations and in other natural foods stores in Eugene.
Seth Tibbott, president and founder of Turtle Island Foods, said Tofurky is a healthy alternative for those who don’t eat meat on Thanksgiving. The soy-based product contains fewer calories and fat grams than a normal roasted turkey and no saturated fat or cholesterol, according to United States Department of Agriculture data.
Tibbott said this is one reason why many vegetarians and vegans, persons who do not eat any animal products, adopt the lifestyles in the first place.
“Most vegetarians become vegetarians because of health or ethical reasons, not because they’re disgusted by meat,” he said.
University student Lindsay Riddell, Director of Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals at the University, said SETA sponsored a free vegetarian meal Thursday open to any local vegetarians or vegans. She said there are plenty of options for non-meat eaters, and they often come from dishes they are already familiar with.
“You can pretty much take any recipe that you’ve grown up on, and modify it to be veg or vegan,” Riddell said.
Melnychuk and Riddell said they had never tried Tofurky, both leery of trying a product that tried to imitate a meat with tofu. Tibbott said this was not uncommon for people who had not tried the product before and already preferred more traditional vegetarian foods like beans and vegetables.
“I think that they’re in the demographic of people who really don’t want to have their tofu flavored and textured like meat,” he said. “I respect that, but there is a large part of the puzzle that are just like, ‘Hey, the more meat-like the better.’”
Tibbott said the sales of Tofurky have increased every year since its introduction in 1995, though the response to it has remained divided, even as it gets more attention.
“It’s like a lightning rod product,” Tibbott said. “They either think it’s great or it’s an abomination.”
Josh Huckins, an employee in the deli at the Franklin Boulevard Market of Choice, said last week that the Tofurky products were selling “fairly well,” especially as the Thanksgiving holiday approached.
Melnychuk said there are plenty of other options for Eugene vegetarians who aren’t into the various Tofurky products, and Market of Choice is her favorite place to shop for such foods. She also said several restaurants, such as Glenwood Cafe near campus, offer large vegetarian menus.
Riddell said there are places for vegetarians and vegans to find inspiration simply by searching online.
SIDE BY SIDE
Calories:
Roasted Turkey (4 oz.) – 240
Tofurky Roast (4 oz.) – 190
Fat (grams):
Roasted Turkey – 9
Tofurky Roast – 5
Saturated Fat (grams):
Roasted Turkey – 3
Tofurky Roast – 0
Cholesterol (mg):
Roasted Turkey – 85
Tofurky Roast – 0
Protein (grams):
Roasted Turkey – 32
Tofurky Roast – 26
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