The turkey is often synonymous with a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but for some, the meaty centerpiece does not define the holiday.
In the past, vegans and vegetarians often struggled with meal choices because Thanksgiving is typically focused on meat. However, as the vegan and vegetarian population increases, so have the meal options.
George El, an employee at the Holy Cow Cafe eats a limited-meat diet.
“I eat a whole host of things, more vegetable alternatives though,” he said.
Vegans have even more limited options because they do not eat meat, dairy or any other product that comes from animals.
University student Bethany Peshek, a vegan, said she does not celebrate Thanksgiving at all because of “what it’s based on” and because of her vegan lifestyle.
Eugene Veg Education Network Executive Director Lin Silvan wants vegans to be able to celebrate and eat well on Thanksgiving too. The group started their annual Thanksgiving Vegan Feast to provide for people with a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle.
Vegetarians often opt to dine on vegetable sides for Thanksgiving; however, vegans also have more meal options than just vegetables dishes.
Silvan said at the EVEN Thanksgiving feast they will be serving an enormous variety of dishes, including tofurkey roasts, fresh focaccia bread, pasta primavera, pumpkin pie, risotto and much more.
For Silvan, the use of a cooked turkey as a Thanksgiving meal is off-putting. EVEN throws the Thanksgiving event to educate the public about non-violence, compassion and sustainability with an entirely vegan holiday meal.
“Why should any meal I choose to eat ever require taking the life of someone else?” Silvan said.
Silvan admitted she started the vegan lifestyle late in life, but since she and her husband founded EVEN, she has become increasingly compassionate about spreading the word on the vegan lifestyle.
Her passion for the lifestyle stems from her disgust for industrial farming practices. Though some people choose a vegan lifestyle purely for health reasons, she said “the most common reason is almost always one of ethics and integrity … and the desire to live a cruelty-free life as best as possible.”
Gentlethanksgiving.org also offers recipes and tips on where to buy vegan dishes and ingredients for those who are cooking at home.
For Silvan, Thanksgiving is the perfect chance for EVEN to educate the community of their “gentle thanksgiving” options.
“Eating meat is a lose-lose-lose,” she said. “(The event) is one of the many things that EVEN does to fulfill its mission statement to ‘inform, educate and encourage’ those interested in the benefits of a healthful, vegan lifestyle.”
The annual Thanksgiving Vegan Feast will be this Thursday at Govinda’s Vegetarian Buffet. It runs from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. It is $12 per person, $10 for seniors and students, and $5 for ages 12 and under.
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A vegan Thanksgiving is possible
Daily Emerald
November 21, 2010
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