Thanksgiving for the Turkeys

One of my goals in the work I do is to “take veganism out of the box” and encourage people to see that “vegan food” is food that everyone is familiar with – it’s vegetables and fruits and nuts and seeds and beans and mushrooms and herbs and spices. People have a notion that vegan food is somehow alien food or food that’s in its own food group – but it really is everything you already cook with and already love.

And this is the case – even on such holidays as Thanksgiving. There’s a notion out there that you can’t eat in a way that reflects your values AND honor traditions at the same time - as if these two things are mutually exclusive. When non-vegetarians think of the idea of being vegetarian on Thanksgiving, they’re usually aghast. They can’t imagine what vegetarians eat if they don’t eat birds! I’ve also heard the accusation that vegetarians are flying in the face of tradition, that it’s culturally blasphemous to not eat turkeys on this day. Well, I beg to differ.

Now, I know some people have spent much time trying to determine what exactly was served on that first Thanksgiving in order to justify eating certain things on this holiday. But, for me, I don’t care what they ate in 1621, because it doesn’t matter.

THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
Everything historians today know about the First Thanksgiving is based on two passages written by colonists. One is a letter dated December 1621, by Edward Winslow in which he wrote: "Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a more special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruit of our labors.” That is the basis of what we know about that first Thanksgiving, and you’ll note what he says: “Our harvest being gotten in,” after gathering the “fruit of our labors” they sent “four men on fowling,” not because they were starving or needed it or didn’t have food but so that they “might after a more special manner rejoice together.” What they were rejoicing was the harvest – the abundance of fruits and vegetables – the bounty of the harvest – the cornucopia – the “horn of plenty.” And just to cap it off, they went out to hunt birds.

In a second account of the First Thanksgiving, a man named William Bradford wrote a book twenty year AFTER the actual event and just mentioned that the colonists killed wild turkeys during the autumn; he doesn’t say specifically that wild turkeys were killed for the First Thanksgiving or any similar event thereafter. Though his book does give clues to what WAS on this first menu, his book disappeared for many years (it was stolen by looters during the Revolutionary War) and didn’t reappear until 1854, so it didn’t have any influence on how Thanksgiving was celebrated for many years – until a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale came into the picture.

A WOMEN'S MAGAZINE HOLIDAY
Sarah Josepha Hale, who lived from 1788-1879 a writer, an editor, a champion of women’s rights, a promoter of child welfare, and a fund-raiser for civic causes. She is perhaps most well known as the author of the popular nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb." As early as 1827, Hale, who became the editor of a popular magazine, began calling for a national celebration of Thanksgiving and so began a 40-year quest to make this happen.

Now remember, Bradford’s book about the First Thanksgiving was recovered in 1854, and around that time, Hale, in her magazine, began writing romantic accounts of the First Thanksgiving, taking liberties to appeal to her readership and including recipes for roasted turkeys, bread stuffing, and pumpkin pies - all the things that today's holiday meals are still likely to contain – and none of the things that would have actually been on the table of the first Thanksgiving. They wouldn’t have had flour-based bread or pie or cranberries or sweet or white potatoes, and they didn’t eat with forks.

So does that mean we shouldn’t have sweet potatoes and rutabagas and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce or flour-based biscuits or any of the things that WEREN’T on the table of the First Thanksgiving? NO. Does that mean we shouldn’t eat with forks!? NO! I point this out merely to emphasize that we selectively choose what to celebrate and what to include on our dinner tables and how we want to celebrate – we selectively choose this all the time, especially when it comes to this holiday. Much of what informs our consciousness about this holiday is myth – a romanticized notion rather than informed facts, which, by the way, is fine. It’s fine to use myth to create our rituals and traditions. The point I want to make is that when we eat turkeys and pumpkin pie and cranberries on Thanksgiving, if we think we’re being true to some sacred tradition based on a real event, we’re not. We serve what we serve because that’s what we were taught, that’s what we’ve enjoyed, and that’s what we’ve always known. Our desire to feel connected to something bigger than ourselves, something older than ourselves is greater than any desire to perfectly replicate the original source of our tradition. Does that make sense? We can have whatever we want at Thanksgiving, but let’s not justify the use of something like dead turkeys at Thanksgiving with any kind of rational explanation or historical reference. It’s just not there.

This is why it’s just as traditional NOT to have turkeys on the table as it is to have turkeys on the table at Thanksgiving. We shape our traditions out of our ideals. Sarah Josepha Hale shaped this tradition out of her ideals, and she selectively chose what to include on her menu, and we can do the same. We can create a beautiful feast that reflects our values. They are not mutually exclusive.

CONSTRUCTING OUR PLATES
I think one of the reasons people think vegans and vegetarians eat only side dishes or salads is because we’ve all been taught from Day 1 that meat is the centerpiece of a meal. This is a cultural, social, familial construct. It’s all taught. There isn’t a Meal God in the sky determining how we should eat and how we should plate our food – it’s all taught.

Many, many cultures all around the world do not plate their food this way. Meat is not the center of their plate. But it is here, so when people in our western culture think of a plate without meat, they think of a plate with a big empty space where the meat should be and then just some token side dishes – because that’s what their experience has been. This is why I say that changing our diet, changing from an animal-based to a plant-based diet is as much about changing the way we THINK about food as it is changing the way we actually eat.

So, for the main dish, I think what makes people feel that the meal is complete is if we have a focal point, a centerpiece, something that fills that blank space. Right? And for this main dish, we have many beautiful options. We can have stuffed acorn squash, filled with rice and nuts and celery, onions, squash, apples, etc; we can have butternut squash risotto– any number of seasonal dishes that also create a beautiful presentation. Hollow out a pumpkin and serve the pilaf in the pumpkin on the table – it’s gorgeous! I have a number of Thanksgiving recipe packets on my website. As far as side dishes go, this is generally what’s on our table every year: Mashed Potatoes, Mushroom Gravy (chunky and smooth versions), Bread Stuffing, Cranberry Relish, Corn, mashed rutabagas, Sautéed green beans, roasted Brussels sprouts, Corn Bread or biscuits, and Green Salad. All of these things are familiar to everyone – wherever you are on your path. As far as desserts, check out The Joy of Vegan Baking for delicious, traditional goodies!

On behalf of the turkeys, I hope that you enjoy creating new traditions and celebrating old ones while still honoring your values.

Nobody's Perfect! Corrections to Some Eensy Teensy Errors in The Joy of Vegan Baking

I pride myself on being a meticulous editor (as do the hard-working editors at Fair Winds Press, I'm sure), but in a 287-page book that contains over 150 recipes and tens of thousands of words, there are bound to be errors.

Though any mistakes we come across will be corrected in subsequent printings of The Joy of Vegan Baking, I hate the idea of errors just sitting there in the books from the first printing, so I'm here to correct those I'm aware of. Please don't hesitate to tell me about others you may find, though I hope this list includes them all!

1. In the Drop Biscuits recipe on page 48, the "yield" currently says "24," but that's not right. One batch of these delicious biscuits makes between 10 and 12, depending on how large you make them. Eat them right out of the oven when they're piping hot! Yum!

2. Under the Better Than Eggs section on the bottom of page 18, I'm talking all about using Baking Soda and Vinegar to leaven baked goods, and then in the paragraph itself, I mistakenly refer to Baking Powder. Clearly, it should say Baking Soda.

3. As the book came close to publication, the publisher decided to add the lovely front and back inside flaps. On the back flap, they added my photo, but because my photo was already on the very last page (About the Author), which faces the back inside flap, there are two photos of me back to back. As fondly as I remember the Thanksgiving on which that photo was taken, there is no need for two mirrored photos of me! In the next printing, the publisher will either remove one photo - or potentially replace it with a different photo. Just wanted to clarify that. :)

4. Under Suggestions for Making Healthful Transitions on page 154, there is a mistake in the heading of Tip #6; unfortunately, "Meet the Farmers" was repeated as the name of that tip. It should be "Prep in Advance."

5. Under the Acknowledgments on page 287, Patti Martin was thanked twice. She really did help a lot, but one "thank you" is sufficient within one paragraph. Also, my dear friend Kristin Schwarz should be included in the list of testers!

My hope is that I will not have to add to this list, but in the event that I do, you will definitely hear from me again, and you can check here for corrections. Enjoy!

Speaking Your Truth

I think in many ways the eating aspects of being vegan are a breeze, but dealing with the social aspects can be a little challenging. Most of us have been brainwashed into believing we need to consume animal products, so the burden remains on the vegetarian to justify his or her eating habits, and I think this is why many people shy away from vegetarianism – they’re afraid to appear different or they don’t want to call attention to themselves or don’t want the “hassle” of asking for what they want or they’re just lazy. But despite their own ethics or health concerns or whatever compels someone to stop eating animals and their secretions, many people continue to do so for fear of “being different.”

It reminds me of an old Arabic folktale about a witch who visits a kingdom one night and poisons the central well with seven drops of a potion that drives people mad. The next morning all who drink from that well go crazy. The king, however, knew about this in advance and, like all self-respecting kings with their own water source, didn't drink from the communal well. The next day, those who drank the poisoned water came to the king and accused him of being the crazy one. The king, aware of what had transpired, was faced with a dilemma: drink from the well and lose his sanity like the rest of his subjects, but remain king; or don't drink, remain sane, but be swept from power by those who would view his very sanity as madness.

Though the stakes may not seem as high as those in this story, I think they feel that way to many people. Though they may not lose their kingdom, many people are afraid of losing their social status, friends, or comfort level, and all of those may be valued as high to an ordinary citizen as a kingdom is to a king. Those of us who make the choice to be vegetarian may grapple with this each time we go out to eat with non-vegetarian friends or who accept an invitation to a dinner party hosted by a non-vegetarian. You may face it at work when your company orders lunch for everyone or at a business dinner when you don’t choose the restaurant. You may feel this if you’re vegan and your spouse is not – dealing with holidays or on a much larger scale – deciding how to raise your future children.

PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCEI’ve heard some people say that they’re not vegetarian (or are only sometimes) because when they go to dinner at friends’ houses or at their in-laws’ or just out to dinner with non-vegetarian friends, they don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable and they don’t want to appear difficult. Those who fall into this category very willingly take the Path of Least Resistance.

Truth be told, I’ve never been much of a conformist. I’ve always questioned the customs or habits or rules of the status quo and have never done something just because everyone else did it. In fact, if something becomes very popular, I’m actually wary of it. But that’s not to say I simply do things just for the sake of being different either. It probably appears to some as if I do – because I often swim against the current, but that’s just because there’s an awful lot of people drinking from that poisoned well! There are a lot of things I have opinions about, and what’s the use of taking a position if I didn’t manifest those opinions or beliefs in my behavior?

Of course sometimes it would be easier to just conform, blend in, look like everyone else, sound like everyone else, but at what cost? At the cost of my own values? That’s a pretty high cost, in my opinion. This is not to say that you have to rock the boat constantly, but everyone who knows me or meets me knows where I stand on certain things – certain things I don’t compromise on – namely my belief that animals are here for their own sake and not for my pleasure. That’s not something I have to apologize for. That’s not something that changes according to who invites me to dinner or who can handle it and who it makes uncomfortable.

And if you think about it, it would be pretty self-centered of me to try and control other people’s reactions – being afraid for telling someone I don’t eat animals because it might make them uncomfortable. Who am I to guess what someone’s reaction is going to be? Who am I to protect someone from the very thing that might open up their own repressed feelings about animals? Who am I to deny someone the chance to show me they care about my feelings and ethical beliefs? I mean, I’ve never seen people at their most beautiful and vulnerable than when they learn I’m vegetarian and either begin sharing their own stories and feelings or when they go out of their way to accommodate me. That’s their choice, and I always appreciate it.

I think we don’t give people the benefit of the doubt enough. I think we underestimate our friends and family, and as long as we think we’re “protecting them” from any discomfort, we’re not only denying our own ethics and perpetuating the socially sanctioned abuse of animals, we’re also – potentially – denying other people their own transformation. Because how else does this occur than through honest interaction and communication with others?

On that same note, I think it’s important in all our relationships to know where we begin and another person ends. What a mess I’d be if my behavior was determined by how it would make other people react. In other words, if my veganism does make someone uncomfortable, that’s not mine. Whatever someone does with my values isn’t mine to worry about. Now again, I’m not saying that we be selfish or rude or ungracious. But what I am saying is that we need to speak our truth without being attached to what our truth will do to other people, without being self-effacing. I just don’t see why we think someone else’s comfort level is more important than our own principles – and our own desire for a satisfying dinner.

EMBARRASSED ABOUT ETHICS?When I became vegan – or as I like to say “when I woke up”- I felt so liberated. We all say we want to make a difference. We all say we want to leave our mark on this world. We all say we want to do something meaningful, live a meaningful life, help others, effect change, contribute something important. I do think people mean it when they say it, but I wonder sometimes if this all means as much to them as not appearing different. We all say we want to make a difference, but in order to do so, we have to do something different. Which means we may appear different. What’s that quote? “Well-behaved women seldom make history." (Men, too.) The point is it’s only people willing to assert their individuality, their personal beliefs who actually make a difference. It’s easy to go along with the status quo, but is it what we really want? And the best part about this issue is you don’t have to become an animal activist to help animals. You just have to stop eating them. A pretty simple, selfless act.

We also tend to think in extremes, and I think people believe that if you speak up for what you want, you’re going to be a social outcast. It’s not true at all. We absolutely underestimate friends and family in this area. We even underestimate strangers. Yes, our being vegetarian or vegan might make someone uncomfortable, but that’s because most people don’t meet other people willing to stand up for what they believe in! Imagine if we all raised our expectations of each other. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a world where you’re surprised by someone who believes something but doesn’t act accordingly? "So, you care about animals and you keep eating them? I don’t understand! How can that be?" Wouldn’t that be great? To live in a world where people truly embrace values of compassion and nonviolence and kindness without feeling ashamed or embarrassed? And to be honest, people admire it. They might be afraid of it, but they admire the courage it takes to go against the grain.

So, don’t drink from the poisoned well. Stay sane. Stay true. Because if you won't stand up for what you believe in, you might as well have no opinion at all.

Talking Turkey

Humans are funny birds. We get so wrapped up in habits, comfort zones, and traditions that sometimes we forget who we are, what we care about, and why we even do what we do. Thanksgiving is one such instance, sadly exemplified by its alternative name: "Turkey Day." Thanksgiving is meant to be a day when we celebrate the bounty of the harvest, pause in gratitude for the abundance most of us experience, and share what we have with others. Most people don't stop to think about the nearly 300 million birds that are killed each year in the U.S., just to satisfy our taste buds. Of this number, 45 million are killed for Thanksgiving alone.

As someone who teaches vegetarian cooking classes, I’ve seen many people turn away from meat, dairy, and eggs and embrace the array of delicious, nutritious plant-based foods available to us. I’ve also seen them change the lens through which they view the world, which I think is critical for shedding the comfort zones of the past and creating new ones. Some people have a real fear that they will no longer have satisfying, filling meals – especially on Thanksgiving. I can say with confidence that they can put their fears to rest.

Our Thanksgiving feast every year is full of comfort foods galore, prepared with organic ingredients from local farms: mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, bread & nut stuffing, mashed rutabagas, cranberries with pecans and cranberries, stuffed acorn squash, corn bread, Brussels sprouts, corn, peas, pumpkin pie with cashew cream, and apple pie. This was our menu last year, and I’m sure I’ve left something out. Indeed, there is no dearth of food on our table on this special day, as we share it with our closest friends and family.

For those who have never met them, turkeys are magnificent animals, full of spunk and spark and affection, with individual personalities and charms. These animals, who have been abused and discarded by human beings, whose beaks and toes have been mutilated, and whose genetically overgrown bodies are susceptible to heart disease and leg deformities, still display immense affection towards humans. They are incredibly curious and follow you wherever you go, and their wonderful vocalizations include an array of clucks, purrs, coos, and cackles.

Turkeys love to be caressed, and people often remark that they respond just like their own dogs and cats. Turkeys even make a purring sound when they are content, and not until you’ve had a hen fall asleep under your arm have you lived. She will literally melt under your touch, relax her body, and begin to close her eyes, softly clucking all the while. It’s a sight to see, and I’m moved every time I have the privilege to witness it.

Some individuals are more affectionate than others, climbing into your lap and making themselves as comfortable as can be. At an animal sanctuary I frequent, a particularly friendly turkey became infamous for her propensity to hug. As soon as you crouched down, she would run over to you, press her body against yours, and crane her head over your shoulders, clucking all the while. It’s amazing how so generous a hug can be given by someone with no arms.

They’re not all saints, but some are heroes. One turkey became my personal protector when I was trying to clean a barn and was continually accosted by a particularly rude and aggressive bird. Each time the aggressor would begin to close in on me, my hero would waddle over and get between me and his barn-mate. It was remarkable, and it happened over and over (turkeys are very persistent). What made this scene even more touching was the fact that these toms suffered from bumble foot, an occurrence of abscesses on the footpads that resemble corns, a common occurrence in domesticated turkeys. Between their grotesquely large breasts and inflamed feet, turkeys walk very awkwardly and with a lot of effort. I was very touched that such an effort was made on my behalf.

I grew up eating turkeys’ breasts, turkeys’ legs, and turkeys’ wings, and I'm still making amends to these extraordinary animals. I believe we’re able to mutilate certain animals for our gustatory pleasure because we don’t have relationships with them. We never meet them face to face. Once I met a turkey, I was never the same again. Once I began to celebrate Thanksgiving as turkey-free holiday, I learned for the first time what “Happy Turkey Day” really means.

Eating Animals

To the animals, it’s all the same. They want to live. If they have wings, they want to fly. If they have legs, they want to walk. If they have voices, they want to communicate. If they have offspring, they want to mother them. To humans who perceive animals as inferior, their lives are here for us to end, their wings and legs are ours to eat, their voices are ours to silence or ignore, and their reproductive cycles are ours to manipulate and use. It’s not the animals but our perception of the animals that enables us to do all sorts of horrific things to them. As with any kind of prejudice, first you have to lower the societal status of the group or individual before you can actually oppress them, and we do this with animals across the board: in the language we use that denigrates them (calling people pigs, calling animals dirty), in the rights and natural behaviors we deny them, in the place we’ve carved out for them in society, making them tools for research, clowns for our enjoyment, delicacies for our palates, and victims of our desires. This dynamic is so ingrained. We learn it at such a young age, and we’re considered quite radical if we question it at all. And we think all the world thinks and acts as we do.

We never stop to consider that our perceptions and treatment of non-human animals is culturally based. Period. Our cultural and personal and familial habits inform so much of what we do on a daily basis. It’s why any talk of the "necessity" of eating animal flesh is balderdash. It has nothing to do with our biologic makeup and everything to do with our cultural foundation, taste habits, and, frankly, our arrogance, the arrogance of the human species. But let's talk about cultural habits for now.

As westerners, most of us were raised eating the dismembered and scorched bodies – otherwise known as meat – of pigs, cows, calves, chickens, fishes, ducks, lambs, and turkeys. Despite the fact that these animals suffered and were killed to satisfy our appetites, many of us draw an arbitrary line and turn our noses up at the people who eat other animals that may not have been on our own dinner plates: animals such as deer, rabbit, or buffalo. People get upset at the thought of eating precious bunny rabbits, as they munch on the leg of what was once a precious calf or baby chick. With even greater indignance we’re shocked at the (also western) cultures who eat horses and goats, and our stomachs turn at the idea of eating frog’s legs, chicken’s feet, cow’s tongues, and monkey’s brains. And with what can be characterized as approval of our own speciesism, we scorn those who eat cats and dogs.

“Can you believe that?” Some people have said to me. “That’s just so upsetting – cats and dogs? I mean really!.” Is something I often hear. And I attempt to mirror the hypocrisy of their remark by saying: “You know what I heard? I heard people eat the shoulders of pigs and the wings of birds! Can you believe that?” OK it doesn’t have the same shock value, but it would if that person lived in a place where that was unheard of. In the workshops I teach, do an exercise that works quite effectively to get this across. I give the group a handout that talks about the growing number of farms raising dogs for their milk, about how this is a growing trend that’s popular in different parts of the world. People get outraged. They get really upset to hear about the female dogs in confinement, chained up, made and kept pregnant so they will keep lactating, taking away the babies so humans can have the dogs’ milk, etc. After everyone records their reactions, I reveal that the article was really about goat’s milk before I replaced all the references to goats with the word “dog.” It’s at that moment that everyone feels the impact of their reactions. They begin to question why they reacted so strongly when they thought it was about dogs and that they don’t think twice about drinking cow’s milk (and now goat’s milk and sheep’s milk, which are being touted as necessary health food for humans). It’s a powerful exercise, and it’s hard to do, because it’s so hard to look at the world through a different lens. But it’s what we need to do to see the absurdity of our choices.

In writing these podcasts and the essays for my newsletter (also called Food for Thought, which you can subscribe to at compassionatecooks.com), it’s always a struggle finding the words and the photos that will be effective enough without turning people off. The photos of dogs and cats raised for their flesh in parts of Asia (particularly Korea and China) are so horrific for people, because they’ve never seen dogs and cats in such gruesome circumstances. It’s the way most of us react when we first see the animals we kill and eat in this country, but it’s a little more upsetting I think, because most people haven’t had personal relationships with pigs, cattle, chickens, turkeys, etc. I can understand having a strong reaction. I really can. But I also think it’s important we recognize that the deep roots of our desensitization enable us to allow animals here to be imprisoned, confined, denied, abused, and tortured so that we can satisfy a palate preference, whether that preference is for the legs and wings of chickens, the backsides of pigs, or the sides of cows. – it comes down to the cultural habit that has been ingrained in us. The dogs and cats, the goats and horses – they’re all cultural habits of other countries. Just as some cultures or religions choose vegetarian – it’s all cultural. It has nothing to do with biology. If we can remember that, perhaps we wouldn’t be so quick to judge other cultures but would instead rise up to oppose what we do in our own.

On the other hand, I don’t believe culture, tradition, or religion are adequate excuses for cruelty. Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the great humanitarian wrote, “The thinking [person] must oppose all cruel customs no matter how deeply rooted in tradition and surrounded by a halo. When we have a choice, we must avoid bringing torment and injury into the life of another.” I couldn’t agree more or have said it more eloquently. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. Just because we’ve always done something doesn’t mean it’s the best thing or the right thing to do. And when we know better, we can choose better.

To the animals, it’s all the same. Whether they meow, snort, bark, winny, moo, quack, gobble, hop, fly, swim, or run, they all feel pain, loss, and fear. A Korean dog wants to live and resists death as much as an American duck. To the animals kept and killed for human pleasure, it’s all the same.— the loneliness, the pain, the screams, the darkness, the torment, the fear, the cold, the heat, the untreated illnesses, the longing, the frustration, the boredom, the desire to flee, the desire to live. When we can recognize that we share all of this with non-human animals, perhaps we’d reconsider the choices we make on a daily basis. Consider this – they’re all habits, and habits were meant to be broken. It takes three weeks to break old and form new habits. There’s no reason – only excuses – not to at least try.