Difference between revisions of "Thanksgiving"

Revision as of 02:08, 19 November 2020

Thanksgiving is one of the most practiced traditions, with an emphasis on the food served, but also one of the most complicated ones for vegans.
The food eaten on Thanksgiving day has been mostly the same for the past 400 years--a testament to how much of a deep-rooted food tradition it is, and because of that it's one of the hardest (if not the hardest) time of the year to be vegan at family events.

Sitting at the same table as meat eaters during Thanksgiving

Contrary to the claims of some vegan personalities, sitting at the same table as meat eaters presents no moral issue when it comes to being vegan. Doing so is not an endorsement of eating meat, nor does it indicate acceptance of the practice. To the contrary, being present presents an opportunity to change minds, either through civil discussion or just by example and presenting alternatives.

Considering the definition of veganism, it becomes apparent that simply being near others eating meat wouldn't be non-vegan by itself. It would be a very unusual definition to see simply being near meat as morally wrong or counter to veganism.

Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude--as far as is possible and practicable--all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals.

It might seem conceivable that by making a big deal about the meat and refusing to eat at the table you can show people how serious it is and somehow make them go vegan -- in the same way you might do if somebody had human meat at the table -- but this just isn't a plausible outcome in human psychology when you're dealing with common behavior, and the situations in the thought experiments that are presented by opponents are not analogous.

Maybe it's happened once that somebody has gone vegan due to an extreme reaction, but for the most part this kind of behavior is only going to highlight how strange vegans are or how veganism has changed you for the worse and make them less open to veganism or reduction in animal products. The same is not true of cannibalism, where the majority are already against the practice to an extreme degree, and calling the police would even be the most obvious response -- that is, an extreme reaction by 99.99% of people is compelling in a way that an extreme reaction by 0.01% of the population is not. For more on this see shaming.

That said, there's an argument to be made for disgust and sorrow on a personal level -- which is that being disgusted by these things, and not being desensitized to them, may help reduce recidivism and keep people vegan. This is a hypothetical argument based on reasoning, but of course may not bear out in practice due to side effects like being ostracized from family gatherings which may lead vegans feeling socially isolated and more likely to quit.

Thanksgiving is particularly relevant example of that dilemma, because an entire turkey is very often served in the center of the table -- a sight that is very often quite disturbing and saddening to vegans, as it should be when we understand the moral worth of the animal and can imagine what kind of painful life the turkey led before being slaughtered.

If you're considerably affected by the sight and by the smell, the best option may be politely declining the offer to come sit at the table without making it dramatic.
While it's good to make an effort to put veganism in a good light by appearing accepting and reasonable, and willing to participate in not-fully-vegan events to make veganism seem less seclusive to others, there's a limit to it and with extreme cases like this, or like entire pigs on skewers at barbeques, the effect of your presence may not be worth being a martyr. If you were to be distressed because of the turkey being served and eaten, it would be self-detrimental to push yourself to go through an entire evening of it for likely minimal good done.

Declining to eat with others

If you choose to decline to eat with others, do so in a polite and easily-relatable manner.
There's a difference between saying 'you people disgust me for what you're doing', and 'I can't really stomach the sight, I hope you understand - it's nothing against you personally'.

When being at a family event, you can then offer to join or rejoin them during desserts, or after the turkey isn't there anymore, and you can endure the situation again. The hosts may even choose to leave the turkey in the kitchen or at another serving area so that you can join in for dinner.

Alternatively, when being invited to an event, you can always turn down the invitation without explaining exactly why, saying that there's something else you are going to do. However, this is not ideal, as you wouldn't solve the situation - the next events, you would still be given an invitation to, and after a few times of making things up, it would become quite obvious that you're making up excuses.
Diplomatic honesty is usually the best way to handle things.

Requesting vegan options, and catering for a vegan Thanksgiving

When going to a Thanksgiving dinner (be it at your home or someone else's), it's perfectly reasonable to ask for some vegan options to be made available to you--ask kindly though, and don't come off imposing, as diplomacy is the best tool to deal with these situations even if it's clear what should be done.

Soups, mashed potatoes, and salads are easily made vegan, and shouldn't be a problem. Offer to help the person making the dinner, even if they know what vegan meals are--as it both assures it's actually vegan, and there are no possible mistakes from someone that's not vegan and might not have clear knowledge if certain things like honey are vegan, and it puts you in a good light, as offering to help with something extra you're requesting is considered polite.

When it comes to meats, instead, it's not as easy to ask for a replacement when going to someone else's dinner.

Fortunately, though, there are vegan mock-meat Thanksgiving options in this day and age.
Brands like Gardein and Tofurky offer a vegan mock-meat turkey option, that is quite liked by people that have tried it.

You could ask if you can bring your own vegan roast to the dinner, so that you'd be able to share also the 'meat-eating' parts of the meal, and efficiently be able to show off vegan alternatives to people that might not even know about them.

However, while those options resemble a turkey in texture and taste, they don't resemble it in sight. It's, in fact, not very easy to find a vegan turkey option that looks just like a turkey in shape and/or size. If looking to make a vegan turkey yourself, to bring to someone else's dinner or to make for your own catering, check the section below--we have a great recipe that would be a great replacement in texture, taste, and looks.

Another great option for Thanksgiving, is to simply offer to host the dinner yourself.
This way, you could have a fully vegan meal for yourself, and, more importantly, for possibly many other people.
Depending on the size of the gathering, you should start preparing in advance to make sure everything is done in time, or you could ask for help to someone willing to help you cook vegan meals.

A few days in advance, you could also make sure to not have animal-based products brought at the dinner by others, by simply asking them to not bring anything. It's often tradition for people to bring something to eat at a Thanksgiving meal, and a lot of the times the asking to not bring anything is done out of courtesy, rather than an actual request. So, taking that into consideration, make sure to express your desire for them to actually not bring anything and to simply come to enjoy the meal without having to worry (not sounding too aggressive--if someone really wants to bring something at all costs, there's not much you can do about it without turning people off by being overly insistent).
By hosting a vegan Thanksgiving yourself, you'll effectively have replaced the non-vegan foods other would've eaten, had they not gone to a vegan Thanksgiving. On top of that, they would be likely introduced to new vegan alternatives that might make them more open-minded about veganism.

If you want to host a vegan Thanksgiving yourself, or if you simply want to bring your own vegan recipe to it, feel free to skim through the section below.

Vegan Thanksgiving recipes

These are some ideas you can follow or get inspiration from to do your own thing.

Image	Name	Difficulty (x/5)	Time (minutes)	Type of Cuisine	Sweet/Savory	Flavor (Sour/Fruity/Oniony/Garlicky/Umami/Rich/Herbal/Earthy/Meaty)	Meal Type (Soups/Main Dishes/Breakfast&Snacks/Desserts/Sides&Salads)	Cost per Serving
	Pear mini bundt cakes	2	105	Generic	Sweet	Fruity	Desserts	$1.60
	Pomegranate salad	1	60	Generic	Sweet	Fruity	Sides&Salads	$2.55