The media loves Tofurky
November 22nd, 2006 by admin
This year, as in previous years, there have been many news reports about vegetarian Thanksgivings. Thankfully, all the articles we read this year were positive and noted the growing interest in meatless Thanksgiving celebrations and the growing resources available on alternatives to the traditional turkey.
Last Friday, Palm Beach Post Columnist Frank Cerabino wrote about a free Thanksgiving banquet at the Boynton Beach Soup Kitchen. In addition to turkey flesh, the banquet will serve Tofurkys that were donated by charitable members of the community. Sharon Wallenberg, who donated Tofurky to the soup kitchen explained, “The Tofurkys are a substitute so that the turkeys can have a nice Thanksgiving, too.” Although Cerabino poked fun at Tofurky, we appreciated his description of the turkey alternative as, “an answer to the widespread practice of carcass-eating on [Thanksgiving] day.”
On Sunday, the Charlotte Sun wrote that, “For a growing number of Americans, Thanksgiving doesn’t include the traditional poultry bird at the table, but a Thanksgiving ‘meatloaf’ or tofu turkey.” The article noted that the number of vegetarians in the U.S. is increasing (recent polls show that between 4 and 6 percent of Americans consider themselves vegetarians). The article also featured recipes for a vegetarian Thanksgiving that were submitted by chefs from local restaurants.
And an article in yesterday’s Miami Herald reported, “With Thanksgiving — a holiday that practically revolves around turkey — this week, many of the local vegan and vegetarian groups are organizing feasts of their own.” The Herald put the number of vegans (”who abstain from using any animal products in food, personal care items and clothing”) in the U.S. at 2.9 million. That’s pretty good! The Herald also profiled Vegan Parents and Kids Meetup, an interesting social group for vegan children that meets each month to share meals and fun.
If you need any last minute recipe ideas, click here to visit ARFF’s Thanksgiving web page.