Compassion Over Killing > Harvest Compassion This Thanksgiving with an Animal-Friendly Feast!

Thanksgiving tradition is about celebrating life—and a growing number of Americans are choosing to do so by serving delicious vegetarian fare that everyone, including the turkeys, can be thankful for.

Animal Suffering in the Turkey Industry

The average American consumes 17 pounds of turkey meat per year, resulting in the annual slaughter of 252 million turkeys—more than 65 million of whom are killed during the winter holiday season alone. The vast majority of these intelligent birds spend their entire lives intensively confined inside massive sheds and will never set foot outside. Sadly, they are viewed as little more than meat-producing machines. In the 1960s, it took 220 days to raise a 35-pound turkey. Due to selective breeding and growth-promoting drugs, it now takes only 132 days. Such fast growth causes turkeys to suffer from a number of chronic health problems.

There are no federal laws in the United States protecting turkeys (or other birds raised for food) from such cruelty.

Feast on This

Holiday events often focus on meals shared with family and friends. So why not share your compassion by carving up a savory Tofurky? This delicious meat-free roast is sure to please everyone!

Here are more animal-friendly meal ideas for a healthy and humane holiday feast:

Savory Stuffing

In a large skillet, heat the oil and then sauté the onion and celery until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Pour the sautéed vegetables into a casserole dish. Add the remaining ingredients, bread cubes through seasonings. Toss well, making sure all of the bread cubes are soaked in the vegetable broth. Bake for 45 minutes.

Chicken-Free Gravy

Melt the soy margarine in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, nutritional yeast, and seasonings, stirring quickly with a whisk.

Add the broth, stirring until blended. Continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes, or until thick.

* Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast rich in vitamins and minerals, with a wonderful cheesy flavor that can be found in most natural foods grocery stores. It can be easily added to soups, stews, casseroles, or in place of cheese to make any dish creamier.

** Poultry seasoning—a mixture of sage, thyme, marjoram, and other herbs—can be found in nearly every grocery store.

Lots of Layers Lasagna

Drain and then mash the tofu in a mixing bowl. Add the thawed spinach, garlic powder, onion salt, basil, and oregano.

Cut the Gimme Lean Sausage Style into 1/4-inch slices or, if using TVP, soak it in the 2 cups of boiling water.

Lightly oil the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking pan or casserole dish. Place 1 layer of noodles on the bottom of the pan and spoon on half of the spinach-tofu mixture. Then pour 1 cup of Moo-Free Cheese Sauce and 1 cup of tomato sauce, making sure the sauces are evenly distributed over the whole pan. Add a second layer of noodles and half of the Gimme Lean slices or 1 cup of the reconstituted TVP. Then pour 1 cup each of the “cheese” and tomato sauces. Add a fourth layer of noodles, the rest of the Gimme Lean or TVP, and 1 cup each of the two sauces. Top with a final layer of noodles and the last cup of tomato sauce.

Wrap the pan tightly with tin foil and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling. Then uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Pumpkin Pie

Blend all of the ingredients (except for the pie shell) in a blender or a food processor until smooth. Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie shell and bake for 30 minutes. Then turn down the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 30 to 45 minutes, or until the filling is set.

Take Action to Encourage Others to Harvest Compassion!

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, your help is needed now to spread the animal's message by encouraging others to choose compassion. Compassion Over Killing has created a "Harvesting Compassion" poster that you can download today for free—just save the file and submit to a local printer to create a large, full color display (or print at home if you can), perfect for your local library, college, high school or office! If you need additional materials, such as free vegan recipe booklets to distribute, contact us today!

Click on the image to view and download a high-resolution PDF.

Are you celebrating your first meat-free Thanksgiving?

If you are planning to celebrate your first vegetarian Thanksgiving feast this holiday season, we want to hear from you!

Tell us why you are choosing to leave animals off your plate and what your meat-free feast will include. One lucky One lucky winner will get a set of fabulous books: Vegan A Go-Go, Skinny Bitch, and Thanking the Monkey! Hurry, we need to hear from before Nov. 26! Email us at info@cok.net and be sure to include your name, city, and phone number.

2009: Your First Meat-Free Thanksgiving Stories

We asked you to send us your stories about why you chose to celebrate your first meat-free Thanksgiving this year and we're featuring some of them here to uplift and inspire others! Thank you to everyone who took the time to write to us and share your stories!

Congratulations to Tamara in Alabama who will be receiving a set of three fantastic books: Karen Dawn's Thanking The Monkey: Rethinking The Way We Treat Animals, Rory Freedman's Skinny Bitch and Sarah Kramer's Vegan A Go-Go!: A Cookbook and Survival Manual for Vegans on the Road! Thank you for submitting your story, Tamara!

This year is my first vegan Thanksgiving; I recently decided to become vegan after seeing a documentary on animal mistreatment in factories. After watching the documentary, I decided then and there to stop eating all animal products. I've been researching online and reading books such as Diet for a New America and as eat day passes, I feel more secure in my decision to not harm animals by eating them or using products taken from them. My husband is vegetarian and although he's been raised as a lacto-ovo vegetarian, to show his support of my new lifestyle choice, he's taken steps to eat less dairy and eggs. My mom has even shown interest in some of the vegan foods she's seen me eating. My main goal is to become a healthier person and it makes me happy that while I'm not broadcasting that I'm not eating eggs or dairy, people can see a change in me and this makes them curious about how the change has come about. For Thanksgiving this year, I plan to have Tofurky w/stuffing, rolls, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and maybe a pumpkin pie.

Tamara in Hunstville, AL

My husband and I have been veggies just for a couple months and have decided to go vegan. We are going to his parents for Thanksgiving and I was asked to bring a dish or two. I want to make some vegan dishes to show how easy and yummy vegan food can be. We will never bring meat, poultry or dairy into this house again... My husband has a rare liver condition and has been through a lot. But since we have gone veggie he is feeling so much better and has energy again. We hope by our living by example we can show others how much you can change the environment, improve your health, and end suffering and cruelty to all animals. Jan in Springfield, IL

This will be my first Thanksgiving as a Vegetarian. I made the choice to go Veg about a month ago now for health reasons. You see, I had lost 70lbs in the last year and wanted to take my health journey to another level. Vegetarianism seemed the next logical path for me. Throughout this first month of learning new ways of eating, I began to expand my reasons for becoming a non-meat-eater. I am now not only Vegetarian for health reasons, but am also an animal activist. I cannot imagine eating another piece of meat again.

This Thanksgiving, I'm going to be able to expand my horizons even more in making a great dinner that anyone, vegetarian or not, can enjoy. After thirty years of Thanksgiving meals with the "classic" turkey, I know it's going to be a challenge, but one I am more than ready to take on. It's time I created Thanksgiving memories that don't include meat in them.

Shannon in Kissimmee, FL

I have decided to do a complete vegan dinner this year. We always have family and friends over my husband always insisted in the traditional carcasses along with my foods. This year, I told him that I wasn't going to stand for any dead animals on my table. I explained to him for the millionth time why I feel this way and reminded him that he has enjoyed my meatless meals in the past. I assured him he was not going to go hungry. So now I am preparing my menu which will be fantastic. My table will be set beautifully and we will eat compassionately. I am so sorry for the meals I have made and eaten in the past but it fuels me to try to educate others to make a healthy and compassionate choice as well.

Debbie in Indiana

This is my first Veggie Feast Celebration of Thanksgiving even though I have not eaten meat for the past 5 years. My son-in-law calls me a Conscientious Vegetarian, which is true. My decision was based on an experience while traveling up I-77 to Virginia. South Carolina has a lot of turkey farms and there is a large processing plant along the Virginia border. There was a large truck stacked high with caged turkeys traveling at the up side of the speed at which I will drive...During the 70 miles I followed this truck there was a never ending stream of white feathers being emitted from the cages. It seems impossible that this could be since the turkeys are so tightly packed, but none the less the feathers flew. As I rode along it occurred to me that this was no way to treat an animal. I turned to my wife and told her they are not going to treat any animals like that in my name, because I am not going to eat them. Since that day I have had no difficulty in keeping that promise. This coming from a 68 year old male whose father was a butcher and with whom I worked as a teen...Thank you for the tasty recipes.

Richard in Gastonia, NC

This will be my first Thanksgiving as a vegan. I decided to cut out meat & dairy almost a year ago after watching the film Earthlings; it was that realization that my food came from the unimaginable suffering of creatures who feel emotions— just like me. I couldn't ignore the connection and haven't had meat, dairy or eggs since. This Thanksgiving I'm helping prepare several of the dishes, and can't wait for my family to try my vegan mashed potatoes & gravy, pumpkin pie and a vegan version of my grandmother's famous cheesy broccoli and rice casserole.

Jesse in Cincinnati, OH