How does veganism help more than animals?

How does veganism help more than animals?

If you have ever wondered “What is all this talk about how consuming animal products destroys the planet? How is consuming animal products mainly responsible for world hunger? What is the relationship? Where is the correlation?”, this post should answer some of your questions. For more information www.veganvideo.org

 

Let Us Harvest Compassion At Our Harvest Feast

Millions of turkeys are slaughtered and put onto the tables of Canadians every Thanksgiving for a holiday centered around celebrating life and giving thanks for our food. That this celebration of life involves the mass-slaughtering of these intelligent birds, which can live long and fulfilling lives of anywhere from 10 to 12 years, is contradictory at best (1).

Most of these birds are shoved into filthy and over-crowded factory farms (2). As an alternative to factory-farmed turkeys, people may look to “free range” birds in hope of a more humane choice. “Free range” simply means that the birds have an opportunity to access the outdoors; there are no other requirements (3). Free range certification does not protect the birds from over-crowding or de-beaking (4). In most cases, the opportunity for thousands of birds to access the outdoors is one small exit leading to a very small, filthy area (5). In many cases, these “free range” birds are shipped for long periods of time (without food or water) to the same slaughter houses where factory farmed birds are killed (6). The “free range” alternative is just as inhumane and cruel as the situation for factory farmed birds is.

There is no vital imperative for us to eat turkeys, or any other animals. We can all celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving without bringing harm to any animal- human or non-human.

Letting turkeys live and replacing your turkey dinner with a vegan meal doesn’t mean all vegetables and no gravy! You can have a great Tofurky dinner that will satisfy your taste buds and fill your belly. Here are some recipes we have collected:

You can make your own homemade Tofurky if you are feeling adventurous and creative (although we suggest to make your own stuffing from scratch).

For a recipe, please visit:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tofu-Turkey-I/Detail.aspx

Alternatively, you can buy a Tofurky (7).
Make a savoury stuffing to go with your homemade Tofurky (try using half of the recipe inside the homemade tofurky and bake the other half in the oven for a crispier stuffing).

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup diced onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 cups soft bread cubes
1 cup chopped apple
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup cranberries
1 cup vegetable broth
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

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.

We couldn’t find a recipe online that we loved as much as the recipe from How It All Vegan (8):

Mighty Miso Gravy

6-10 mushrooms chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 tbsp. Olive oil
2-3 tbsp. Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
Cayenne pepper (to taste)
Dried basil (to taste)
Dried dill (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
1/3-1/2 cup of flour
1 1/3 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tsp. miso

In a medium saucepan, saute the mushrooms and onions in oil on medium high heat until onions are translucent and mushrooms are tender. Add the Braggs, cayenne, basil, dill and pepper and stir. Remove from heat and slowly stir in the flour, mixing together well. It will become past and dry. Slowly start adding the stock a little at a time until everything becomes well mixed and there is no lumps. Place back into medium heat and simmer until sauce is thickened, stirring often. At the last minute, stir in miso and serve.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, look around your table and be thankful that you can have compassionate, animal-free harvest feast, and most of all have fun!

References:
1: http://www.goveg.com/f-hiddenlivesturkeys.asp
2: http://www.humanefood.ca/pdf%20links/Turkeyfact%20sheet.pdf
http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_turkeys_farms.asp
3: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/LDP/2006/12Dec/LDPM15001/ldpm15001.pdf
4: http://www.free-range-turkey.com
5: http://www.veganoutreach.org/freerange/
6: http://cetfa.com/images/stories/The__Life__of__a__Turkey__Food__Facts.pdf
7: http://www.tofurky.com/
8: http://www.govegan.net/