Maybe you’re a vegetarian, or maybe you have a vegetarian guest coming for Thanksgiving. What are your options for this traditional turkey-dominated meal?
Evelyn Kimber, president of the Boston Vegetarian Society, says there are several approaches to take. “You can simulate the centerpiece of the turkey roast using seitan or tofurkey. Both are meat substitutes made from wheat gluten. Seitan, she notes, is a versatile plant protein; tofurkey is a blend of wheat gluten and tofu.
“You can also serve a stuffed squash or pumpkin. A tofu lasagna or squash stew (like the acorn squash soup pictured) are other good options,” she says.
One reason that motivates many vegetarians is their opposition to livestock production.
In November 2006, the United Nations issued a report on livestock production, noting that livestock production causes more greenhouse gas emissions than transportation – 18 percent more. Henning Steinfeld, chief of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and senior author of the report, said, “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems.” Carbon dioxide is released when forests are cleared to create land for grazing or the growing of feed crops. Livestock production emits not only carbon dioxide but nitrous oxide, a more harmful greenhouse gas much of which is due to manure. 
Sheryl Eisenberg, an advisor to the Natural Resources Defense Council, reiterates this in a recent article on eating less meat.
“Maybe everyone could get behind the idea of changing our diets — not completely, but a little, if it would help with the biggest and scariest environmental problem of all – because it could,” she says.
Restraints in eating habits are important, she says, stating that people living in industrialized countries consume 85 kilograms of meat per person, which is almost three times as much as the 41 kilos consumed in the developing world.
“That is more than our share,” she says, “and more than our climate can afford and more than our hearts can stomach.”
Ms. Kimber notes that despite the Vegetarian Society’s attempt to point this out, “It’s hard for environmentalists to look at what they are eating. It’s much easier to change a light bulb or carpool, than it is to eliminate a favorite food.”
Vegetarian and author M.L. Grant offers these tips for serving a vegetarian guest at the holiday table:
- Look at it as a challenge to learn about a different lifestyle, share recipes.
- Bake some stuffing outside the turkey
- Keep cooking utensils to avoid cross contamination between meat and vegetarian foods
- Make vegetarian gravy
- Adapt recipes where possible – use substitutions such as vegetarian broth, soy milk or EnerG brand egg replacement
- Use vegetable oil instead of animal fat for frying; use vegetable shortening like Crisco for pie crust
- Check all pre-packaged foods for ingredients – gelatin, whey, sodium caseinate can be animal-derived
- Have lots of side dish – but leave them plain
- Have lots of breads, fresh fruit, and non-gelatin desserts as well as beverages
- Ask guest to bring a dish of his/her own to share
- Regular sugar or not? Some sugar is filtered through charcoal – which sometimes means filtered through charred animal bones before it goes in the bag. If a guest is opposed to sugar, try evaporated cane juice crystals (unfiltered sugar). Or you can substitute maple syrup or corn syrup
And what if the vegetarian guest won’t eat anything? M.L. Grant refers to these folks as “vegetarians with attitude.” Her opinion?
“It is unspeakably rude for a vegetarian to impose on a host without opening a dialogue before the event and trying to meet the host halfway. It is not reasonable to expect that no meat will be served in someone else’s house, or that there will be a “meat table” and a “non-meat table….As the host, you should make some effort to provide filling vegetarian nourishment during Thanksgiving. But I don’t think the vegetarian guest should be a jerk about it. Try offering enough food that the vegetarian can’t talk for all the eating.”
And remember that although it may not seem like it, Thanksgiving is not just about the food. It’s about giving thanks and enjoying the day with family and friends. Now eat up.
Resources:
- United Nations Report: Rearing Cattle Produces More Greenhouse Gases Than Driving Cars
- Univ. of Chicago Study: Vegan Diets Healthier for Planet, People Than Meat Diet
- Worldwatch Institute: Global Meat Consumption Has Far-Ranging Environmental Impacts
- Worldwatch Institute: Addressing the Effects of Factory Farming on the Environment, Human Health, and Communities
- Worldwatch Institute: New Meat Byproducts: Avian Flu and Global Climate Change
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Tags: Vegetarians
