Thanksgiving is kind of a strange holiday. If we’re friends on Facebook, you may have seen my recent post about the somewhat dim view I take of the whole thing, but here I will focus on the positive. Thanksgiving is an opportunity for us to lead by example.

1. If you’ve been vegan and/or plant-based for a while, the fact that you can still enjoy a feast of all the same comfort foods you’re used to is old news, but it never gets old to make something vegan and delicious and share it (and/or photos of it) with others to spread the word. If this is your first holiday season and you’re not sure what to make: there’s so much out there! Post Punk Kitchen is always a good place to start if you want to impress.
2. Attend a Thanksgiving event at an animal sanctuary. They are happening all over the place, usually the weekend before Thanksgiving. This is an opportunity to donate, to share a feast with others of like mind, and to experience this holiday in a fashion that actually makes sense – giving and sharing without domination or cruelty of any kind. Usually you get to feed the turkeys and some of the other residents a feast, and it’s a really awesome event for kids. Most importantly, though, it’s a chance to make others think twice about their method of celebration. When your kids tell their friends about how great it was to share food with a friendly turkey, some parents might get some awkward questions that make them think…when you post pictures of the animals you visit and share details about the situations from which they were rescued, some people who see it in their Facebook feed might reconsider. We’re going to Poplar Springs Thanksgiving FOR the Turkeys, and this is the story of one of the animal residents:
   

   HARRISON is a White Leghorn rooster who was found as a tiny chick in a grocery store parking lot in Silver Spring MD. He and five other chicks were tied in a plastic bag that was inside a discarded cardboard box. A store customer who was exiting his car heard a loud cheeping coming from the box, and thankfully investigated. He found one of the chicks already dead from suffocation, and brought the rest to the sanctuary. We immediately got them food and water and set them up under a heat lamp in a large pen. They all survived, and today Harrison has grown into a handsome adult rooster.

   Harrison loves to dustbathe under the trees with his girlfriend hens Iris and Clarisse. At night they sleep together in a small converted playhouse, which is just the right size for them. During the day they like to scratch and peck and hunt for food in their large yard. If he finds something good, Harrison will call his girls over and will actually offer them the treat in his beak. He is an extremely friendly rooster who loves to be held and petted, and will actually fall asleep in your lap, just like a cat.

   It’s hard to read something like this and not be moved in some way. Simply share the information without judgment – it certainly can’t harm anyone, and it may do them some good.

3. Sponsor a turkey. Again, not only does this help the animal sanctuary pay for veterinary care and food for the animals, but it makes a statement. I think of all this as a nonviolent form of protest to spark action, really. Last year, we shared publicly that we were sponsoring turkeys and saw a number of our Facebook connections follow suit within hours of sharing that information. The Farm Sanctuary Adopt-a-Turkey Project makes for great marketing, because you get buttons to share that link to the site, and it’s a nice gift, especially for the little herbivores in your life, as you are sent a card with a picture of the turkey that you are sponsoring. We went this route ($30 to sponsor one turkey), and also signed up for an automatic monthly debit of a sum that is enough to cover food for one turkey at a local sanctuary.

Please consider joining us in making a statement with our actions this holiday season, and if you have any other suggestions or comments about actions you have taken – share in the comments!