I've been through many phases in my life and I purposely start this missive in remembrance of my days of being militantly anti-Thanksgiving in deep respect of the millions of Native Americans that were massacred across this land. But with time, comes forgiveness, and me and many of my militant or once militant friends have come to forgive the horrid realities of the first Thanksgiving to delve deeper into the simple warmth and beauty of being surrounded by loved ones and good food on a cozy November day.
Well, the story goes that as age progresses so does wisdom, our understanding of compassion, and for some, the fervor of our militancy. Although, I seldom bring up unfortunate misgivings of the Native Americans (I leave that to the pre-teens at the table who are just cutting their teeth on thinking outside of the box), me and the teenagers have begun to warm up to the plight of the Turkey.
Just last year, I spent a Friday evening with a young turkey that had been rescued from a factory farm. It was warm and fuzzy like a cat, it purred when I rubbed its belly, it looked me in my eyes with the same understanding that I see in my dogs and spent an hour playing nicely with me and my niece. It didn't take long for me to regain my anti-Thanksgiving stance, but this time with a new cause: an end to uncompassionate traditions.

Why participate in a practice that does more harm than good on a day when gratitude and compassion should rule?
Why not give the planet something to be thankful for? And your body. A good choice of seitan, field grains, or tofu stuffed with a chicken-broth free stuffing and smothered in mushroom gravy (the gravy is the key!) is a scrumptious way of saying thank you to the Earth and life that nourishes our existence on this planet. I know that being 'green' or cruelty free seems like a simple trend, but so did being anti-slavery, or pro-womens rights.

The fact is that the growing popularity of vegetarianism is inevitable, but your participation in a nationwide pastime blinded by its ode to the past is not. The future is now and cannot include the mindless ingestion of cruelty in all its forms while waving flags for peace. If you envision a non-violent world, participate in the one that already exists. It is as simple as a choice you can make here and now to try something new this November, to distinguish your recipes from your grandmothers. Replace the lard with something that won't kill grandpa. Replace your insensitivity with a growing state of concern and awareness or own up to the violent realities and toxins you ingest. Harsh words, eh? Its even harder on the stomache.

My goal is not to enact judgment on any and everyone who eats meat. I've had enough fried chicken in my life to be tried and convicted of genocide by a jury of free-range chickens. My simple goal is challenge every reader to begin the process of envisioning what their participation in a utopian, healthy planet would look like. I have spent most of my short life fighting to remind friends, family, and those I've come into contact with that just because something has persisted for a few hundred years, or even a just a few decades, doesn't mean that it must be perpetuated. Our understanding of self, God, love, and planet are all streamlining in ways that mirror our ability to communicate through the technology that advances that process. The cynicism that wishes me good luck but believes grandpa will never change, is dead on. Grandpa will die. But as for you, you can fight against the poetry of our times or you can triumph in connecting the dots between your freedom and your responsibility and watch how the winds of change conspire to thank you.

Until then, the saying 'you are what you eat' proves most of y'all to be a bunch of jive-ass turkeys.


Saul aka _________. (What up Nas?)

ps. And don't fall for that 'Organic' or 'Free Range' bullshit. Trusting an FDA stamp on your food is like trusting an oil lobbyist in a solar paneled car discussion. Google 'Vegan Recipes' and add your own personal flair and send me a thank you note when you subsequently drop those few pounds your trainer couldn't help you with. 'Vegan Nutrition' for those who think you need meat for dietary health or just google 'MY NUTS'.

"One farmer says to me, 'You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make bones with'; and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying his system with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plough along in spite of every obstacle." ~Henry David Thoreau, Where I Lived And What I Lived For.