Thanksgiving is a time each  year devoted to giving thanks yet, we don’t always consider the impact our celebration of thankfulness has on our dear feathered friends the turkeys.  I’m willing to wager they’re probably not all that thankful to be the centerpiece on the majority of American dinner tables each November.

Not only that, unless you’re buying a locally raised organic turkey and you know your farmer, the turkey on your dinner table was likely raised in a “factory farm”.  Factory farms are a difficult burden for our environment to bear for a variety of reasons.  And, if you love animals at all, they’re not too easy on the heart either.

Speaking of the heart – in addition to not being easy for turkeys, Thanksgiving is also often difficult for vegans as well.  After all, the Thanksgiving meal isn’t exactly geared toward the vegan diet.  In addition to turkeys, other animals and animal products are often featured during the meal as well.

But, we can still celebrate our thankfulness AND save the turkeys with these tips for a Happy Vegan Thanksgiving!

1. If you’re not hosting always bring at least one dish to share.

Most folks find cooking for vegetarians, and vegans in particular a somewhat nerve wracking task; especially at Thanksgiving.  But, you can make it easier on everyone (and get yourself at least one menu item you can eat!) by bringing a dish, or two to share.  Plus, you not only contribute to the big meal, you also can use this opportunity to covertly introduce some skeptics to how tasty vegan food can be!

2. If you are hosting, make some vegan variations of traditional Thanksgiving favorites.

Your non vegan guests won’t even miss the turkey when you make some versions of other traditional Thanksgiving favorites to add to the meal like green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and don’t forget the vegan Pumpkin Pie.

3. Collect donations for local animal rescues that help turkeys.

To help the turkeys directly, besides not eating them, you can make a donation in their honor to a local farm animal rescue organization.  If you’re hosting this year’s gathering, take a collection for the animals and together, you and your guests can make turkeys truly thankful this Thanksgiving!

Here’s a fantastic example of a farm animal rescue organization near me, The Catskills Animal Sanctuary that I enjoy supporting this time of year (and the whole year through actually!) with proceeds from the sales of Sevani natural beauty products.

At this particular rescue you can even specifically mark your donation for turkey rescue!  Their work with farm animals of all kinds, as well as turkeys, make them, and others like them a nice way honor all the turkeys experiencing a very different reality.

Thanksgiving really is a whole lot more than eating turkey.  And, when you don’t involve taking the life of other beings in your celebrations of thankfulness, we ALL have that much more to be thankful for!  So, save the turkeys, the planet, and yourself and make Thanksgiving 2013 a vegan Thanksgiving!