Our new friend, Bubbles!

As the leaves turn orange, the air gets cooler and Thanksgiving (whether Canadian or American) approaches, lots of people start thinking about turkeys, and we are no exception: we love them! Last year, on the day before our Thanksgiving, my son and I were driving down a wooded road when we encountered a line of seven turkeys, crossing the road in an admirably calm, orderly fashion. We stopped to wait for them to pass, as did the car coming in the opposite direction, the other driver and I exchanging broad, delighted smiles as we watched their slow, stately progress. After all seven were safely in the woods, I drove off thinking how happy and grateful I am to be vegan, and hoping that, if that woman was not already a vegetarian/vegan, she might think more carefully about what she put on her plate when she sat down to dinner the next day.

Nearly a year has passed since that November afternoon, and the holidays are once again practically on our doorstep. As they draw nearer, it's tough to think about all the animals who suffer so needlessly to fulfill people's skewed notions of what constitutes a "celebration," and my partner and I gird our loins for the inevitable onslaught of moronic advertising, masturbatory foodie rhetoric and ham-handed (you should excuse the expression) "jokes" about tofurky, People Eating Tasty Animals, etc. But. After reading a post by Susan over at Fatfree Vegan Kitchen (http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/), I was inspired to do something positive by taking part in Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-A-Turkey Project. To quote their web-site: "Since 1986, this program has encouraged people to save a turkey at Thanksgiving through sponsorships that help us rescue animals and provide care for them at our sanctuaries, as well as educate and advocate for turkeys, and other farm animals, everywhere." For a mere $25 (probably about the same price as one of those wretched, pathetic carcasses filling the freezers of the local grocery stores), you can sponsor a single turkey, or even adopt a whole flock for $150. So go ahead, adopt a turkey; you know you want to! Then we can start pondering all the delicious, healthy, vegan dishes we want to make this Thanksgiving!

http://www.adoptaturkey.org/aat/adopt/sponsor.html