Amazing Vegan Thanksgiving Feast! (Only thing missing was the cruelty.)

At your Thanksgiving celebration, did you have Stuffed Shells, Macaroni Salad, Couscous, Green Bean Casserole, Orange Liqueur Sweet Potatoes, Tofurky with potatoes and green beans, Sweet and Sour "Meat"Balls, Roasted Lemon Rosemary Carrots, Mashed Potatoes, Swiss Chard, Stuffing, 2 kinds of gravy, Enchiladas, Walforf Salad, Cranberry Sauce, Applesauce, 5 different appetizer dips, with chips & veggies, Pumpkin Pie, Cinnamon Rolls, Chocolate Cream Pie, Key Lime Pie, Whipped Soy Cream, Apple Cider and Sangria? All without animal cruelty mixed in?

I can't imagine that anyone could have eaten any better than I did yesterday, due to the addition of animal carcasses and animal by-products on their table. Not only was the food delicious and satisfying, I didn't celebrate a day of thanks by supporting the pain and suffering of sentient beings.

We should all be thankful for the abundance of non-animal food choices and the creative people who devise fantastic dishes from them. I can't think of a better example of what Thanksgiving is about.

Thanksgiving at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary - The Pigs

I was with a new activist when he met live pigs for the first time this past Saturday at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in Poolesville, MD.

He was amazed at their size and gentleness and how much their eyes look like ours.

They approached us, wanting to be petted like dogs.

They followed us along the fence of their enclosure like cats, taking in our scents, and probably hoping for food.

They basked in the sun with what appeared to be smiles of contentedness.

I saw a pig run - RUNNING FAST - in joy and anticipation of something approaching, that caught her attention.

We brought them pumpkins, cracked them against the ground for them to indulge, while we indulged in a joyful moment of our own - getting the chance to witness them partaking of this yearly, autumn treat.

The first time I encountered the pigs at Poplar, they were all dozing in their enclosure, about 30 or so of them, surrounded by visitors bending down to touch and hug them. Standing amid this dusty sea of slumbering pigs, I looked at my husband, who was off a bit in the distance, and started to choke up and cry. I knew what their brothers and sisters were enduring that very second in cages, trucks and slaughterhouses around the world. Here I was surrounded by so few who managed to escape that fate to live out a long life in bucolic bliss, and I was overwhelmed by the bittersweetness of that reality. I wanted all of them to be this lucky...