A Meatless Thanksgiving Around the World « It’s Getting Hot In Here

Here in India, celebrating special days with vegetarianism is not such a crazy concept. Many holidays are celebrated by vegetarianism to varying levels of strictness (with the exception of Eid, often celebrated with meat). So, for Sadhu Vaswani’s 129th birthday, 25 November, the Sadhu Vaswani mission (a large spiritual group based in Pune) is running a meatless day across India and around the world! On this day, four states in India will be closing down their slaughterhouses thanks to the tireless work of the mission’s leader, 90 year old Dada JP Vaswani.

They are asking millions to pledge to a meatless day on 25 November. This means Thanksgiving for Americans out there, so I know this is a big ask! It has taken about eight years for my father, even with two vegetarian daughters, to recognize that there is more to vegetarian thanksgiving than mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. We’ve experimented with vegetarian stuffing full of mushrooms and chestnuts, copious cranberry sauce, and lots and lots of delicious desserts – check here for even more! Does life get better than that? Yes! Knowing that you’re with a million other people veg-ing too! Join together, and take the pledge! You’ll be saving lives and saving our climate!

*Yes, I know I’m being controversial, and some local turkey farmers and other organizations are doing really great work to preserve heritage turkey breeds, eat local foods, and green your Thanksgiving meal overall. Once again, the 100 Mile Diet proposes enjoying a 100 Mile Thanksgiving, whether or not vegetarian. But pledging for a meatless day is a big step too! Bruce Friedman at HuffPo gives you 10 other reasons to “Pardon a Turkey”, if international unity doesn’t cut it! And yet another reason to give up meat this Thanksgiving comes from Sarah Palin herself. In the below clip, Sarah Palin gives an interview at the turkey farm where she was invited to pardon a turkey for Thanksgiving, oblivious to the fact that turkeys are being slaughtered in the background. Be careful, it’s gruesome!

About Caroline

Caroline is passionate about ensuring an safe climate future for all peoples on the planet, and believes that many solutions already exist to address poverty, increase equity, and improve environmental quality while also reducing climate change. This year, she's working with the global youth climate movement to ensure that youth voices at COP15 are coming from all over the world and that the youth voice is not only heard but seen through positive action. A French-American, but also a global citizen, Caroline grew up in Connecticut and has worked in six continents on climate related issues, and now lives, works with, and loves the Indian Youth Climate Network. She directs the Climate Solutions Project, an initiative to create, communicate and celebrate youth-led and grassroots solutions to climate change, in order to scale up these solutions and build the confidence necessary to ensure a great deal in Copenhagen. On the side, Caroline likes making climate art - rapping about climate action, photographing disappearing flowers, building sustainable dance floors, working with filmmakers to document youth initiatives worldwide, and creating dance flashmobs to spread the message of 350!