 | E-mail this story |  | Write letter to editor |  | Order a classified ad |
| E-mail this story | | Write letter to editor | | Order a classified ad |
Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services
Many would choose tradition over conscience regardless. After all, a turkey dinner is delicious, and what would a Thanksgiving spread be without a nice, big butterball glistening on the family dinner table? There are some, however, whether concerned about diet or out of their own personal ethics towards the slaughter of animals, who choose to forsake this yearly, meat-eating tradition -- or at least the carnivorous part.
"I guess the one thing that vegetarians do, which might be different from people that are not vegetarians, is they decide to be creative," says Jodi Woollam.
"You take a festive occasion, and instead of falling back on the old standby (turkey) and bury your habit in tradition, you actually have an opportunity to experiment."
Woollam, who's been a vegan -- a stricter form of vegetarianism that excludes all meat products, including dairy -- for 10 years, plans to make a harvest stew for Thanksgiving this year.
City councillor Dave McCann has been experimenting with vegetarianism for several years.
He eschews the traditional turkey dinner fare for health reasons. After all, turkeys need a lot of food and space to grow, and there is a lot of cholesterol in a butterball.
"It's hard to take a shot at something (Thanksgiving dinner) that is so deeply entrenched in society," says McCann.
"But the pitch I'd rather take is that it (a vegetarian Thanksgiving) is a much more efficient use of resources and personally much healthier as well."
For some, the dinner table has become a mutual borderline between those who eat meat and those who do not.
Karen Johnson says she will be content to enjoy her vegetarian fare while her boyfriend piles on the turkey, stuffing and the gravy.
"Phyllo vegetable pies, maybe some samosas," says Johnson as she ponders this year's meal.
"Jeff will have all that and turkey."
