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Student Passes Out Vegan Alternatives for Thanksgiving
Assistant News Editor Dane Styler
 Before the greater Mason community vacated the Fairfax campus earlier last week for homes near and far away, in anticipation of rest, feasts and visiting family, one student suggested an alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving turkey centerpiece in an effort to promote animal-treatment awareness.
On Tuesday starting at noon, student Mark Strandquist stood near the clock tower along the North Plaza with a self-made sign and offered to passing students free, home-baked vegan holiday food. He asked that others pledge to have a meat-free turkey day. Instead, Strandquist provided recipes for sweet potatoes with apples and walnuts, tofu shepherd's pie with mushroom gravy, cornbread, potato biscuits and pumpkin pie, topped off with a cup of sweet apple cider.
The reason for Strandquist's activism is two fold, with the primary motivation being the treatment of animals prepared for the dinner plate.
"I hoped to educate students, faculty and staff about the abuse of animals that goes into each Thanksgiving meal and about the available compassionate, affordable and healthy vegan alternatives," Strandquist said. He explained that 45 million turkeys are slaughtered each year for the Thanksgiving holdiay, most having never set foot outside their factories.
 "Because of the close quarters, one to four square feet per bird, these factories become the breeding grounds for diseased, weak, stressed out and aggressive birds," Strandquist explained. "This aggressive state leads to many fights between birds. [Their] solution to this problem is not to allow the birds more space or any fresh air but to cut off parts of their beaks, to cut off their waddles and to clip off their toenails."
Strandquist also said he wanted to do something radical by giving away food for free, in essence combating what he perceives to be the de-emphasizing of community and sharing.
"State senators in Virginia have been trying to push forward a bill that would make it illegal for anyone without a state-inspected kitchen to make food for the homeless and hungry," Strandquist said.
"In this way I hope to serve as an example of DIY [do-it-yourself] community building, reclamation of space, and an alternative and ideal way of living. In short, share what you got! Do onto others as you would have them do to you, including animals, and have a wonderful holiday!"
More than 30 people committed to not consume any meat during Thanksgiving; each person drew with crayons a hand-turkey in show of their support. Others partook of the free food, received vegan literature and asked questions.
Vegan Holiday Recipes |
Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Walnuts
Ingredients:
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup sweetener (I use 1/2 cup brown rice syrup and 1/2 cup maple syrup, but I originally
used 1 cup brown sugar)
1/2 cup vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance because it is all I can get)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I use freshly grated)
Directions:
Blanch the sweet potatoes in salted boiling water for 5 minutes or until slightly tender, but not cooked through. Rinse with cold water and drain thoroughly. Place the sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl with the apples.
In a frying pan, combine remaining ingredients, except walnuts. Boil for at least 1 minute, then add walnuts. Boil for at least another minute. Pour mixture over potatoes and apples and mix well.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.
Serves: 8
Lisa’s Famous Shepherds Pie
Ingredients:
TOFU MIXTURE:
1 lb block firm tofu (must be frozen solid & then thawed)
1 onion chopped
2 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon coriander
pinch pepper
1/2 cp. walnuts (toasted & chopped)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 tablespoon tamari
MASHED POTATO:
4 potatoes peeled & cubed
3 tablespoon margarine
1/2 cup soy milk
dash of salt to taste
MUSHROOM GRAVY:
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoon tamari or Braggs
pinch of pepper
1 1/2 cps of potato water
2 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water
Directions:
TOFU MIXTURE: Once tofu is defrosted, squeeze out all water like a sponge. Shred into small pieces. Toast walnuts lightly on cookie sheet in oven until lightly browned, then chop.
Fry onion, oil and spices on med heat until translucent. Add tofu, nuts, lemon juice and tamari. Continue to stir while cooking for 5-10 minutes. MASHED POTATOES:
Boil potatoes in large pot until soft. Drain & place back in pot or in a large bowl. add margarine, soymilk & salt to taste. Mash.
MUSHROOM GRAVY: Dissolve cornstarch in water in small bowl. Fry mushrooms with oil on med-low heat in small saucepan for 3-4 minutes. add tamari, pepper & potatoes to water. Bring to simmer for 2 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture and stir constantly on low heat until thickened.
Place Tofu mixture in bottom of baking dish. (I use a glass baking bowl about 6-8 inches deep and 10 inches wide) Then add mushroom gravy on top, followed by potatoes. Smooth top of potatoes and add a few pads of margarine on the top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately! Serves as excellent main dish for Thanksgiving and is well worth the time spent making it. *HINT* Get someone to help you prep and it will cut your time in half! ENJOY!
Serves: 4 as main/ 6-8 as side
Preparation time: a while |
Reader Responses
Nicholas Zinzer
26 Nov 2007, 17:46
Go vegan? Wow, this kid must be a communist or something (so says the
right-wing GOP). On the other hand, way to go Mark! No turkey should die
for anybody's sensory pleasure.
P.S. He's a member of SDS - we rule the entire world :-)
V
26 Nov 2007, 19:03
Really? Another SDS article, but this time hidden by only covering the
individual member???
Seriously, just switch the name of the Broadside to the SDS Chronicle.
TJ
27 Nov 2007, 05:44
Land of the free except when it comes to giving away free food. Thank you
big brother.
ske
30 Nov 2007, 17:01
Wow! What a guy. I thank you for doing this for the animals! Not to
mention a vegan diet is better for your health and better for the
environment.
Cato
30 Nov 2007, 23:03
O tempora, o mores!
The wacky SDSers are at it again!
But I didn't have turkey for thanksgiving. I had veal. So this guy can't
complain!
gmu student
01 Dec 2007, 01:08
more free food please
Satish Karandikar
02 Dec 2007, 20:27
Great job Mark! May God bless you! I would like to send you a donation so
you can have more such events. Pls let me know where I can send the check!
Mark Strandquist
03 Dec 2007, 14:09
Thanks for ALL the responses...I will definitely be doing more of
these...for the individual who ate veal, here's a good website about WHOM
you ate for dinner...and Satish, no donation is necessary, though it is
certainly appreciated, however I would love for you to be involved in any
way you can in the next event...please feel free to email me to discuss
this further!!
Thanks Again!...it was an incredible event and I'm glad it has sparked some
discussion around non-violent and compassionate lifestyles!
Mark......again!
03 Dec 2007, 14:17
sorry 'Cato'...I didn't include the veal website...craziness!
www.noveal.org/
tara
05 Dec 2007, 14:15
This is awesome to read about. Job well done. Admirable dedication and a
very easy to replicate idea. Hopefully people will do it for the Christmas
holiday as well.
Corinne
05 Dec 2007, 15:06
I guess the only excuse for "Cato" is pure ignorance. Im Vegan for life and
wouldnt change it for the world! If Cato only knew what happens to the
animal he eats maybe then he could be swayed but what he doesnt know will
eventully hurt him.
Amber
05 Dec 2007, 15:17
Thank you so much Mark for spreading such an important message through
volunteering your time and energy to help the animals. Millions of animals
are abused every day for the taste buds of humans and this should not
continue. You are a voice for those who cannot advocate for themselves.
Thank you!!!!
Amber in CA
xvelouria
05 Dec 2007, 19:33
What a good idea. If I could find a knowledgeable and willing friend (I'm
too shy to do this all by myself) I would love to do something like this in
my town! However, the cops are pretty on top of the free food handouts...
our weekly homeless breakfast had to be relocated to a parking lot on the
south side of town from the park in the middle of town due to all this
bureaucratic crap.
mady
05 Dec 2007, 22:11
Mason is an inspiration to us older activists. It is wonderful to see the
younger generation(s) (I have a 5 year old niece that hands out leaflets in
her community!) hard at work helping defend the innocent. My husband and I
fast for Thanksgiving in honor of all the animals murdered for the taste of
their flesh and tradition.
Keep up the great work!
Dhyana
05 Dec 2007, 22:15
We need more Marks in the world/ Thank You Mark!
Great recipes. Can't wait to try them.
FREE ALL THE TURKEYS!
suzana Megles
06 Dec 2007, 13:46
This 77 year old lady applauds
you for your courage and dedication.
I am glad that vegans can be found at
all ages though if there were a count,
I doubt that my age group would be well
represented. What a shame.
Melissa
08 Dec 2007, 20:54
Hugs for all the wonderful vegans out there!
carly
25 Dec 2007, 18:21
yay for you! I cooked a vegan meal for my family this year and they loved
it (my dad still bought a turkey...)
Coppervegan
29 Dec 2007, 20:26
Thank you Mark. It's wonderful being Vegan!!
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