Traditional Thanksgiving in a vegan world

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November 23, 2018

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving yesterday.

At this time of year, like most people, I spend time thinking about what I’m thankful for. This year, I am especially thankful for the health of my family, small farmers, and that I was able to attend the annual Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) Conference.

At the WAPF Conference last weekend, it was wonderful to be in my bubble. Everyone had an interest in a junk-free lifestyle - from nourishing food to EMF prevention. I was immersed in knowledge about the benefits of eating a traditional diet: lots of animal fat, lots of animal protein, lots of veggies and fermented foods, and a little carbs. It’s the diet that humans evolved thousands of years to eat.

So I get back from the conference, and then comes Thanksgiving. If you’re talking about traditional foods, Thanksgiving dinner should fit right in.

But… one of our family members is vegan. Gasp!

So, what does my family do? We veganize Thanksgiving, which moves it so far beyond a traditional diet. We replace the natural nourishing foods with factory-produced or GMO ingredients. We replace animal protein and animal fat with soy and vegetable oil. It’s opposite of the diet I choose to eat.

When a family that eats a traditional diet has as vegan friend over, they cater to the vegan. But it doesn’t go both ways. If I were to eat at a vegan family’s house, they wouldn’t serve me meat.

This really gets me thinking. There are so many varying food trends and doctors recommendations and even the USDA promoted food plate (formerly known as the food pyramid). They’re trying to solve problems created by an industrialized and government-subsidized food system with inaccurate science.

These trends and hopeful solutions go beyond home kitchens and infiltrate school lunches, restaurants, supermarkets, everywhere.

The current trend towards a plant-based diet makes me realize how my traditional diet is endangered and perhaps at risk of extinction. My diet is being pushed aside, and small farmers are at risk.

At the conference, Sally Fallon, founder and president of the WAPF, so eloquently explained that thirty-something small Wisconsin dairy farmers all went out of business in the same day last year. They were pushed out by government policy and big agriculture.

Listen, I’m not interested in changing anyone’s food choices (and I’m talking about choices, not allergies). Everyone should have the right to choose what they put into their body. However, I am interested in being proud to eat a traditional diet and share the benefits with whomever would like to know.

I urge you to bring your traditional foods to family celebrations and potlucks. I encourage you to be proud of how you eat.

When you bring those “strange” dishes to events, be prepared for the comments. “That looks like a heart attack on a plate,” or “That poor animal.” Be prepared for this with snappy comebacks. My favorites are “That’s inaccurate science” and “There’s death in all farming, even plant based farming.”

I also encourage you to put your dollar where your mouth is… or your mouth where your dollar is. Sally recommends spending 50% of your food budget sourcing from small farms.

I am so thankful that I still have access to the foods of my choosing, foods that maintain the health of my family. And, I am equally thankful for the radically traditional small farmers who work hard to bring those foods to my kitchen.What are you thankful for?

Opinion

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From farm to fork: Understanding the value of sustainable pork

Raising Pork the Old-Fashioned Way: Miller's Bio Farm's Commitment to Quality At Miller's Bio Farm, we're not trying to reinvent the wheel, we're bringing back the farming practices that sustained communities for generations. As an Amish farm, we understand that good stewardship of the land and animals isn't just about business; it's about honoring creation and providing wholesome food for families. When you buy pork from us, you're getting more than just meat. You're getting the result of careful, intentional farming that puts the well-being of our animals, our land, and your family first. Let's be honest: most grocery store pork comes wrapped in pretty words like "natural" and "humanely raised," but these labels often don't mean much. It's easy to put nice words on a package, much harder to actually do the work of raising animals properly. We'd like to show you how we do things differently here at Miller's Bio Farm. What Makes Our Pork Different Good pork starts with good practices. For us, that means healthy soil, happy animals, responsible harvesting, and thoughtful management of everything that happens on our farm. Here's what that looks like in practice: Pasture-Raised the Way Nature Intended Pigs aren't meant to spend their lives standing on concrete in windowless buildings. They're curious, intelligent animals that need fresh air, sunshine, and room to express their natural behaviors, rooting in the dirt, foraging for food, and socializing with other pigs. On our farm, hogs live outdoors on pasture in the woods where they can do exactly that. We move them regularly to fresh ground, which keeps them healthy and gives the land time to rest and regenerate. This practice, sometimes called rotational grazing is farming wisdom that's been passed down for centuries. When pigs root and forage on fresh pasture, they're naturally fertilizing the soil and helping plants grow back stronger. The land becomes more fertile season after season, storing carbon and building topsoil instead of depleting it. No chemical fertilizers needed, just pigs doing what pigs do best. This kind of farming takes more work than confining animals in one place, but it produces better results for everyone involved: healthier pigs, healthier land, and better tasting pork. Raising Animals with Respect Our approach to animal care reflects our values as an Amish farming community. We believe animals deserve to be treated with dignity and respect throughout their lives. Processing with Care When harvest time comes, we work with a small processor who shares our commitment to humane treatment. Our animals are handled calmly and respectfully, with immediate stunning to ensure they feel no distress. This isn't just the right thing to do, it also affects meat quality. Animals that are stressed at slaughter produce tougher, less flavorful meat. Properly handled animals yield tender, delicious pork that you can taste the difference in. Studies also confirm what traditional farmers have long known: animals raised on pasture produce meat with better nutritional profiles, including higher omega-3 fatty acids and more vitamins. Wholesome Feed, No Shortcuts We raise heritage breed pigs, traditional breeds known for their hardiness and flavor. These animals thrive on pasture with supplemental non-GMO grain, and they don't need antibiotics or growth hormones to stay healthy. In industrial pork production, antibiotics are mixed into feed daily to prevent disease in overcrowded conditions. This practice is creating drug-resistant bacteria that threaten public health, a problem we don't contribute to. Our pigs build strong immune systems naturally through good nutrition, clean living conditions, and low-stress environments. It's the way farming worked for centuries before shortcuts became the norm. Caring for God's Creation As stewards of the land, we take seriously our responsibility to leave it better than we found it. That's not just good farming, it's part of our calling. Building Soil, Not Destroying It Industrial agriculture depletes soil through intensive tilling, chemical dependence, and continuous monoculture cropping. This approach might boost short-term production, but it's not sustainable. We farm differently. Our rotational grazing actually improves soil health year after year. As pigs move across pasture, they naturally incorporate organic matter into the ground. Rest periods allow plants to regrow with deeper roots, which prevents erosion and captures carbon from the atmosphere. The result is living, fertile soil teeming with beneficial microorganisms soil that produces nutritious forage without synthetic inputs. Handling Waste Responsibly Large scale pig operations often store waste in enormous lagoons that leak pollutants into water supplies and release harmful gases into the air. These systems create environmental and health problems for surrounding communities. Our approach couldn't be more different. Because our pigs are spread across pasture and woodlands in manageable groups, their manure distributes naturally as valuable fertilizer rather than concentrating into a waste problem. When winter weather requires us to bring pigs into shelter, we bed them deeply with straw or wood shavings. This creates a composting effect that safely breaks down manure without environmental contamination. We also plant diverse pasture species specifically chosen to absorb nutrients and maintain ecological balance. Not all pigs like to go in the open shelter in the winter time and that's perfectly fine with us! The Real Story Behind Your Pork Chop Many people wonder which type of meat is most environmentally friendly. The truth is, it's not so much about whether you're eating pork, beef, or chicken, it's about how that animal was raised. Take beef as an example. You've probably heard that cattle are terrible for the environment. That criticism applies to feedlot operations where thousands of cattle are confined in small spaces and fed grain-heavy diets. But cattle raised properly on well managed pasture actually improve the land and sequester carbon. The animal itself isn't the problem; the farming method is. The same principle applies to pork. Factory farmed pork has serious environmental and ethical problems. Pasture raised pork from a regenerative farm like ours is a completely different product. One challenge specific to pork is that pigs need grain as part of their diet, they can't survive on grass alone like cattle can. This means sustainable pork production requires access to sustainably grown grain, ideally non-GMO corn and soybeans from farmers practicing regenerative agriculture. On our farm, we're committed to sourcing feed from responsible growers who share our values of soil health, biodiversity, and chemical free farming. What You're Really Buying When you purchase pork from Miller's Bio Farm, you're not just buying bacon or pork chops. You're supporting a way of farming that's been proven over generations, one that respects animals, regenerates land, and produces genuinely nutritious food. We're proud to raise pork the right way, even though it's more work. Because at the end of the day, that's what good stewardship looks like. And that's something worth bringing home to your table. Check out our: ✔️Corn & Soy Free ✔️ Vaccine, Drug, GMO-Free ✔️Heritage Breeds ✔️Woodland Raised PORK COLLECTION HERE: https://millersbiofarm.com/sto...

Traditional Thanksgiving in a vegan world

More from the blog

How to know if you can trust your raw milk farm

What are phytoestrogens and how can we limit them in our food sources?

From farm to fork: Understanding the value of sustainable pork

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566