In the spirit of the season, COK volunteers are showing off their compassion and spreading holiday cheer by giving out free vegan food samples!
Texas is typically known for its cowboy cravings of meaty BBQ and chili, though vegetarian eating is gaining traction. Case in point: Austin’s Lone Star Vegetarian Chili Cook-Off! Our amazing volunteer, Amanda Sullivan, led the COK team in this serious cooking competition, delivering a mouth-watering vegan Pumpkin Chili that incorporated fall’s favorite fruit. Both the crowd and judges loved the hearty stew–people were even taking photos of the recipe! (included at end of blog)
Each Thanksgiving, countless among us find ourselves preparing meals (from entrées to sides to desserts) for unexpected not-yet-vegan guests or hosts. Suddenly, the pomp and circumstance of a holiday meal is combined with a high-pressure opportunity for great vegan food outreach. 
Referring to them as “birds of courage,” Benjamin Franklin believed the turkey should be named the national bird as of the United States (instead of the bald eagle). Perhaps he admired the intelligence, beauty or resourcefulness of turkeys – these are characteristics unknown to most Americans who, today, often view turkeys as little more than the center of the holiday dinner table. 
This holiday season, millions of families will gather together around the dinner table — with food as the center focus. 
Whether your political views are liberal or conservative, and even if you’ve already voted or are too young to vote, each one of us has an important choice to make today: 
Compassion Over Killing staff, interns, and volunteers celebrated Vegetarian Awareness Month all October long by distributing thousands of pieces of pro-vegetarian literature at the many fall festivals held across the East Coast.