The Vegetarian

Thanksgiving is but the American name for an annual feast which has been held since man first became a tiller of the soil.  The ancients celebrated the festivity under a variety of names.  Always there was the same idea of thanksgiving underlying the theory of the feast.  The moving spirits, elements, gods or God has blessed the crops with rain and sunshine, therefore an offering should be made and thanks given.  The old pagan idea was that of paying a debt with sacrifices, so that the gods would be as considerate next time.

I'm speaking of this bit of history in order that you will not think that we are the only nation that ever had a Thanksgiving.  The Romans and Greeks ate and drank until they could hold no more, then spewed it up and began it all over again.  They generally were disabled for weeks by this spree, but that mattered little; they thought that they had delighted the heart of the god who graced the occasion.  We have progressed little.

We call ourselves "civilized," and pretend to give thanks to a great loving father for his goodness.  To show and just how thankful we are, we slaughter his creatures and sacrifice them on the altar of our stomachs.  Then with our bellies full, we lie in the chimney corner to slumber through the holiday.  How many of us really appreciate the spirit of Thanksgiving.  It is a day for Spiritual feasting; a day of communion with God; a day of meditation; a day for appreciating his bounties and developing love for the little brothers and sisters whom he has intrusted to our care. 

Nearly every magazine has a great frontspiece with the legend, "Thanksgiving Number." Right near this is a picture of the dead body of a turkey, scorched and smoking.  Our mouths are supposed to water at the thought of this delicious bit of flesh.  Were it the body of a human we should consider the picture disgusting and would be nauseated; we should sigh a prayer for the departed spirit, and contemplate a burial of the poor foresaken temple.  But, dear reader, when we see this dead turkey we are supposed to imagine a dainty morsel of food.  It is designed to stimulate the appetite.  Physiologically, chemically and logically there is not one whit of difference between the flesh of the turkey in that of the human.  They're both putrefying corpses, filled with the products of disintegration.

I shall not dwell on the moral side of the question.  It is too loathsome to conceive of man's claiming to give thanks to his creator by assassinating hundreds of thousands of his other fellow created beings.-- "Veg."

THE VEGETARIAN TABLE

[ This page continued with recipes that have not been reproduced here. The recipes were for chestnut soup, corn pone, cheese ramekins, millennium-ized eggplant, and date muffins. If you would like to try these recipes, contact the Fillmore Institute for a copy of the original article or visit the Unity Archives to copy the original article. -- REPRINT EDITOR. ]

THAT PEANUT BUTTER

That delicious peanut butter which tastes like peanuts and does not cling to the roof of the mouth, may be had postpaid any place in the United States on receipt of price. It used to be called "Unity Peanut Butter;" now it is called "Ideal"--all the same.  The price is but 25 cents a pound, postpaid. Slip a dollar bill into an envelope and say "Peanut Butter." Four pounds of the most nourishing and palatable nut butter ever made will come sailing home to you.

How can the food store sell it so cheaply? Well, we simply refer your order to the manufacturer and he does the rest.  We turn  whatever profit might come to us, into paying transportation to you. The manufacturer is pleased, you are pleased, and we are made happy in serving you.   Send orders to Unity Pure Food Co., 917 Tracy Ave., Kansas City, Mo.