Vegetarians Give Meatless Thanks

The Harvard College Vegetarian Society’s Thanksgiving fell on a Monday this year, as the group hosted a Thanksgiving potluck dinner last night at the Lowell House Grille.

Alene G. Anello ’10, the group’s co-president, said that the potluck dinner was in its third annual iteration. It featured a lineup of food that included Asian fried rice, eggplant stew, roasted eggplant, and candied pumpkins, among other food items.

“It’s supposed to be an alternative to Thanksgiving,” said Anello.

Jessica M. Luna ’10, the group’s other co-president, added that the gathering provided an opportunity for vegetarians to celebrate the holiday together.

“A lot of people are the only vegans or vegetarians in their family and can’t eat a lot of Thanksgiving food, so it’s nice to have a space where all the food is vegetarian, and you can eat anything,” Luna said. “Also, a lot of turkeys are killed during Thanksgiving.”

The dinner’s atmosphere was welcoming, with soft music playing in the background and people conversing and laughing.

Anello welcomed everyone with an enthusiastic greeting.

Over thirty people came to the event, which is slightly higher than average for them, according to Anello and Luna.

“We have about two hundred people on the e-mail list, and between twenty and thirty come to our events regularly,” said Anello.

Many students attending the dinner said that they did not belong to the society and wanted to attend the gathering to enjoy the festive atmosphere.

“I’m not a vegetarian or vegan. I’m just really curious,” said Amanda E. McGowan ’13. “And the food was really good, too.”

Both co-presidents said that they were glad that non-vegetarians had attended the dinner.

“My mission isn’t to convert other people,” Luna said. “My mission is to show that being vegetarian is possible and delicious.”

The society has plans for a vegan ice cream social in the near future and said it is strongly behind Lowell House’s Meatless Mondays, which, according to Anello, is on the verge of being adopted by the Pforzheimer House dining hall.

The potluck dinner was not the group’s first event of the semester.

Earlier this year, the group filled an entire Science Center lecture hall for a debate between students and a representative from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

“We were worried that it would be hostile, but it wasn’t,” said Anello.