No animal has to suffer or die for your temporary enjoyment. Not only does this lighten the load on the nine billion innocent souls captive in the industrial meat machine, but the weight off your conscience is enormous. You are not a passive consumer, tacitly contributing to brutality: Rather, you are rare, thoughtful, and living in accordance with your values. This Thanksgiving, be grateful that you have the insight that you do, and that the world hasn't deadened your sense of compassion. Your impact on the planet is lessened. From high greenhouse emissions to overgrazing of land, from polluted groundwater to overfishing of our oceans, the Western meat-centered diet has wreaked an enormous toll on the world around us and our natural resources. By choosing to be vegan, you are reducing your impact on our planet many fold. This Thanksgiving, be grateful that you have chosen a way to live that will help the earth sustain itself. You are not contributing to world hunger. A large ratio of the world's crops are fed back to 'food' animals, which then are fed back to the affluent. Needless to say, this is a very wasteful practice when so many millions suffer from malnutrition and starvation. Although world hunger is a complex problem more related to poverty, political strife and poor distribution than a lack of food, in order to address the problem, we also need to end unsustainable practices. Feeding many pounds of soy and grain to make one pound of meat is one of those unsustainable practices. This Thanksgiving, be grateful that you are not consuming wastefully. As a vegan, your diet is free is healthiest. Cholesterol is a major contributor to the number one cause of death in the United States, heart disease, and can only be found in animal foods. Diets free of animal products have also been shown to reduce the likelihood of certain cancers, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and on and on. Not only that, but vegans aren't commonly exposed to salmonella, E.coli or industrial toxins like dioxin, which is stored in the fat of the animals people eat. In addition to all that, our intake of pesticides is reduced and growth hormones are non-existent. Insurance companies are starting to catch on, so it won't be long before we're rewarded with lower premiums for what we eat - and what we don't eat. This Thanksgiving, be grateful that you get to enjoy the abundant good health that a vegan diet offers. You can include yourself in a growing and dynamic community. You should feel proud of the fact that the people who share your values are some of the most creative, active, intelligent and compassionate people on earth. Spend any amount of time scanning the Internet, and you'll find this in droves. From Joe Connelly and Colleen Holland at the new, fantastic and ambitious VegNews, to the indefatigable activists at Compassion Over Killing, we share space with some of the most dynamic, progressive people on earth. This Thanksgiving, be grateful for the community you share. Your diet consists of the most delicious and sumptuous food under the sun. From avocados to rapini, quinoa to mangoes, we've got a dizzying array of tastes and textures to choose from. The antithesis of restrictive, a vegan diet broadens one's culinary horizons, and you'll discover far more fruits, vegetables and grains than you ever imagined possible. Ironically, you probably eat a more diverse diet than an omnivore. This Thanksgiving, be grateful for the abundant, rich, flavorful plants that spring from the earth without harming it. You're helping to raise human consciousness. By living your life in accordance with your values, you are raising a powerful voice for compassionate living, and taking a stance against conformity and knee-jerk consumerism. You are setting an example as a person with individuality and conviction, and this can only help to inspire others. This Thanksgiving, be grateful that you have found a way to live that you can feel proud of, and that you are an example to others who want to live more thoughtful, compassionate lives. 5. Create the Thanksgiving you want. Imagine a Thanksgiving meal with pleasant, warm conversation. Imagine that the bowls and platters are filled with the delightful bounty of the harvest with nary an animal corpse or product in sight. Imagine not having to defend your diet to anyone at the table because they all understand. This can be yours. Why not host your own Thanksgiving meal, or, if it's too late to do it this year, plan one for next year.

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