Opinion: The true spirit of Christmas? It’s vegan

Turkeys, cows, pigs, sheep, and all other animals form the same loving family bonds as humans do, and as fellow inhabitants of this Earth, they deserve some of that peace we preach, too.

As PETA’s Christmas ad is shown at cinemas across Derbyshire throughout December – showing a girl striking up a friendship with a cow who listens to her practise “Jingle Bells” on the trumpet – we’re reminded to consider the individual behind the meat we eat and extend goodwill to all living, feeling beings.

Fear not – all the taste and nostalgia associated with family traditions can be achieved with vegan foods. Much of what you eat already is vegan: vegetables, cereals, stuffing, chestnuts roasted on an open fire, and many condiments, from Chatsworth’s cranberry sauce with port to all Crooked Pickle Company relishes. Supermarket shelves are stuffed with vegan steaks, Wellingtons, blue cheese, and turkey crowns. You can even find vegan goose fat for your roast potatoes.

Of course, vegan food doesn’t have to come pre-packaged. Inexpensive whole foods can make stellar Christmas mains: simply swap flesh for mushrooms, lentils, or walnuts. Opt for milk and butter made from plants. For gingerbread and other Christmas bakes, replace eggs with various ingredients, from mashed bananas to chickpea water. Tried and tested recipes for every application abound online.

Want to support local businesses? Explore Cromford’s Scarthin Books’ treasure trove of books, gifts, and music scores, then relax with a vegan hot chocolate, homity pie, or ploughman’s in its café before finishing your Christmas shopping. Book your Friendmas dinner at Figaro in Wingerworth for festive specials like butternut squash, lentil, and roasted chestnut stack, followed by an indulgent Christmas pud and vegan ice cream. The Market Pub in Chesterfield offers a seasonal vegan tasting menu with cuisine styles ranging from vegan haggis bon bons to Korean chilli lettuce cups and desi-style aubergine saag, while The Magic Sunflower in Dronfield serves dishes as colourful as they are delicious. Join festive revellers in heading to Derby’s V Shack, which offers a wide selection of vegan Indian cuisine, pizzas, and more, or the legendary Globe in Glossop, a fully vegan pub and microbrewery for vegan pub grub and homemade nice cream, paired with one of its own real ales.

You don’t have to stray far from your favourite festive activities to spread peace instead of pain this season. Around 10 million turkeys in the UK alone suffer and die every year for Christmas dinners. Most cows will never experience the joy of a melody like in PETA’s ad, but 2.8 million of them a year will be loaded into lorries for a gruelling journey to a slaughterhouse, where their throats are slit, and their bodies are dismembered. Most animals raised for food spend their entire lives indoors on filthy factory farms, where piles of waste fill the air with choking chemicals and create a breeding ground for deadly pathogens.

Going vegan spares up to 200 animals a year, a life of misery and a violent death – and since it reduces an individual’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73%, it’s also the single biggest way we can help preserve the planet for Christmases yet to come. So, this year, why not give it a try? You might just find that a vegan Christmas is the most joyous one yet.

Oliver Robbins is International Direct Marketing Coordinator at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation.