Tofurky for You, Tofurky for Me

The table is set, the candles lit, and the wine poured. Now comes the Thanksgiving pièce de résistance: a big, succulent roast of…tofu? Heck, yes!—although, you might refer to it as “tofurky,” after the brand by the same name that hit the alternative meat scene in 1995.

Tofurky® was invented by long-time vegetarian Seth Tibbott, who had tired of Thanksgiving meals and their dearth of veggie entrées. “I had to personally struggle with what to eat,” he says—and he knew he wasn’t alone. It took years of failed experiments before Tibbott got the recipe right, however. “Every year someone brings up the gluten roast you couldn’t cut with a chainsaw,” he recalls. But he finally nailed it, creating a roast made of a tofu-wheat blend that promises “an incredible turkey-like texture and flavor,” according to its product description. Five hundred Tofurky® Roasts sold the first year—“a really heartening response,” according to Tibbott—and the numbers have since skyrocketed: Last year, consumers purchased 308,436 roasts (which can be found refrigerated or frozen, and with or without side dishes), and this year’s numbers have already topped that.

Tibbott spent eight years teaching natural history to youngsters (as well as searching for the ivory-billed woodpecker in Florida and Louisiana swamps), before venturing into the alternative meat industry. During that time, he was “living low on the food chain,” as he puts it, and became interested in foods made from soy. He eventually took the risk and threw his life savings into founding Tofurky®’s parent company, Turtle Foods, Inc., in 1980. It was a rocky road in the beginning—Tibbott cut down on his living expenses by renting out space in a neighbor’s trees where he lived in a self-built treehouse—but the effort seems to have been well-worth it: Tofurky®—whose incarnations now include deli slices and sausage, among other items—is the fastest growing alternative meat in the United States.

According to Tibbott, the main reasons people become vegetarian are for their health, for animal rights reasons, and for the environment. No matter yours, at least you know where to turn to stuff your gobbler this Thanksgiving.