Pam Arnold/The Ithacan JUNIOR DAN DUNBAR prepares an Un-Turkey for Boundless Ethics members.

Thanksgiving. Bring on the mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green bean casserole and Tofurkey.

Wait. Tofurkey?

The imitation turkey shaped like a bird is made from tofu and will be on several vegan students’ tables this Thanksgiving, as they come home to families with differing diets.

With a meal centered on a turkey, these students must create alternative options, whether it be no turkey, tofurkey or Un-Turkey. Un-Turkey is a wheat gluten “turkey” with skin made of soymilk or tofu curd and stuffed with bread stuffing and vegan brown gravy.

Ironically, November is also Vegan Month.

Members of Boundless Ethics, a vegan club on campus, will eat an Un-Turkey on Thursday in the IC Square at 7 p.m at an unofficial club function.

Junior Dan Dunbar, who began the club last year with a friend, said he likes fake turkey and feels there is no contradiction in enjoying the taste of a real turkey as long as there is no cruelty involved.

“Go Tofurkey. Even if you wanna shape it like the freakin’ bird,” he said.

Dunbar became a vegetarian his junior year in high school as a result of a crush, and shifted to vegan status one month into his freshmen year. He said he was on The Commons and picked up a book about being vegan. After reading it for five minutes, Dunbar didn’t eat eggs or dairy again.

Dunbar said the transition was difficult, not so much because of the food aspect, but because he didn’t have a support system. This led to the formation of the club.

Senior Emily Mietz, also a member of the club, will go home to two Thanksgiving meals. She has been a vegetarian since the age of 11 and a vegan for almost five years. Her siblings are vegans as well. The Thanksgiving she will celebrate with her parents in Cazenovia, N.Y., consists of a real turkey with tofurkey and vegan dishes also on the table.

Her second Thanksgiving will be a vegan potluck dinner in Syracuse that started with a group of friends seven years ago. Now the dinner is advertised through e-mail and last year hosted about 50 people who consumed three or four tofurkeys and side dishes.

Boundless Ethics focuses not only on animal rights but also on human conditions. The importance of being vegan is stressed, not just for animal rights, but also for the fight against globalization and corporate monopolies. The group wants to show that being vegan is a political choice and speaks against all the mass cruelties in the world.

At a recent meeting, 10 attendants munching on vegan cake from the ABC Café discussed making bracelets to give out to people to represent compassion toward all living animals.

When the topic of discussion turned to Thanksgiving, The Farm Sanctuary, a protective organization that takes in neglected or abused animals, was immediately brought up. The farm, located in Watkins Glen, rescues most of its animals from factory farms. The sanctuary seeks out turkeys so that they don’t become a main dish on Thanksgiving. The organization’s Web site provides a link to www.adopt-aturkey.org, which allows participants to “adopt” a turkey for $20. The donation provides funds for bedding, feeding and veterinary care.

As an organization, Boundless Ethics also takes a stand on the limited options available for its members in dining halls. While there is acceptable food available to them, they want more than just veggie burgers and will be going to Sodexho’s Food Committee to offer suggestions.

Freshman Melissa Friedman became a vegetarian three years ago because she didn’t want to eat unhealthy red meats anymore. She also decided to make the change out of a compassion for animals. She said she loves Ithaca because it caters to those who want a meal without any meat, but that she is not completely satisfied with Ithaca College’s choices.

“We kind of have to make do with what they’ve got,” she said. “They’ve got options, but they’re always the same.”

Friedman, who lives with her mom in Old Bridge, N.J., will go home to a meat-eating family. While they do make sure there is adequate food without meat for her at Thanksgiving dinner, she said her family doesn’t really understand her vegetarianism.

“They make an attempt to be there for me and they’ll cook extra food for me, but they don’t really agree with it,” she said.