Meat-eater wins vegetarian meal for daughter

Jones' family and closest friends gathered Thursday at her house in Delhi to give thanks and feast on the usual holiday fare, with the exception of the turkey.

This year, those succulent, steaming slices of white and dark meat were accompanied by an alternative vegetarian dish that was sent to her compliments of People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals.

As a winner of PETA's third annual online holiday essay contest, Jones was sent, via Federal Express, what is called the Holiday Wellington, a puff pastry filled with sliced seitan — a wheat-based meat substitute — cranberry stuffing, ruby red chard, tangerine yams and caramelized onions.

A Norfolk-based animal rights organization, PETA operates under the simple principal that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on or use for entertainment.

Jones, who eats meat, wrote her winning essay about her 28-year-old daughter, Carey, who has been a vegetarian since age 11.

"In the past," wrote Jones in an excerpt from her essay, "(Carey) has quietly eaten the side dishes and desserts and has been her always-gracious self. This year, I would like to offer her something special and fun to have at our Thanksgiving table."

Bruce Friedrich, a PETA spokesman, called Jones' essay "a powerful ode to her daughter's compassion for all beings.

"It tugged all of our heart strings," said Friedrich, who was one of the contest judges that picked Jones' and 17 other winning essays from a group of 1,500 entries.

Jones said she was surprised about being a contest winner, each of whom was allowed to choose between several non-turkey dinners — the tofurkey, the unturkey and Jones' pick.

"The tofu turkey looked OK," she said, "but the (Holiday Wellington) looked really good."

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