US state suggests vegan Thanksgiving as inflation soars

The St. Louis Federal Reserve has caused outrage by boldly recommending Americans choose a cheaper “soy-bean based dinner” for Thanksgiving amid soaring inflation rates.

In a recent blog post, the Missouri-based federal bank compared and contrasted the prices of poultry to soybeans, the main ingredient for tofu, which some vegans use to make tofurkey as a Thanksgiving replacement. 

A poultry dinner will cost Americans over twice what a soy-based dinner would set them back. According to the bank’s data, poultry’s global price has averaged six times higher than soybeans since 1990. 

The blog claims that a soybean dinner would also provide “twice as much protein,” but this is only if you eat the calories equivalent to turkey. 

“This plant-based meal would be almost 3 times larger by weight than the poultry-based meal and may either keep you at the dinner table longer or provide you with more leftovers,” the post reads.

The recommendation comes as industries are raising their prices as costs soar due to supply chain issues and worker shortages – a situation that has seen inflation rise to historic levels. The White House claims the issue will be addressed by President Joe Biden's Build Back Better spending plan.

Many on social media were outraged at the idea that Americans should even have to scrimp on Thanksgiving celebrations while they also face rising costs for gas and other supplies.

“While they print money for their banker friends and increasingly make your savings worthless, they tell you to eat soy for Thanksgiving while they eat like kings on your dime,” the Federalist’s Sean Davis tweeted in reaction. 

“And for Christmas you can have earth worms and cockroaches,” conservative author and Senate candidate JD Vance wrote.

According to the American Farm Bureau, Thanksgiving dinners for Americans will be an average of 14% higher than last year. The group estimates a meal for 10 will cost an average of $53.31, a more than $6 increase from the estimated average in 2020. 

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