General Steve Smith and his wife Lynn

In light of the recent Veterans Day holiday, we’d like to point out the significant progress the military is making in the veg direction. For example, there has been quite a bit of progress at the US Army base, Fort Sill. The Guns and Rockets Dining Facility at Fort Sill, Okla., is setting a new standard for healthy food options by offering a 100 percent plant-based entrée during every meal. The fort commander, Gen. Wilson Shoffner, said he will be having his first plant-based Thanksgiving meal!

Meet Gen. Steve Smith and his wife, Lynn. General Smith is the chief of the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill. The couple have eaten a plant-based diet for five years. The General says, “I’m the lightest I’ve ever been, the fastest I’ve ever been, and the strongest I’ve ever been in 28 years of service.” This has been a big change to his Southern upbringing that included the standard American diet supplemented with fried chicken, bacon, country ham, and a lot of casseroles heavy on cheese.

The cooks at Fort Sill, getting a chance to be creative, have come up with new dishes such as a dairy free “cheese” sauce using potatoes, carrots and nutritional yeast, a combination that tastes like cheddar that the cooks then ladle over broccoli. It’s popular! The serving line typically runs out of the sauce half-way through the lunch hour. A plant based meal isn’t just for generals. 121 soldiers at the fort said they prefer Beyond Meat burgers at Fort Sill in the fall, 121 soldiers responded that they would prefer it over a beef patty.

Vegetarians of Washington invites you to join us in honoring all the service men and women, past, present, and future. Please remember especially all the vegetarians in the military today and everyday.