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For many of us, Thanksgiving is not just a time to gather together with family and friends – it’s a time to indulge in a little excess. We plan a huge feast, buy festive new decorations, and probably stuff ourselves a little more than necessary. While all this can be fun (well, maybe not the part about eating too much), it takes a toll on the environment – Americans produce more waste during the winter holiday season than at any other time of year.
If we all restrain ourselves just a bit from the excess and practice a little sustainability, our planet will be the better for it. Here are a few tips on how to enjoy a more eco-friendly Thanksgiving.
Plan a local and seasonal menu. The good news is that many traditional Thanksgiving dishes involve ingredients that are in season at this time of year – not surprising, given that those traditions stem from a time when we didn’t have fresh produce flown from South America and available at our local supermarket. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, kale, apples, pears, and persimmons are all being harvested locally right now. You can find many of the ingredients for your favorite Thanksgiving sides at your local farmer’s market, thus reducing the carbon footprint of your menu while also supporting local farmers.
You can also source your turkey locally! Root Down Farm right here on the San Mateo County coast raises turkeys, and as of this writing their website says they still have turkeys available.
Include some vegan dishes. You don’t have to go entirely vegan to have a meal that’s a little more plant-based than usual. You can use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth in the stuffing, or saute your onions in olive oil instead of butter. Meat and dairy foods are big contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, so every time you choose a plant-based recipe, or even substitute a plant-based ingredient for a meat- or dairy-based ingredient, you’re making a difference.
Reduce food waste. As tempting as it is to load the Thanksgiving table up with a bountiful feast, food waste is environmentally damaging both because it wastes the resources needed to grow and transport the food and because food waste in landfills produces greenhouse gas emissions. Be realistic – if there’s really no way all that food will ever be eaten, even as leftovers, it’s time to drop some of the side dishes or make half of the recipe.
In San Mateo County, we have a curbside service that picks up our organic waste (both uneaten food and plant material from the garden) for composting. If you live in San Mateo County and you don’t have a food waste container, contact Recology San Mateo County – they will provide both a large bin to put at the curb on trash pickup day, and a small bucket to keep on the countertop. So make sure your guests scrape their plates into the food waste bucket, not the trash!
Minimize single-use plastics. On Thanksgiving, as on every day, you can avoid single-use plastics. Save the produce bags from the grocery store and bring them with you the next time you shop, along with your reusable grocery bags. Or you can buy reusable mesh bags for your produce, or simply skip the bag altogether (that butternut squash or head of garlic really doesn’t need to go in its own bag). You can also avoid plastic packaging when you shop by choosing items packaged in paper, cardboard, glass, or metal instead of plastic. In the kitchen, you can use aluminum foil (which is recyclable) instead of plastic wrap for many purposes. Remember, even if a plastic container claims to be recyclable, most “recyclable” plastics don’t actually get recycled into new products, so it’s best to avoid plastic containers as much as possible.
Use natural decorations. Baby pumpkins, fall flowers, bowls of apples, natural wreaths – Thanksgiving is a holiday tailor-made for decorating with nature. And don’t forget to compost your decorations once you’re done with them!
What are your ideas for making your Thanksgiving more eco-friendly? Tell me in the comments!
