Originally, Thanksgiving was a day used to celebrate and give thanks for the abundant harvest that had come in at the end of the growing season.A harvest that uses the Earth’s land and water to provide families with food for the winter. Today, the reason for this special day can sometimes be forgotten. With Thanksgiving coming up this weekend, there are many things we can do to make the holiday a less wasteful and more eco-conscious celebration. We can go back to our roots and personally give thanks to the harvest through our selection of items for the holiday feast.
Go to a farmer’s market and purchase local, organic fresh harvest foods. Many of the main ingredients of a traditional thanksgiving dinner come from the market. Potatoes, yams, squash (butternut and spaghetti!) corn, cranberries, apples, pears as well as homemade jams, spices, and dessert wines. Spending your day in the fresh fall air with a basket in hand, talking to local farmers sounds like a much nicer day than one spent indoors at a hectic supermarket. You could even take a trip out to your local farm with your family and show them what the holiday is all about. Have your children pick out a pumpkin for fresh pumpkin pie and pumpkin seeds to snack on.
Try This! Take treehugger.com’s 100 mile Thanksgiving challenge: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/10/treehugger_100.php
Bring out the china. Many families opt out of using their best holiday silverware and dishes and instead pull out the paper plates and plastic cups. Your china is there to use during a celebration, so use it! Not only will your table look beautiful but you’ll also be helping the planet.
Don’t make too much! Yes, it’s better to have more than not enough but if food is going to go to waste later, consider buying and making a little less. Not everyone is going to eat three helpings! If you still have leftovers, have your quests bring their own tupperware to take food home with them.
Decorate naturally. If you like to decorate your home to make the holidays feel even more special, think outdoors. Mini pumpkins, squashes, dried berries, branches and fallen autumn leaves are a great substitute for the plastic stuff you can buy at the store. Fresh flowers from your local florist are a great centerpiece and smell nice too!
The Turkey dilemma. And then there’s the big bird; the focal point of most families’ dinner tables this weekend. There are few people who are willing to compromise their tradition and forego the turkey, so if you are having a Turkey this Thanksgiving, here are some things to think about:
- If you’re buying a turkey from the supermarket, you might want to find out where that turkey came from. Some poultry farms have been known to mistreat animals. For more info go here: http://www.goveg.com/feat/butterball/butterball.asp
- Just like the delicious vegetables you purchased from the farmer’s market, why not buy your turkey in the same way? Find a local, organic, free-range turkey. This ensures your turkey had the freedom to run free during its life and wasn’t pumped up with antibiotics and growth hormones. Heritage breeds are also a great choice and are raised in the traditional manner.
