Green Your Thanksgiving and the Planet Will Thank You

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, it is crunch time for food shopping and holiday preparations. I like to keep the environment in mind while I prepare so I thought I would share just a few of my tips with you.

1. Think about having a meatless Thanksgiving. Industrial meat production has a major (negative) impact on the environment. If seeing the documentary Food Inc. hasn’t curbed your industrial meat consumption yet, I’m not sure what will. If a vegetarian Thanksgiving won’t fly in your household, try to find an organic, free-range turkey (yes, it is more expensive but worth it for both you and the environment).

2. If an organic turkey isn’t in the budget (or simply not to be found in your area), try to buy organic ingredients for your side dishes and desserts, a meal without toxic pesticides is certainly something to be thankful for.

3. Avoid wasting food by cooking only the amount of food necessary. While we all love leftovers, three servings of every side per person is too much Mom!

4. Think about the packaging of foods when you shop – the less the better. I always try to buy fresh foods from the produce section instead of canned foods (can liners often contain BPA, an endocrine disruptor). I also usually skip those thin plastic bags for produce whenever I can.

5. Save some cash (for holiday shopping) and the climate….if you’re not eating at home for Thanksgiving this year, remember to lower your thermostat while you’re gone. If you’re hosting, with all the company in your house and food in the oven, you might be able to lower your thermostat a bit anyways while remaining comfortable.

6. Use dishes, silverware and cloth napkins instead of disposable utensils and paper products.

I hope you all enjoy a happy and festive Thanksgiving…and if you are at all like my family, you will be decorating for the holiday season first thing on Friday morning. More to come on that!

~J