If we decide that enjoying an eco-friendly meal with loved ones is how we want to give thanks for our time together on Earth, we can plan menus based on our environmental ethics.
Planning holiday menus is a tradition that has a global impact, given that feeding ourselves accounts for over half of habitable land use and a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans.
Whether you’re just starting your sustainability journey or ready to dive deep into life-cycle analysis, you can make wise meal choices backed by environmental science. This guide will help you enjoy a feast that protects our planet, empowering you to choose the level of commitment that works for your delicious celebrations.
• For a traditional Thanksgiving meal, purchase a turkey, sized precisely to your guest count: one pound per adult for leftovers, three-quarters of a pound for a single meal. By measuring portions of side dishes using USDA guidelines, you can minimize food waste: 3/4 cup vegetables and 1/2 cup starches per person.
• Choose root vegetables that can be stored without refrigeration: parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes and winter squash. This saves energy and leaves room in the refrigerator for other items.
• Look for seasonal fruits and vegetables grown closer to home when shopping in the grocery store. Often these items will be featured in a display and will be more affordable than when they are not in season in your area.
• Have a plan to compost vegetable peels, cores and other organic waste from your meal prep. Composting reduces methane emissions from landfills and enriches the soil.
• You can also seek out a heritage turkey breed raised on a nearby family farm rather than buying a production breed from an intensive indoor grow facility further away. Genetic diversity provides crucial natural resilience. Narragansett and Standard Bronze varieties are naturally resistant to common poultry diseases, reducing the need for antibiotics.
• Visit a farmers market rather than a supermarket to buy food grown locally and with minimal packaging.
• Cut back on the meat portions and increase the fruits, vegetables and grains. For example, instead of serving a whole turkey and planning a pound of meat per person, serve a turkey pasta dish so you can cut the meat portion in half. Your meal will still incorporate a traditional turkey meat flavor but with a much lower environmental impact.
• Use a meat thermometer probe to know when your bird is perfectly done. This will reduce your cooking time and save energy.
• Have a plan to compost all organic waste from your meal. Make it easy for anyone who wants to help with cleanup to scrape plates directly into a compost pail rather than into a garbage can or down a sink drain.
• You can even serve a plant-based meal with a centerpiece main dish such as a stuffed butternut squash tower, wild mushroom and chestnut Wellington, or a whole roasted pumpkin filled with wild rice pilaf.
• Strive for zero waste: Buy nothing wrapped in plastic so that you produce no waste that needs to be sent to the landfill as you prepare, eat and clean up after your holiday meal.
• Source ingredients that were produced entirely in your local food shed using regenerative methods.
Every food choice matters. Up to three pounds of carbon pollution per pound of turkey can be prevented by better practices raising, distributing, processing and preparing it. We can find ways to feast that promote ecosystem health, and the data show that we can significantly improve our environmental impact during the holiday season. So go ahead and invite sustainability as a Thanksgiving dinner guest!
Fred Horch and Peggy Siegle are principals of Sustainable Practice. To receive expert action guides to help your household and organizations become superbly sustainable, visit SustainablePractice.Life and subscribe to “One Step This Week.”