'TIS THE SEASON...of OVER CONSUMPTION!
by Barbara Roberts
Each year at this time I find myself trying to imagine a simpler holiday season, and what that might look like. There must be a way to lessen the stress and exhaustion, both to us and Mother Earth. So much of our holiday work involves carrying on traditions that have been passed down for generations and seem de rigeur, but they might be able to be modified.
So I think of the basics and purpose of Thanksgiving. It was originally celebrated to give thanks for a successful and bountiful harvest that provided enough food to last during the long winter.
Considering that I don't grow and raise my own food, I want the purpose of my Thanksgiving to be a time to feel gratitude and love. This doesn't require a massive meal, excessive decorating, long distance traveling etc, all of which make the season stressful. But family and cultural traditions and expectations do seem to require these things.
What is one to do? I have decided to make small changes to my traditions to try to avoid over consumption and negative environmental impacts. Here are some changes I have decided to make for Thanksgiving:
- 1. Compost, share, freeze, use ALL food. I have a rule at my house that NO food should be put in the landfill bin. Food waste in landfills is contributing to more methane emissions than any other landfilled materials. An estimated 58 percent of the fugitive methane emissions (i.e., those released into the atmosphere) are from landfilled food waste.
- 2. Plan and prepare plant heavy meals with meat as a "side" dish. I make the feast around plant based and sustainable foods, with perhaps a small locally pasture raised cornish hen, or local caught fish. I won't purchase turkeys shipped in from hundreds of miles away. There are so many yummy ideas: https://cooking.nytimes.com/article/healthy-thanksgiving-recipes
- 3. Buy only the amount of food that is needed and that most people will eat. I can't please everyone, so I try to make universally enjoyed dishes. I don't HAVE to serve "Aunt Matlida's" never eaten jello salad just because it's been there every year. (Try using this calculator to make sure you don't make too much. https://savethefood.com/guestimator/guests#guest-container
- 4. Use reusable dishes and flatware. If I don't have enough, I will ask guests to bring their own place settings. Eclectic tablescapes are pretty and fun!
- 5. Use organic and/or reusable decorations. I have real and glass decorations that I mix and match each year. I compost the real decorations or donate to an animal rescue.
- 6. Make Thanksgiving less about eating. I try to volunteer and pay my gratitude forward in some way.
But for me, the most important thing is to try and remember the basics of Thanksgiving. I give thanks for all I have, for the people and beauty around me. I try to ensure that Thanksgiving includes mindfulness and a time to reflect with God.
I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving!
