There is a special kind of panic in a grocery store the night before Thanksgiving. Shoppers have armageddon mentality. Despite all efforts of preparation, you always need a few more things. Holiday anxiety is thick and the lines are long. Without fail, there is always someone looking for a last minute turkey. So important to the American Thanksgiving holiday is the turkey, you have to pre order weeks ahead to secure your bird.
But now, as if 2021 couldn’t get even weirder, there is a turkey shortage. Turkey supply is 24 percent below its usual pre holiday numbers and Thanksgiving is days away.
What will we do without turkey security? With nearly 9 in every 10 Americans eating turkey on Turkey Day, this supply shortage is a sign of something deeper: the heavy environmental strain Thanksgiving places on the planet and her resources. A turkey shortage is another loud alarm the earth is sending us about the urgency of our climate situation.
According to research done by Carnegie Mellon University, a 16 pound turkey emits 32.4 pounds of carbon dioxide. That’s a heavy load for the Thanksgiving table. Global food production, or the process of “farm-to-fork,” emits 17 billion metric tons per year. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, trash containers are brimming. And whether you are getting to Grandma’s house by plane, train or, automobile, Thanksgiving travel plans put a heavy strain on CO2 emissions. Thanksgiving puts Mother Nature through a lot of harmful damage.
The turkey shortage is the reality of both the supply chain crisis and the debilitating pressure we mount on our planet’s resources. But this does not mean Thanksgiving should be canceled to save the planet! No one should be discouraged from celebrating with friends and family to give thanks and eat good food. There are ways families everywhere can make their holiday cooking more sustainable. In the article “It’s Easy Being Green: Giving Thanks While Being Green,” American Progress stresses the importance of buying local food and only cooking what you can eat. Leftovers are great, but how much of leftovers eventually get thrown out a few days after Thanksgiving, uneaten? This Thanksgiving, try to stray away from paper plates, cutlery and napkins. Reuse hot water when possible and ask a neighbor for missing ingredients, instead of multiple car rides to the grocery store.
And while the turkey is the center point of many Thanksgiving tables, take a chance on a vegetarian option. While the idea of a meatless holiday may seem daunting, Bon Appetite has countless vegetarian dishes that keep the spirit of Thanksgiving intact. Green beans and mushrooms with crispy shallots? Brussels sprouts and cranberry sauce? Garlic-Miso butter mashed potatoes? Speaking as a non-vegetarian, I might just get converted.
Thanksgiving is a holiday of gratitude. Let’s show Mother Nature the same gratitude we show our loved ones. You don’t have to sacrifice being reunited with the people you care for most to be conscious of the planet. With lots of smaller adjustments to more sustainable practices, we can take a load of our beautiful planet.