Thanksgiving Feasts Hurt the Planet, But They Don’t Have To
As a rising number of COVID cases sweep across the United States, Dr. Fauci, the nation’s top pandemic doctor, has asked Americans to skip large gatherings for Thanksgiving this year.
Even before Dr. Fauci’s call to downsize Thanksgiving, the holiday was going to look very different from usual for many families. Fewer people are traveling, and more are facing economic hardship that makes it difficult to splurge on an extravagant meal.
A recent consumer survey found that nearly 70% of Americans are changing their Thanksgiving plans in 2020. Consumer research from Butterball and Hormel Foods, which sell more than 40 million Thanksgiving turkeys annually, found that the number of people planning to host only their immediate families this Thanksgiving has jumped to 30%, up from 18% last year. Kroger data shows that 43% of the grocer’s customers plan to host solely the people in their immediate household.
There’s nothing to celebrate about a pandemic that keeps us away from our loved ones. But we can choose to make this an opportunity to create more sustainable, less wasteful holiday traditions.
Each year at Thanksgiving, Americans throw away $293 million worth of turkey, or about 200 million pounds of meat. That’s the greenhouse gas equivalent of nearly half a million cars on the road annually. And it doesn’t even count the tens of millions of pounds of potatoes, green beans, dinner rolls and other side dishes that get tossed.
The repercussions of throwing out food are huge: Food waste is responsible for more than 7% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. And with fewer than 10 years to cut emissions in half to avoid catastrophic climate change, we can’t afford it.
Turkey farming takes a grim toll on the environment. A 2004 report from the Environmental Protection Agency found that an animal feeding operation with 1,000 turkeys produces as much manure as a city of 87,700 people. The turkey industry has consistently fought to weaken environmental regulations and reporting requirements that would hold turkey farms accountable for their air and water pollution.
Turkeys are also pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, contributing to antibiotic resistance. Since they take longer to grow than chickens, producers often rely even more on antibiotics. And like other industrial meat production, turkey operations are susceptible to disease outbreaks, including avian flu, which was found in a commercial turkey facility as recently as April.
Turkey is not only the most wasted dish on Thanksgiving, it’s also the one that comes with the greatest environmental footprint. Turkey meat is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, veggies and pie combined. It also takes more water, land and chemical pesticides to produce animal-based foods like butter, cheese, heavy cream and eggs then to produce their plant-based alternatives.
Despite the holiday’s problematic roots, for many people Thanksgiving has become a time for gratitude and feasting with family and friends. But the overabundance we’ve normalized at our Thanksgiving tables is harmful to people, the planet and wildlife.
We don’t need to waste food — and all the resources that go into producing it — to show gratitude for what we have. In fact the opposite is true: We should celebrate the end of the harvest season by dedicating ourselves to its persistence into the future.
To truly give thanks, our tables should honor the land and its bounty not through wasteful excess that harms our soil, water, climate and wildlife, but through sustainable traditions that allow us to keep growing the food we need. And to secure the cycles of life that bring its nourishment to our families.
So, in place of a large gathering this year, consider a small celebration that’s gentler on both your wallet and our natural resources. Instead of spending hours or days preparing an elaborate feast, reclaim your time by focusing on family favorites — whether that’s a pecan pie or a warm bowl of mashed potatoes.
And instead of making turkey the centerpiece, mix up your meal with delicious veggies, grains, beans or plant-based meat alternatives. Commit to ditching the national brands and fill your grocery cart with local food to support your community farmers.
It would be easy to spend this Thanksgiving in mourning for the pre-COVID days of sprawling gatherings and endless leftovers, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Our Thanksgiving guest lists may be smaller this year, but maybe that’s all right. Maybe it’ll give us a chance to focus on the essential — showing our appreciation for our lives through fellowship, care and connection with those we love.
Stephanie Feldstein is the Population and Sustainability director at the Center for Biological Diversity and author of The Animal Lover’s Guide to Changing the World.
