Environment Wednesday: Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving! The best holiday ever! It’s dedicated to eating food, and that’s about it. Well, if you want, you can feel guilty about abusing the Indians, but I prefer not to. I prefer to think about all of the glorious, glorious food, and I am a Thanksgiving traditionalist, so I’m talking about mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, turkey, white (homemade) rolls, squash, corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, super-awesome roasted green beans and almonds, and so forth. I love spending all day cooking, and loading the table up with insane amounts of food.
But Thanksgiving does have some associated green issues which I thought I might address. That much food tends to lead to wastage and environmentally unfriendly buying decisions, and to a fair amount of fossil fuel usage. Now, if I was a self-righteous foodie, I might tell you to eat within 100 miles of your home, and to eat organic, and blah blah blah. But I’m not really in that mood today.
There are some ways to make Thanksgiving more environmentally friendly. The expensive options I referenced above are certainly one way, but not the only way.
Go Vegan
This might not be a popular option, but vegan food really is more environmentally friendly. And, as a veteran of vegan Thanksgiving, let me tell you that it can be pretty damn good. I do recommend making some sort of central protein. Some people like Tofurky, and that’s all well and good, but you can also make a seitan roast or something. The fun of Thanksgiving is the sides, though, and vegetables are awesome. Go crazy! As are mashed potatoes, which are easy to make vegan. Or do an ethnic Thanksgiving, which is what we did in my vegan days, with lots of Indian food, Chinese, African, whatever. Play with terrific food! Vegan Thanksgiving will also be significantly cheaper, and less, ah, overloading, for those of us who stuff ourselves to the gills and lie groaning on the floor each year. (Although one year, Tristan and I ate so much that we couldn’t move for around eight hours, and we watched Angel episodes while everyone else made fun of us.)
Stay Home
Ok, so you don’t want to go vegan. But how about staying home? Orphan Thanksgivings with a group of friends can be a lot of fun, and not traveling over Thanksgiving is a good call. You save money on pricey flights, spare the environment a plane ride, and get a chance to spend time with people you like. Most people go to their hometowns/parents/spousal parents’ for Christmas, so it’s not like you won’t be seeing those people. My father and I always invite a random assortment of people over, and it’s a lot of fun. In years when we haven’t been living close by, I’ve had orphan Thanksgivings which were equally enjoyable. If you’re a reader who usually hosts huge Thanksgiving gatherings, tell people not to come, and you’ll see them at Christmas. Imagine how relaxing it will be to not have to clean up a huge mess and deal with crazed family members.
Don’t Waste
Traditional Thanksgivings involve a lot of food, much of which seems to end up being wasted. Cut down on the total you make, and think of new and exciting ways to use leftovers. Make broth from that turkey carcass. Try fried mashed potato patties. Use those white rolls (which everyone seems to eat at Thanksgiving when I make them, so I never have any leftover) to make weird leftover sandwiches. Invite people over for a leftover party. But don’t throw food out. If there’s some Thanksgiving staple you hate, don’t make it. Be a rebel. Do you loathe green beans? Fuck ‘em!
Use Your Oven Wisely
Thanksgiving is pretty much all about baking, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use your oven well. Plan out your menu ahead, and think about how you can use the oven efficiently. For example, I often bake breads and pies the day before, all at once, taking an hour of very stuffed oven time instead of several. Map out your oven space, so that you can fit the turkey and those sweet potatoes you want to roast, all at the same time. Heck, roast vegetables right in the turkey pan for more flavor, less mess, and more oven efficiency.
Personally, I heart Thanksgiving, and I don’t see why anyone would feel differently. Food, glorious food.
Tags: Environment
With cold weather upon us again, I am trying to do my baking in the morning before work. That way, the oven can heat the house and we use less furnace heat (I leave the oven open as it cools off after baking and it does warm the house well).
That’s a good call. I bake in the evening sometimes too, to warm the house up for the night.