8 Ways to Have a Green Thanksgiving

It’s that time of the year again, where as a nation, we collectively devote an entire day to gorging ourselves on rich foods and having awkward conversations with obscure family members. This year, why not help the planet alongside all the overeating with some of these stress-free green tips:

• Buy organic food—Organic foods are not only more healthy, but also keep dangerous chemicals out of the eco-system. For extra green points, see how much of your meal you can buy from local producers.
• Decorate with natural materials—Instead of buying some cheesy store-bought decorations, make your table green and classy at the same time with an assortment of pine cones, leaves and mini-pumpkins.
• Buy carbon offsets—If travelling is part of your Thanksgiving plans, consider buying some carbon credits to offset the carbon emitted during your travels.
• Eat leftovers—Sure, after a few meals turkey can get a little boring, but using the food that you’ve already cooked saves both time and energy. One great way to use leftovers is to make a soup with leftover vegetables and stock made from leftover turkey.
• Use your dishwasher—It may seem a little counter-intuitive, but studies have found that dishwashers actually use less energy, soap and water. Just make sure you air dry the dishes, as heat drying wastes electricity.
• Plant a tree—What better family activity could there be than to take time to go outside and plant a tree? Bonus: yard work can help burn off some of the calories from that second slice of pumpkin pie.
• Don’t put hot food in the fridge—It may be tempting to just throw everything in the refrigerator when the eating is through, but waiting a little while can help keep your fridge cooler, which saves both energy and money. Just don’t leave it out for hours on end, as you will probably end up with a nasty case of food poisoning.
• Always remember to reduce, reuse and recycle—These three concepts are the keys to green living. Use them to see if you can find some inventive new ways to cut your energy consumption. If you do, let us know about them in the comments!

Comments

[Amanda]

The graphic of a green turkey really freaks me out...
But the tip about not putting hot food in the fridge is a good one. It makes sense; it's just not something I had thought about before.

[Steph]

Agree with Amanda on the freaky green turkey.

For the organic food, if you need to be careful with your money, I'd say you should research which food give you the most benefit if you buy it organic. From the reading I've done, produce where you eat the outside of the fruit or veggie, like apples or lettuce is the most important for buying organic.