The Pilgrims may have traveled quite a distance to celebrate the first Thanksgiving, but their food didn't. They learned to source their sustenance locally, a tough task in a new world, and they celebrated with a feast that eventually turned into modern-day Thanksgiving.
Getting food today doesn't require nearly as much work for most of us as it did for those Pilgrims in the 1600s, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't think about where it's coming from.
Dinner's Ready Concerned about the way animals are treated? Try celebrating this year vegetarian-style. There are so many yummy meat-free foods at Thanksgiving, you may not even miss it. But if the big feast just won't be the same without a bird on the table, look for pasture-raised, free-range turkey. This tells you that the animal lived outside, without harmful chemicals and hormones pumped into its body. Here are some other labels, classified by the World Society for the Protection of Animals, to look for when buying food:
A GOOD Start
"Cage free" (eggs) " Free range" (eggs, chicken, goose, duck, turkey) " Grass fed" (dairy, beef, lamb)
The "Good Start" labels indicate a meaningful animal welfare standard, but the standard covers only one aspect of animal care, and compliance with the standard is not verified by a third party.
Even BETTER
"Free range" (beef, bison, pork, lamb) " Pasture raised" (dairy, eggs, chicken, goose, duck, turkey, beef, bison, lamb, pork) " USDA Organic" (dairy, eggs, chicken, goose, duck, turkey, beef, bison, lamb, pork)
The "Even Better" labels generally indicate a higher level of animal welfare because the standards are more meaningful than those for the "Good Start" labels, but the standards are either not verified by a third party or cover only a limited aspect of animal care.
The BEST Options
"Certified Humane" (dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork) " American Humane Certified" (dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork) " Animal Welfare Approved" (dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, beef, lamb, pork, rabbit)
The "Best Options" labels cover multiple aspects of animal care, and compliance with the standards is verified by an independent third party.
To get your local store to carry products with these labels, just ask. Have your friends do the same, and the store will likely listen. You can download a request card to put in a store's comment box or mail to its headquarters.
The Ambience Decorate your table not with cheesy Thanksgiving-print napkins and paper plates but with pumpkins, gourds, apples, and all the other wonderful edible treats the fall season has to offer. If the thought of doing all those dishes makes you want to scrap the holiday altogether, try Preserve Tableware, an environmentally friendly alternative to the disposable stuff. The dishes and cutlery are made from 100 percent recycled plastic and are strong enough to be reused dozens of times (or just recycled when you're done).
Top off the look with soy candles and a few sprigs of pine, and you'll have authentic decor that would make even those who came over on the Mayflower proud.
When It's Over After the meal's done and the leftovers picked through, compost the rest. Of the waste Americans send to landfills, 24 percent of it is organic waste (i.e., kitchen scraps). Keeping that waste out of landfills saves space and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, making it a win-win however you look at it. Making your own compost is easy!