Green Your Thanksgiving: Consider the Turkey

Thanksgiving is Thursday! This week’s tips are about how to stay green during your mad rush to prepare.

Tip #1: Consider the turkey.

America’s more than 7,000 turkey farms kill 300 million birds each year and crank out 10 billion pounds of manure, much of which ends up in water sources. Consider, even just for one Thanksgiving, trying Tofurky or anther delicious meat alternative. For ideas about how to plan a vegan or vegetarian Thanksgiving (as one famous bird aficionado always does), go to GentleThanksgiving.org.

If you’re an omnivore who must have your Thanksgiving meat, choose a turkey that’s organic (for fewer synthetic chemicals in the animal, your body, and the land) and locally raised (for fewer transit-related emissions). If you feel bad enough about the bird you’re eating, you can “offset” it by saving another's life at adoptaturkey.org.

Tip #2: Decorate sustainably.

Tip #3: Get there responsibly.

Tip #4: Prevent food waste.

Tell us: What are you doing about the bird this Thanksgiving?