12 tips for a GREEN Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is around the corner for some of us. If you celebrate it you know how non-environmentally friendly it can be. If your are looking for ways to green it up this year, here are some quick green tips to make your Thanksgiving as eco-friendly as possible.




1. Turkey Compromise. The most obvious eco-solution is to not buy a turkey and just have a complete vegan meal, especially if you’ve recently filled you head up on all the recent news on the environmental impact of eating meat, but your family has decided to go against the idea. You want you and your family to be happy so you make a compromise (no, not a soy shaped into a turkey). To compromise you can do several things:



a. You can buy and cook the turkey give it to your family and not eat it yourself. Eat a delicious organic salad, with cherries and nuts and homemade dressing, but unless you are already vegan or vegetarian, do you really have the will power to smell the turkey and not eat it?



b. Buy an organic Free-Range Turkey. An organic free range turkey is suppose to be turkey that is not in cages and is allowed to move about the yard. Some informative sites to turn to to make sure you are getting exactly what you are looking for are Really Natural and Free Range Turkeys.



c. Yes, organic free-range turkeys can be expensive so if it doesn’t fit in your budget this year consider another alternative. Buy a regular turkey and the rest of your food organic. Local Farmers market is a good place to look for organic fruits and veggies, but if there isn’t one near your area buy organic from your local grocery store.



2. Organic. Buy everything you can buy organic, milk, meat, veggies, fruits, etc. This includes any boxed or canned items you may purchase. Remember to go online and search for Organic coupons. This will help cut down the cost of your Thanksgiving feast



3. Packaging. When you go to the store buy things that have the least amount of packaging and try to buy packaging that is environmentally friendly.



4. Don’t cook so much. Yes, “it is better to have more than not enough” but is it really necessary to count 3 servings per person? Isn’t that a bit much? Think about all the left overs you had last year and then cut down on that amount of servings if you are going to have the same amount of people over this year. . Between the turkey, the many side dishes and the desserts there is plenty of food to stuff everyone and more. If you accidentally do make too much food or someone cancels, give the leftovers away to family and friends, Don’t let them mold up in the fridge.



5. Dinnerware and silverware. It’s okay to use your good dishes or even your regular dishes for Thanksgiving. It is a celebration after all, but if the thought of washing so many dishes is terrifying look into biodegradable or bamboo disposable dishes.



6. Beautiful weather outside. A lot of bodies in one house can make the place warm so if its cool outside open up some windows to help the place cool down, instead of turning on the AC.



7. Decorations. Reuse your old decorations from last year in new way or just make some new ones. Use items from your back yard and fall fabric colors if you have any to make a nice centerpiece. As always the Internet is a great resource for creative ideas. Any bought decorations should also be environmentally friendly, that includes flowers, plants and so on.



8. 100-Mile. Participate in the 100-Mile Thanksgiving challenge from Treehugger. If you haven’t heard of it yet click on the link here.



9. Plant a tree. Winter season is a good time to plant trees and shrubs so take this time to plant a tree and keep the green growing.



10. Carbon credits. If you must fly or drive to visit family this Thanksgiving consider purchasing carbon credits to make up for it.



11. Donate your turkey fat. No, not the fat you put on from eating the turkey, but the actual fat from the cooked Turkey. Can you believe a Tucson-based company recycles Turkey fat into Biofuel? Check to see if a company in your community does too.



12. Say Thanks..