Environmental Impact of Thanksgiving

In a recent article, the American tradition of a Thanksgiving turkey for eight gives off about 44 pounds of carbon dioxide emission according to a study done by the University of Manchester in England.

The article explains that this carbon footprint is the result of industrialized means in processing and shipping turkeys for the Thanksgiving tradition. It takes many resources even carbon resources to raise and sustain animals stating that beef by far has the highest environmental impact. But in addition to cattle, raising fowls and fish releases nitrogen and nitrous oxide which also have a high impact on the environment. 

If you already felt like a gluttonous American stuffing your face with turkey and mashed potatoes you probably feel even more guilty! But not to worry as buying organic can leave less of a carbon footprint. Organic turkeys still require many resources that give off greenhouse gases in shipping, but its impact is significantly less than industrialized means. It is hard to avoid participation in the tradition of Thanksgiving so what you can do to help the environment is simply compost. If you are too full from turkey and your left overs are getting spoiled the least you can do is recycle. Hopefully you do not fall into a food coma and still can compost this year, but try to help out and reduce and reuse. Happy Thanksgiving!      

Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/sns-green-thanksgiving-carbon-footprint-story.html