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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

Next Monday marks the first Holiday of our fall season. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is the second Monday, of the month of October and marks the end of the growing season in this climate region. At this time, nature begins its decline and becomes ready for winter. This was the time that the first settlers brought together all the types of food they managed to grow and hosted a feast for the season.

There is still fresh produce at roadside stands and at the local farmers markets. Now is a good time to pick up that fresh pumpkin, squash, corn, zucchini, potatoes and radishes. You can check the local grocery stores for local meat, ham or poultry or perhaps an organic turkey is more your style. There are plenty of places to buy local dairy products such as butter, eggs, milk and cheeses. .

When you start eating foods grown closer to home you are ready to explore what a sustainable diet should look like and begin to develop a relationship with the growers and producers.

We do live in a global culture that takes for granted the fact that we can eat strawberries from New Zealand in the middle of January or other fresh fruits from other far away places in the dead of our winter months. But at this time of the year our own local bounty, which can be bought and frozen for a later meal is much better for you and for the environment.

The result of eating locally produced foods goes above and beyond the reduction of greenhouse gases produced in global shipping, it is support for a local economy that in turn will also be propelled towards more sustainable practices. It is easier to make decisions about sustainability in the produce that you buy when you can walk into the local farmers’ market and see the produce fresh from a local for yourself. The food that travels a great distance then becomes the enemy of awareness.

On another note, It is rather ironic that recycling has always been an integral part of the Thanksgiving celebration. Just think – in the days following the meal, you find yourself eating turkey soup, turkey sandwhiches, and turkey pot pie. In fact, by tradition, no part of the turkey is wasted. When you get down to the bones it is time to compost. During the Thanksgiving Holiday celebrate wisely with you family and friends and help make dinner a sustainable event.

This Thanksgiving see what you can create with local ingredients in keeping with the spirit of Thanksgiving. A Holiday that was created to give thanks for the local bounty.

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