A Sustainable and Ethical Thanksgiving

The story of the first Thanksgiving is commonly portrayed as a time when friendly Indians greeted the pilgrims with open arms and feasted alongside them in harmony, though this is far from the truth.

Before the “pilgrims” (who at the time did not call themselves pilgrims) had landed in Plymouth, a village of Patuxet Indians had been killed by the spread of plague, which had been brought from Europe to America by colonists. Before the first Thanksgiving feast took place, Europeans had already captured Indians who had lived in Plymouth, and these Indians were sent back to Spain as slaves.

After the “pilgrims” landed in Plymouth in 1620, the chief of the Wampanoag confederation, Ousamequin, extended an offer to form an alliance with them. This was mainly a strategic move to ensure the safety of the Wampanoag tribe against their rivals, the Narragansetts. In 1621, the Wampanoags decided to let the English colonists participate in a tradition known as Nikkomosachmiawene, which consisted of food (not turkey, but deer and fish instead), games, story telling, ceremonies, and discussions about the state of Indian nations. This event is considered to be the first Thanksgiving feast, but Massachusetts governor John Winthrop officially declared the first “Day of Thanksgiving” in 1637, shortly after 600 unarmed Pequot Indians were slaughtered by Englishmen. After tensions were quelled by the alliance between the Wampanoags and the English, 50 years of colonial land expansion, spreading of disease (smallpox, measles, typhus, and others), and exploitation of Indians and natural resources led to King Philip’s War, which lasted from 1675 to 1676. The war ended when King Philip of the Pokanoket tribe (previously known as Metacomet) was shot and beheaded. This story is why surviving members of the Wampanoag tribe refer to Thanksgiving as a National Day of Mourning.

The history of Thanksgiving is not as uplifting as it is often portrayed, but it is important that we heed its lessons. Thanksgiving can be a time of celebration as well as a time when we acknowledge the needless suffering brought upon Native Americans by Europeans. It is important to celebrate this holiday in a way that honors the memories of indigenous people who were forced from their lands and killed. This can be done in several ways…

• If you are cooking a feast for the family, we recommend buying ingredients from local indigenous sellers. This website includes a list of indigenous-owned suppliers that offer food products.
• If you are looking for gifts for your family, this website includes a list of indigenous-owned businesses that offer a variety of products such as clothes, jewelry, and artisanal works.
• There are several indigenous-led movements that are working to address systemic issues that disproportionately affect native peoples. This website provides a list of indigenous-led movements that you can support through donations or volunteer work.
• Educating ourselves about the history of native americans will help us to have greater empathy for those who suffered as this country expanded. We can understand why aspects of our culture, such as the depiction of a Native American as a mascot for a sports team, is considered racist and offensive.

If there is any way you can support local indigenous peoples this Thanksgiving, we encourage you to do so.

We must also take measures to minimize our carbon footprints and reduce food waste. It has been estimated that Americans will waste up to 316 million pounds of food from Thanksgiving dinners, which is equivalent to 556 million dollars worth of groceries. 47.5 million people are experiencing food insecurity in the U.S., and what is wasted on Thanksgiving is enough to supply all of those people with five meals each. Food waste is also an issue because of carbon emissions and wasted resources. The amount of food that will be wasted on Thanksgiving this year will produce roughly 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions and will require 105 billion gallons of water to grow. 46 million turkeys will be consumed on Thanksgiving, and each contributes approximately 64 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. The wasted food will end up in a landfill and release 5,000 metric tons of methane.

To avoid food waste and emissions, we can do many things…

• Planning ahead by only buying enough food to feed the amount of people showing up for dinner helps to minimize the amount of leftover food. Applications such as the Save the Food Guestimator can help you determine the amount of food you will need to buy and cook to feed a specific number of guests.
• Having a plan for leftovers may seem obvious, but it is important, and can save a huge amount of food. Have space in your fridge for leftovers, and have tupperware ready in case any guests are interested in taking leftover food home with them. Leftovers are also easily stored in a freezer and can remain good to eat for months. Leftovers can be donated to local food banks as well. The Feed America website provides users with the locations of nearby food banks and volunteer information. There are also several sustainable food storage container options sold at Just Honest Living that can replace plastic tupperware.
• Try to use all of the ingredients that you purchased. Once all the meat is off a turkey, it is not necessary to throw it all away just yet. The bones can be used to make bone broth, which is soothing for the digestive system.
• When there is waste to be disposed of, composting is a better option than throwing it away. Composting can be done at home, as part of a municipality program such as curbside compost pickup, by contacting local farmers to see about donating food for compost, or even starting one’s own community compost program. Composting information can be found on the Environmental Protection Agency website.
• Trying a vegan thanksgiving dinner is one way of reducing the emissions from the processing of poultry. Or, if a turkey is a must for your family, cooking the bird in specific ways can reduce emissions. The Sous Vide and the Spatchcook methods are both low-emission cooking options. Above all, avoid beef. A dish of beef tenderloin may sound like a protein-packed complement to the Thanksgiving turkey, but beef produces around ten times the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that turkey does.
• Try to stick with reusable dishware and cutlery for your guests whenever possible to help reduce any plastic waste. If the guest list is long and the thought of doing all those dishes is too daunting, you can try some of these compostable birchwood cutlery and palm-leaf plates and bowls from the Just Honest Living website instead.
• Lastly, a huge amount of waste is produced on Black Friday, which is caused by the allure of lower prices and the subsequent spree of spending on products that are normally much more expensive. It has been estimated that as much as 80 percent of the items bought on black friday, and the packaging they come in, will end up in the landfill after a few uses. Making sure to have a plan for what to buy on Black Friday and being intentional about spending will help to ensure that less waste is produced and fewer products end up in landfills. To counter the extravagant consumption that is characteristic of Black Friday, the pioneers of the Green Friday movement began motivating people to spend their time outdoors, with family and friends, or giving their money to local businesses and environmental organizations as opposed to corporate conglomerates. This website provides information about the Green Friday movement and ways you can participate such as by purchasing handmade items, buying books for family members, planting trees, or simply putting the device away and stepping outside. It is important to remember, however, that buying in excess from companies that are notorious for greenwashing may not be as supportive of Green Friday or the environment as you may believe it to be.

Thanksgiving is a great time to get together with family and friends and share in the Earth’s bounty, but it can still be a holiday of environmentally-conscious celebration and remembrance of the suffering of Native Americans during the early years of this country as well. It is also important to use Thanksgiving as a time to be truly mindful of what we are thankful for. Practicing gratitude has been proven to be an effective method of resilience in times of hardship. Actively bringing our attention away from the things about the world that we wish would change, and focusing on all that is good, can help us foster a greater appreciation and more mature perspective on our lives. Leaning into feelings of gratitude should be a goal for all of us this upcoming Thanksgiving. Let’s have the holidays be a time when we take a pause from the busyness, stress, and hardship of our lives, and become mindful of all that we can be thankful for.