A Turkey Has a Carbon Footprint?

Want to have a greener Thanksgiving? You don’t have to be a crunchy hippy and eat tofu turkey to do it either. One really good way is buying only locally grown food.

Local food requires less fuel to reach store shelves. Most likely your turkey traveled by truck, probably from the leading turkey producing states like Minnesota or North Carolina, to get to your grocer. The cranberries are most likely from Wisconsin or Massachusetts, since they produce more than 80 percent of the nation's cranberries. If your from Vermont, that’s a whole lot of miles. When you add it all up, the average turkey feast for eight produces approximately 44 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. Yikes! Your food probably travels farther to get to your table than you do to get together with relatives.

Choosing local over store bought turkey is good for your health and the environment too. It tastes better than food that has to be grown and packaged for maximum shelf life. Also, it contributes more to your local economy, supporting local farmers. Here in Vermont we have a plenty of farms to choose from. Try Four Springs Farm or Bryn Meadow Farm to get your turkey. You can also get your produce from Champlain Farms.

For more information on making your Thanksgiving a bit greener, check out the Vermont Farms Association to find the farm closest to you. http://www.vtfarms.org/index.php

Not from around here? Try this online tool to find a farm in your area. http://www.localharvest.org/organic-turkey.jsp