Climate Corner October 2024 - Let’s Give Thanks for Sustainability

How to have a low carbon Thanksgiving and celebrate the bounty of our community.

As the leaves start to change colour and the farmers markets are filled with the fall harvest bounty it is a great time to reflect on ways to have climate friendly Thanksgiving celebrations. Food waste is a significant contributor to climate change as when food decomposes it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In Canada 58% of food that is produced is wasted which equals 56.5M tons of CO2 equivalent emissions.

Thanksgiving is a time for many to celebrate! For those fortunate to have means to access Muskoka’s local harvest or other food sources, this season can be a time of preparing large, celebratory meals. However, it is also a season where sometimes more food than needed is prepared and while “leftovers” can definitely be delicious, sometimes much food goes to waste.

Here are some ideas to help you reduce your food waste and carbon impact this Thanksgiving:

1. Buy local – the less distance food travels the fewer Green House Gases (GHGs) are emitted to get that food from the field to your plate. There are many farmers markets in the Muskoka area to pick up the needed items for your Thanksgiving meal. You can find a comprehensive list here, with the majority of the markets going until early or mid October.
2. Make a plan – a lot of food goes to waste when we make impulse purchases or overbuy what we need. Plan out your meal and make a list of what you will need. Shop your pantry first to make sure you use what you already have, which will save you money as well!
3. Leftovers – we all love a good leftover turkey (or tofurkey), stuffing and cranberry sandwich in the week after Thanksgiving but that can get old quick. Some more creative ways to use your leftover food are:
      a.  Make a big batch of soup with the leftover turkey and vegetables. Soups freeze well so you can
           store it for use over the coming months.
      b.  Boil the turkey bones to make your own homemade bone broth (a lot cheaper than store bought).
      c.  If you are vegetarian here is a long list of great ways to use up your leftovers, no turkey required. 
4. Composting – For any leftovers or food scraps you can’t use, its best to properly dispose of them in your green bin to avoid them going into the garbage and creating methane. Visit the green bin organics page at www.muskokawaste.ca to learn what is and isn’t acceptable in Muskoka’s green bin organic program.
5. Making the table – We all like to decorate the Thanksgiving table to make it a showstopper for the day of, but instead of buying exotic flowers, decorate with locally picked flowers, plants, or decorative pumpkins and gourds.
6. Did you know your Halloween pumpkins and Jack-o-Lanterns can go in the compost? Another great way to prevent food waste from ending up in the landfill.