100-mile Thanksgiving

Eating small and local is more and more popular in this era of industrial agriculture. When the average meal in today's system travels some 1,500 miles on planes and trucks to get to your plate, it makes a lot of sense to try to keep it close to home. Not only is everything fresher and you can support family farmers in your area, but your carbon footprint is probably a lot smaller.

An organization that helps people take up the challenge of eating locally is promoting the 4th annual 100-Mile Thanksgiving, which challenges people to keep their holiday eating focused on their home turf. "We’re taking the harvest celebration back to its roots: fresh, local, seasonal food," reads the Web site.

The site includes stories of local Thanksgivings, including a list of traditional New England recipes, a story called "A Colorado Feast, Including Wine" and another titled "Northampton, New Hampshire, Even Found Flour." You can spread the word using downloadable posters, brochures, T-shirt designs and Web banners. And there's even a page of local food resources so you can get to work supporting your area's agricultural economy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Web banner courtesy of 100-Mile Thanksgiving