Eco-friendly Thanksgiving Grub

All hail feasting season! There's no shame in enjoying a hearty Thanksgiving meal, but one word of caution: gobbling gobs of the good stuff will inflate your carbon footprint.

If you know where to look, though, you can be both green and happy this holiday season. As an eater, you vote with your pocketbook, so you should be putting your money where your mouth is.

Most of the food Americans eat is trucked 1,300 to 2,000 miles before it reaches our tables. Eating local can solve that problem, so check out the directory of local food purveyors at the Local Harvest or Sustainable Table Web sites to see farms, organic groceries, community gardens and co-ops in every region.

By choosing some varieties of foods over others, you might help save a species from extinction. Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste program preserves endangered food species by getting them on consumers' radar screens.

The principle even applies to the main event, the turkey. Most turkeys raised by industrial agriculture are the broad-breasted white breed, but there are plenty of other types out there, many of them in danger of being overwhelmed by the broad-breasted white tidal wave. You can make a difference in these breeds' future by going for a heritage turkey this Thanksgiving. Try Heritage Foods USA to find a variety of options.

Of course no holiday meal is complete without some choice beverages. You'll likely be surprised at the local options. Look for local wineries, breweries, and distilleries. Or for the nonalcoholic among you, check out local apple orchards to pick up bottles of that favorite fall treat, apple cider. Photo courtesy of xybermatthew, via Flickr