As far as winter holidays go, Thanksgiving is considered "low-key" and relaxed in contrast with the commercialism and consumption associated with Christmas.
However, Thanksgiving has a less-visible overconsumption problem: avoidable food waste, as Waste360 recently emphasized.
What's up with Thanksgiving and avoidable food waste?
Unlike Christmas and Hanukkah, Thanksgiving is not a gift-giving holiday.
Thanksgiving is formally observed in the United States in November and in Canada in October. As American Thanksgiving (Nov. 27) approaches, experts cited startling statistics about standard holiday food waste.
ReFED, an American nonprofit focused on reducing food waste, quantified the amount of avoidable food waste expected this year, amid an ongoing federal government shutdown affecting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
ReFED found that "more than 90%" of Thanksgiving hosts intentionally prepared more food than they expected to be consumed, partly because leftovers are a Thanksgiving tradition.
As roughly 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP face a November without groceries, per The New York Times, ReFED projected that households were "expected to throw away nearly 320 million pounds of food on Thanksgiving Day alone."
The same data indicated that 45% of hosts intended to distribute leftovers to guests and 46% planned to use them for future meals — but 12% hadn't considered the fate of uneaten food.
ReFED determined that food waste on Thanksgiving Day, which doesn't account for subsequent waste, added up to $550 million in uneaten food.
That's equivalent to 267 million meals that could have fed those in need, and this single-day waste could provide six meals for each SNAP recipient.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
|
How often do you make a meal out of leftovers? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Almost every day 🗓️ Why is avoidable food waste important?
As SNAP remains unfunded in November, the issue of hunger weighed on many Americans who could not afford food for the month or worried about struggling families.
Food waste is a multifaceted issue, though, and food security is only part of it.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, landfilled food waste is a lesser-known environmental threat. Food waste accounts for around 24% of all solid waste in landfills, and that's not even the core issue.
"Due to its quick decay rate, food waste in landfills is contributing to more methane emissions than any other landfilled materials," the EPA explained, adding that nearly 60% of unintended emissions of planet-warming gases are the result of food waste in landfills.
There are three types of food waste: avoidable, partially avoidable, and unavoidable. Thanksgiving food waste tends to be avoidable, particularly for those aware of the issue.
Minie Ringland, ReFED's senior manager of climate and insights, had a fairly simple strategy to cut Thanksgiving food waste that didn't involve preparing less food: planning ahead.
"If you are going to overproduce to display a sense of abundance, make sure you have a plan for leftovers," Ringland advised, per Waste360.
"Whether that's sending guests home with food, turning them into a new meal, or freezing them, don't let that extra food go to waste!"
How planning ahead helps prevent Thanksgiving food waste
Thanksgiving can be a whirlwind of shopping, cooking, serving, and cleaning up.
After the turkey is carved, the table is cleared, and the game of refrigerator Tetris is over, few hosts will have the energy to start strategizing for all that leftover food.
Before the big day, ensuring you can safely store leftovers and maximize shelf life will prevent waste. Shopping strategically for storage and reuse also helps.
It's common for Thanksgiving leftovers to get discarded when everyone tires of turkey, which is why creative use of leftovers and planning to freeze portions are both excellent approaches.
For leftovers that can't be eaten, composting food scraps keeps food waste out of landfills, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a guide for avoiding food waste on Thanksgiving.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
