Thanksgiving is an American holiday that most of us celebrate every year, families join in and each brings their own food, dessert's, etc. But the main dish has always got to be the turkey and a lot of families also have a ham. Due to this, they are both in extremely high demand so stores have to order these in the millions! Approximately 46 million Turkeys to be exact and that's only at Thanksgiving.
22 million are ordered for Christmas, and 19 million at Easter. That's 736 million pounds of Turkey of which 200 million pounds get thrown away. Over 300 million pounds of ham was consumed in the United States just in 2011.
Most of the food gets thrown away
Now this might be shocking but the worst has yet to come. Most of it gets thrown in the garbage as it is not all eaten. Americans supposedly throw away over $165 billion US dollars every year in food and almost $300 million is from Thanksgiving alone, which blows my mind.
All that food and money wasted yearly could help so many homeless, or people in poverty around the world, I can't even picture what that much wasted food would look like as it's unfathomable. As much as 40 percent of our food gets wasted. most of the time, its because people think food is expired when its really not. Food expiration dates are often not reliable.Food lasts a lot longer than most of us think and it also often depends on how it's stored.
I lived many years without noticing this and have thrown away lots of things because of the expiration dates. I now properly store things by using a food saver which anyone can go buy for less than $100. I no longer throw away food like I used to. Freezing things also makes everything last much longer especially if its vacuum sealed.
Taking these steps can make your things last months longer.
Our native ancestors would be disgusted
Most of the food wasted is by the retailers that can't sell merchandise past the expiration so they simply throw it away. Thanksgiving has always been a holiday about showing gratitude for one another but how are we showing gratitude by wasting food especially if animals died for it?
Our Native ancestors would be disgusted. Lets not forget Pilgrims and Native Americans joined together for this holiday.
I am part Native American myself and my grandfather owned a veterinary hospital. My family has always shown great love for animals, so lets show gratitude for their lives and try not to waste the food they provide for us to live. Next time you sit and eat on a holiday, whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas or even Easter, let's take note and even ask for extra leftovers. Next time, let's not waste. There's always one in need who would appreciate a meal.
