What Most People Don't Realize is Behind Their Thanksgiving Dinner

From USDA:

Posted by Carolyn Miller, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Connecticut, on November 24, 2014 at 2:00 PM

After composting, the leftover animal materials and waste are no longer recognizable. Instead, they become healthy, organic fertilizer. NRCS photo courtesy Analia Bertucci.

You can picture it now, can’t you? The familiar sounds of a parade or football game playing on the TV while little ones chase each other through the house. More friends and family members than you can ever remember in one place at the same time. And the aroma … those delightful smells that let you know it’s a holiday.

You see the table surrounded by mismatched chairs, dinnerware and cutlery. And on that table, neatly decorated with the rich colors of the season, sit bowls filled with traditional fare and in the center of it all, the pièce de résistance – the golden brown bird around which the entire meal is built. Turkey. The year’s most prestigious meal!

Chances are, as you sit down to that mouthwatering Thanksgiving dinner, the last thing on your mind is a compost facility, or prescribed grazing, or any other conservation practice. In fact, unless you’re either a farmer or employed by USDA, you’ve probably never even heard of them. But these conservation practices all have a lot to do with the food products you consume.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) works with farmers and ranchers all across the country to keep the nation’s soil, water, animals, plants and air healthy, in turn, helping keep all of us healthy.

How does it work? Let’s use the example of Ekonk Turkey Farm, in Moosup – Connecticut’s largest pasture-raised turkey producer. Each year, this family-run business produces 3,000 turkeys and more than 2,000 chickens, along with geese and capons.

Farm owners Rick and Elena Hermonot have been working with NRCS since 2010. Through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, they have been able to implement a nutrient management plan, and install an efficient composting system that allows them to combine all the leftover animal materials and waste and have it break down naturally, leaving them with clean, healthy compost that they use to fertilize their fields.

This type of system also ensures that waste doesn’t get washed off the fields into groundwater or local waterways, keeping your water clean.

The Hermonot’s have also worked with NRCS to implement a prescribed grazing system that allows the fowl to roam free and eat a healthy diet from the pasture.

So whether you’re a vegetarian or a carnivore, you benefit because the programs that NRCS offers and that producer’s voluntarily implement help to keep our food supply safe and healthy, and that is something for which to give thanks!

Turkeys at the Ekonk Turkey Farm, in Moosup, Connecticut, roam free. The family-run business annually produces 3,000 turkeys. NRCS photo courtesy Analia Bertucci.

Thanksgiving Is a Great Time to Start Reducing Food Waste with Friends & Family

From USDA:

Posted by Dr. Elise Golan, USDA Food Waste Challenge Team, on November 24, 2014 at 1:00 PM

On average, these polts will take 4 to 5 months to make weight. It takes a lot of natural resources, energy, labor, and love to raise the estimated 46 million turkeys that will be consumed this Thanksgiving. Show your appreciation by making sure you waste as little food as possible. Photo courtesy of USDA.

Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate all that is good in our lives and to spend it in the company of friends and family while enjoying great food.  It is also a time to reflect on the bounty of our food supply.  Each year, as I put away the leftovers from my Thanksgiving dinner, I marvel at the abundance.

I also can’t avoid pausing to consider how much food is wasted in this country.

USDA estimates that on average, American consumers waste about one-fifth of food that is available to them, equivalent to about $371 per person annually.  That’s enough money to buy about 21 whole turkeys for each person in the country.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could make reducing food waste one of our Thanksgiving traditions?  A tradition we practice throughout the year?

Reducing food waste starts with meal planning.

Before you start shopping, take stock of what you have in your refrigerator and cupboards so that you don’t end up tossing extras.  A friend of mine uses an “Eat Me First” bin, so that the most perishable items are not lost at the back of the refrigerator. On Thanksgiving, using up the food currently in your refrigerator is particularly important to clear room for all of those Thanksgiving ingredients and post-Thanksgiving leftovers.  Careful menu planning and portion control helps to minimize waste.  When buying a turkey, USDA recommends allowing for one pound of turkey per person.

Thanksgiving leftovers can be substantial, particularly when the gatherings are large.  Take time to make sure leftovers are refrigerated within two hours from when they are hot and have guests leave with something tasty to take home and eat later.  Leftovers can be delicious and the reason for gathering once more with friends and family.

Many of my friends host Leftover Parties the day after Thanksgiving, which can sometimes spark debate among the partygoers as to whose pecan pie was better.  “The Friday after Thanksgiving is like a de facto National Leftovers Day – it’s the one day of the year where almost everyone enjoys leftovers,” says Jonathan Bloom, a food-waste author and blogger.  Of course, if you don’t have time to party with leftovers, you can simply store them.  Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for three to four days or safely frozen for up to a year.

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to begin food waste reduction strategies in your household that can gradually become habit for every day of the year.  No one wants to throw delicious Thanksgiving food into the trash or compost bin, but shouldn’t we treat all food that we eat with the same amount of respect year-round?

So here’s a toast to a Happy and Food Waste Free Thanksgiving.

Cedar Waxwing

From U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region:

Cedar waxwings love fruit! You can welcome them into your yard by planting native trees and shrubs that bear small fruits, like cedar and winterberry.

Photo: Cedar waxwing courtesy of Michelle Marinacci.

Short-eared Owl

From U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region:

Short-eared owls spend their summers in Canada and can be found throughout most of the U.S. in the winter and during migration.

Photo: Short-eared owl in Indiana courtesy of Steve Gifford.

Downy Woodpecker

From USFWS_Migratory Birds:

Among the species migrating this month are Downy Woodpeckers. You may have seen these active little birds at your feeder or local park – they prefer open woodlands, particularly among deciduous trees, and brushy or weedy edges. In winter, Downy Woodpeckers frequently are part of mixed species flocks, meaning they spend less time watching out for predators and have better luck finding food from having other birds around. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1yyWhcm

Downy Woodpecker/Kelly Colgan Azar/CC BY-N.D. 2.0

U.S. Clean Water Act Settlement in Lima, Ohio, to Reduce Sewage Overflows

From EPA:

U.S. Clean Water Act Settlement in Lima, Ohio, to Reduce Sewage Overflows

For Immediate Release                                                               No. 14-OPA119

CHICAGO (Nov. 20, 2014) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the State of Ohio today announced a Clean Water Act settlement with the City of Lima, Ohio, to resolve claims that untreated sewer discharges were released into the Ottawa River during wet weather. The proposed consent decree, lodged yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, requires Lima to make major structural improvements to control combined sewer overflows and to eliminate overflows from the sanitary sewer system. 

“The consent decree prevents sewer overflows into the Ottawa River,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman. “Lima will make critical upgrades to the City's wastewater treatment infrastructure on a schedule that ensures affordability.”
 
The proposed consent decree requires the City to more than double wastewater treatment capacity – from 30 million gallons a day to 70 million gallons a day. The City will reduce sewer overflows by fully or partially separating storm water and sewer lines, constructing a new 13-million gallon storage tank and installing a pump system. These actions are expected to significantly reduce Lima’s combined sewer overflows over the next ten years, while sanitary sewer overflows will be eliminated in stages throughout the life of the consent decree. These and other improvements will cost an estimated $147 million. The City will also pay a civil penalty of $49,000, to be split evenly between the United States and State of Ohio.

In addition, the City agreed to remove and replace dead or compromised trees along the banks of the Ottawa River. This estimated $218,000 revitalization project is expected to improve water quality and benefit the aquatic ecosystem in the Ottawa River.

Keeping raw sewage and contaminated storm water out of the waters of the United States is one of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives. Raw sewage and contaminated storm water contain pathogens that threaten public health and the environment. EPA is focused on reducing discharges from sewer overflows by obtaining commitments from cities to implement timely, affordable solutions.

The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.  It can be viewed at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html

EPA to Assist Seminole Tribe of Florida Bolster Climate Resilience and Readiness

From EPA:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2014
EPA to Assist Seminole Tribe of Florida Bolster Climate Resilience and Readiness

Contact Information: Dawn Harris Young, EPA, (404) 562-8421 (Direct), (404) 562-8400 (Main), harris-young.dawn@epa.gov

ATLANTA –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing up to $600,000 in training and technical assistance to help water utilities in more than 20 communities, including the Seminole Tribe of Florida, bolster their climate change resilience and readiness.

“Climate change isn’t a distant threat – it is already impacting communities across the country,” said Ken Kopocis, deputy assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Water. "EPA is helping water utilities plan for and adapt to these challenges to ensure that they can continue to meet their public health and environmental missions no matter what circumstances may arise in the future.”

Drinking water, wastewater and stormwater utilities will participate in a multi-year program to prepare for potential impacts from climate change. Challenges include droughts, more intense and frequent storms, flooding, sea-level rise and changes to water quality. Communities will receive technical assistance in using EPA's Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool, software that helps users identify assets, threats and adaptation options to help reduce risk from climate change.

Communities receiving assistance from EPA include:
• Auburn, Ala.
• Austin, Texas
• Blair, Neb.
• Bozeman, Mont.
• Faribault, Minn.
• Fredericktown, Mo.
• Haworth, N.J.
• Helena, Mont.
• Henryville, Ind.
• Hillsboro, Kan.
• Houston, Texas
• Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.
• Nome, Alaska
• Norfolk, Va.
• Portsmouth, N.H.
• Redwood Valley, Calif.
• Sandpoint, Idaho
• Seminole Tribe of Florida, Fla.     
During each risk assessment, utilities will consider potential future climate change impacts in an effort to build more climate-ready and resilient water services and infrastructure.
Such risk assessments will, for instance, help utilities:
•  use adaptation options to better protect critical pump stations from projected precipitation events;
•  use conservation measures to prepare for projected reduced snowpack or less-frequent rainfall events;      
These examples illustrate the variety of adaptation options utilities can identify and build into planning based on their risk assessments.

More information: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/climate/index.cfm
Connect with EPA Region 4 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion4

And on Twitter: @EPASoutheast

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