Simkin: Thanksgiving an opportunity to eat responsibly

Maybe you can’t help the carbon footprint you’re going to make traveling home by plane, bus,… Maybe you can’t help the carbon footprint you’re going to make traveling home by plane, bus, car or train. You can, however, take steps to make your dinner less detrimental to the environment without sacrificing a modicum of deliciousness.

Preparing impossible amounts of food is part and parcel of the holiday, but readers should consider a slight trimming back. Fewer — and greener — side dishes are probably better for everyone in the long run.

You could, for instance, coordinate with anyone who might bring a dish to dinner to cut down on redundancies. Maybe you don’t need sweet potatoes represented in four different forms or multiple desserts that everyone will be too full to eat more than a sliver of anyway.

You could also forgo ingredients that have to be imported long distances, like pineapple and other produce not necessarily native to this continent, and check labels on your purchases to see where your food originated and how far it traveled. Most ideal, of course, is food that’s hardly traveled at all: local produce.

Buying local not only reduces the pollution generated by transporting food long distances, but also supports local farms and regional sustainability. As urban as Pittsburgh feels, farms aren’t all that far away.

The Farmers@Firehouse Market comes to the Strip District on Saturdays from May to November.

Although it’s too late for this year, the Farmers at Phipps market outside the Phipps Conservatory sells everything from vegetables and meats to honey and soap on Wednesdays from June to October.

The Kretschmann Organic Farm  — a mere 35 miles outside Pittsburgh — sells produce, fruits and meats on location at its farm near Zelienople, Pa., as well as offering a subscription delivery service bringing farm-fresh products straight to your door in an arrangement known as community-supported agriculture.

I can’t make any promises, but if your Thanksgiving dinner isn’t taking place in Pittsburgh, try Googling the phrase “community-supported agriculture” in conjunction with the name of your hometown. My guess is you’ll probably be able to find a farm near you. Some organic farmers also raise poultry and might even be able to deliver a turkey right to your doorstep.

The Carnegie Library system’s website includes a Local Food in Pittsburgh page with links to several other useful resources in pursuing a regionally produced culinary experience. Slow Food Pittsburgh — an organization dedicated to reviving regional and seasonal culinary traditions — also has a resources page on its website if you’re interested in finding out more.

There are even clubs dedicated to the issue right here on campus. Alexandra Caffe, a Pitt senior and member of Pitt Students for Food Awareness, told me, “It’s important to support your own region being sustainable and not depend on other parts of the country to provide food for us. It’s better to be independent than dependent when it comes to food.”

Not having a local source of food could be dangerous if something disrupts shipping patterns, like a natural disaster or prohibitively high transportation costs. It’s a bit paranoid, sure, but if anyone should be concerned about preparations for the apocalypse, it’s Pittsburghers — we do, after all, live in the zombie capital of the globe.

A hidden advantage: if your cooking hasn’t turned out quite as planned and somewhat less scrumptious than hoped for, you can silence critical relatives and guests with  “It’s organic and locally produced,” as though taste is no longer an issue if the food is at least good for the planet. A bit dramatic, certainly, but what are family gatherings for?

Consider a standard green-bean casserole: Beans, mushrooms and onions are all from local sites. So are milk, sour cream and butter. Voila! An entirely locally produced dish!

Don’t want the locally grown produce fun to stop? No worries: According to ExplorePAHistory.com, Pennsylvania is also the country’s third largest producer of Christmas trees.