Thanksgiving

#ForewordFriday: Thanksgiving Edition

As Thanksgiving approaches, take a moment to consider your food. Ask children where food comes from, and they’ll probably answer: “the supermarket.” Ask most adults, and their replies may not be much different. Where our foods are raised and what happens to them between farm and supermarket shelf have become mysteries. How did we become so disconnected from the sources of our breads, beef, cheeses, cereal, apples, and countless other foods that nourish us every day?   
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Thanksgiving: Are we eating it all wrong?

This Thursday, Americans will gather around family (and football) to anoint a succulently roasted bird the grand symbol of our venerated Thanksgiving tradition. We will eat dishes in honor of that first harvest festival in 1621. Cranberry sauce, stuffing, rolls, pies, and, of course, honey-hued turkeys are the dishes we Americans will enjoy, as they were enjoyed by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag almost 400 years ago.
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Thanksgiving, our quintessential local-food holiday

Of all our national holidays I've always loved Thanksgiving best. Aside from the fun of cooking and eating terrific food together, it's the only national holiday that hasn't degenerated into an entirely commercial affair. In fact, it even seems to recognize America's natural abundance. The story of Thanksgiving is fundamentally about our American relationship with the natural world.