By Holly

If you tuned into Martha Stewart’s show last Thursday, you will have seen a very different slant on Thanksgiving.

Instead of her traditional representations of the feasts of the season, she hosted the filmmaker Robert Kenner — director and co-producer of Food, Inc. — as well as one of the farmers featured in the documentary, Joel Salatin. The show also delighted viewers with yummy recipes from Jeremy Fox, executive chef at Ubuntu Restaurant and Yoga studio — a self-proclaimed vegetable restaurant.

With Food, Inc. now nominated for an Oscar and the abundance of information on the health benefits of a plant-based, non-factory farmed diet, it excites me to invite new traditions to my holiday table this year.

Or are they new? Digging deeper, I realized that what seems “new” is actually more of a return to former traditions. Would it surprise you to know that during the 1950s almost half of the produce consumed by families came from backyard gardens? Meat was grass fed and came from family and/or local farms too.

It gives one pause to reflect that in our drive for our country to be the “king of the world”, perhaps we’ve done so at the expense of our own health and that of the entire world.

Just some morsels to mull over as you give thanks for loved ones this year, and pass the sweet potatoes and locally grown turkey (or vegan alternative).

comments (0)

share