This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Another (Unfortunate) Use for Thanksgiving Turkey: Waste

Some 200 million pounds of meat will go in the trash this Thanksgiving. Let's hear your suggestions for that waste.

Thanksgiving 2012 is near, and soon millions of people across America will prepare and sit down to lavish dinners of turkey and trimmings.

And a good bit of it will go in the trash, according to a media report.

The Los Angeles Times, citing the National Resources Defense Council, has reported that about 200 million pounds of meat (of a total of 736 million pounds of turkey purchased overall) will end up in the garbage after the holiday feast, according to an NRDC blog post.

Find out what's happening in Suwaneewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

That’s enough turkey to provide each American household that is food insecure -- a total of 17.9 million households -- with more than 11 additional servings,  the NRDC reported.

Per pound, the resources needed to produce that turkey are equivalent to driving your car 11 miles or taking a 130-minute shower, the NRDC said.

Find out what's happening in Suwaneewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Why the wasteful tendency with turkey, moreso than chicken, according to statistics? “Possibly because turkey is more often eaten during holidays, when consumers may tend to discard relatively more uneaten food than on other days,” the USDA writes.

-- So, have you been wasteful in past Thanksgivings? Do you save leftovers, or perhaps donate them to needy families? Share your thoughts.

-- Do you know needy people in Gwinnett that can use holiday leftovers? Share them in the comments below.


We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?