Each year, 28 billion pounds of edible food is put to waste. That is about 100 pounds per person. When grocery shopping for the upcoming holiday this November, bring your own paper shopping bags or reusable bags and purchase practical portions. It is easy to unconsciously overstock on food for Thanksgiving knowing what is not eaten can always go in the fridge for later. More often than not, the food gets spoiled and is thrown away.

Nevertheless, there will be leftovers, so send some of them home with guests. Wrap pies and casseroles in aluminum foil versus plastic wrap and store leftovers in Tupperware to be environmentally friendly. Recommend to your guests that they bring their own Tupperware as well.

Watch Your Holiday Wastetline has put together a list of healthy portions sizes for an individual at a Thanksgiving meal: 0.25-lb. casserole, green beans, stuffing, 0.25 cup cranberry relish and 1-lb. turkey. This is a larger amount of turkey than most nutritionists recommend. That is a big difference from the average Thanksgiving consumption of 2-lbs. of turkey.

If your family is so large that they barely fit in your dining room, it may seem logical to grab the biggest turkey there is at the supermarket, but that is not the case.  Sadly, these “Broad-breasted, white” turkeys have been drugged to grow to an unnatural size.

Overcrowding is quite prominent in the indoor plants that are the turkeys’ homes. In order to avoid pecking from anxiety, parts of the turkeys’ beaks and chins are often amputated without anesthesia. It is hard to believe that 99 percent of turkeys are raised in this unethical way.

Instead of grabbing the 30-lb. turkey out of the grocery store freezer, ask your butcher for a local, sustainable, organic, free-range and/or heritage turkey when shopping this year. These turkeys may be easier to find at a co-op, but can also be found in some supermarkets. Not only did these turkeys live a more sound life, but they are even better for your health and for the environment.