As you gather with loved ones this Thanksgiving and enjoy a bountiful meal, it's easy to overlook one of the most important ingredients behind your feast: water. From raising that delicious turkey to growing the vegetables and baking the pies, water plays a critical role in bringing your holiday favorites to the table. In fact, the total water footprint of a traditional Thanksgiving meal for a family can exceed 1,500 gallons!
Let’s break it down:
The Water Footprint of Your Thanksgiving Meal
1. The Star of the Show: Turkey: No Thanksgiving table is complete without a golden, roasted turkey. However, it may surprise you that raising a turkey has a significant water footprint. To bring a 12- to 16-pound turkey to your table, it takes approximately 520 gallons of water. This includes water used to grow the feed and care for the bird throughout its life. That’s the equivalent of about 10 average bathtubs full of water—just for the turkey!
2. Sides That Satisfy: Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables
Potatoes are a classic side dish, and who doesn’t love a big helping of mashed potatoes? For a single pound of potatoes, about 34 gallons of water are needed. Multiply that by 5 pounds, and you’re looking at 170 gallons of water just for the mashed potatoes.
Vegetables, like green beans and carrots, have a lower water footprint, but it still adds up. A typical 2-pound serving of green beans or carrots requires 24 gallons of water.
3. Bread-Based Stuffing: The Thanksgiving Staple Did you know that the bread in your stuffing has a hefty water footprint? Bread requires 193 gallons of water per pound to produce, so a couple of pounds for stuffing can easily rack up nearly 400 gallons of water.
5. Sweet Endings: Pumpkin or Apple Whether you’re serving up pumpkin pie or apple pie, dessert is another significant water user. For example, a pound of apples requires about 83 gallons of water to grow, and when you add in the water required to produce sugar, flour, and butter, a single pie can easily demand around 380 gallons.
6. Clean-up: The Final Step After all the cooking and eating comes the clean-up. Washing dishes by hand can use anywhere from 10 to 15 gallons of water, depending on your efficiency. Using a water-efficient dishwasher can help reduce this number.
Why It Matters
Water is a precious and finite resource. In many parts of the world, including the U.S., water shortages are becoming more frequent due to drought. The more we understand the hidden water costs behind our daily activities and meals, the better we can become at making decisions that conserve water and protect our ecosystems.
Giving Thanks for Water
As you reflect on what you’re thankful for this year, remember that access to clean and plentiful water is a luxury many people in the world still do not have. Let’s give thanks for the water that sustains us and take steps toward using it more responsibly.
By making small changes and being mindful of our water consumption, we can all help ensure that future generations will have the water resources they need to thrive.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Oka' Institute!
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