Carving Pumpkins: The Tradition of Wasting Food
For many all around the world, field trips and family nights full of apple cider, sheets of newspaper on the table, and bowls full of pumpkin seeds are a core memory from their childhood. Everyone remembers the struggle of reaching into the pumpkin to scoop out the seeds, asking your dad to cut the top for you, and finally setting out your prize jack-o-lantern on the step outside, hoping the flies don’t get to it before the trick-or-treaters do.
One of the most important recollections for kids all over the country is picking out a pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. Whether you chose tall, round, orange, white, green, or spotted, we all know how good it feels to find “the one,” lug it over to the scale, and drag it all the way to the car, bursting with excitement to get home so you can carve it. However, what happens on November first, when the excitement has passed and all that’s left of your perfect pumpkin is a nest of flies on the porch? Most would say that they just toss out the pumpkin in the trash, or maybe the compost. Though a completely normal decision, sending your old pumpkins to the landfill has effects on the environment that many wouldn’t even think of.
Although agriculture is only worth 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions today, pollution due to farming still has a massive effect on the planet, and any contribution to that impact is a big one, especially if the contribution is over 1.3 billion. The only way for the autumnal season to remain ethical is to stop making excuses of wasting good food.
While finding alternatives to pumpkin-carving is by far the best way to eliminate any wasteful actions in the name of tradition, there are less radical ways to be more mindful. By making pumpkins adaptable to other uses, you can make a difference, however small, in the purpose of the fruit rather than making it single-use. For example, recipes like seasoned pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, pancakes, smoothies, soup, and so many more are delicious additions to your pumpkin carving tradition.
During the halloween season, it’s important to stay mindful of how we use pumpkins amidst the festivities, and while making pumpkins sustainable should be a sustainable part of the process, appreciating the benefits and leftovers from the parts of the pumpkin is the best part.
