Louisa Shafia is the author of Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life, a cookbook that focuses on the earth-friendly kitchen. Shafia is a teacher, she runs a catering company, and has cooked at restaurants like Aquavit and Pure Food and Wine in New York City, and Millennium and Roxanne’s in San Francisco. I got the chance to talk to her last week about Thanksgiving and the art of eco-eating.

In Lucid Food, you talk about “eco-conscious cooking.” Could you explain what this means?

Eco-conscious cooking is a broad term that simply means making food choices based on the health of the planet as well as your own personal health. So, for example, I stay away from processed foods not only because they are made with unhealthy chemicals and preservatives, but also because they come with lots of packaging that ends up in a landfill and pollutes the earth and our water supply. I avoid white sugar because it makes my blood sugar peak and crash, but also because white sugar production has been linked to environmental destruction, the invasion of indigenous lands, and unsafe working conditions throughout the world. For those reasons, I favor cooking with honey or other less processed sweeteners. When I buy honey at the farmer’s market I know exactly where it came from.

How do you change a person’s mind who thinks locally-focused, eco-conscious cooking means deprivation?

Eating seasonal food isn’t about self-denial and Spartan living; it’s about embracing the treasures that each season has to offer us, and eating the ingredients that taste best at different times of the year.  Our palates are activated before any food actually reaches our mouths; our minds tell us what is going to taste good. If the food on the plate looks beautiful and appealing, we’re a lot more likely to enjoy the taste. For that reason, I like to cook with ingredients that have bright colors. For example, right now I’m really excited about beets—yes, beets! They’re in season right now so they’re affordably priced, they’re really healthy, and they’re gorgeous. My favorites are Chioggia, aka “candy striped” beets; they look like a target inside, perfectly marked with red and white spirals. I try to use these as much as I can right now, especially when cooking with kids, because the vegetable itself looks so stunning you just want to eat it.

Any tips for home cooks who want to prepare an eco-conscious meal this Thanksgiving? Where should they start?

Get a heritage breed turkey from a local farmer! The vast majority of turkeys sold in supermarkets are of the Broad Breasted White variety, but there are many other breeds that are more moist and flavorful than those that are mass-produced on factory farms in unspeakable conditions. Heritage breeds like Narragansetts and Jersey Buffs were once popular in the United States, but disappeared with the demise of the small farm in favor of birds with higher breast meat production and a shorter growing period, traits favored by large, corporate poultry operations.

Visit the farmer’s market. Buying from local farmers helps to support the preservation of small farms and undeveloped land. And not only does local food taste better and have higher nutritional value because of its freshness, but you know exactly what you’re getting—unlike with products from far away, where details about pesticides, land use, and working conditions are hard to come by. In contrast, local farms are transparent places where people are usually welcome to buy goods or take tours.

Does “greening” your diet necessarily have to cost more?

I know that when people hear about eating local and seasonal food, the first thing that comes to mind is that it’s unreasonably expensive and unaffordable. I’ll be the first to admit that shopping at the farmer’s market often costs more than shopping at the supermarket. However, I think you have to consider what you’re paying for upfront now, and the hidden costs of cheap food that you’ll have to pay for in the future. If I eat cheap, processed food for many years, I’ll pay back the difference in price with poor health and high medical expenses down the line.

There are options beyond just being a passive consumer, however. I think what many people have realized is that they can’t just sit back and wait for the food system to improve, but that they have to take an active role in changing it, and providing better food for themselves. I just came back from Milwaukee, WI, where Will Allen’s Growing Power urban farm has set a breathtaking example of how people in “food deserts” with a limited amount of food dollars can access fresh, healthy food. Allen has established a model of super-efficient aquaponic farming that can be replicated in any community. Through the active participation of community members, the landscape of the north side of Milwaukee is being transformed into a sustainable urban farming area.

Aside from the actions that we as individuals can take, our elected representatives could clearly be doing a lot more to subsidize sustainable agriculture so that healthy foods are affordable for everyone. Currently, the U.S. government offers its assistance almost exclusively to the industrial agriculture giants who grow commodities using conventional—and damaging—pesticide control and energy-intensive production methods. Our tax dollars fund these subsidies that allow mega-producers to keep their prices low while small farms struggle on their own with little to no government support. That’s where consumers come in. As more and more people make the switch to healthier, safer, locally grown foods, small farmers and the people who buy their food will have a bigger say in how farm subsidies are doled out. The momentum will build for a fundamental change in the way our leaders approach this crucial issue. Just as importantly, the more consumer demand builds for locally grown products, the more suppliers will bring these goods to the marketplace, helping bring prices down for everyone.

Many people are visiting family this week for Thanksgiving. This can sometimes cause consternation for eco-eaters when family members lack access to good food and/or the will to track it down. Any advice?

When I visit someone else’s home for Thanksgiving, I offer to contribute a couple of dishes to the meal; in case it turns out that I don’t feel good about eating the rest of the spread, at least I know there is something I will feel good about eating. I might contribute a simple dish like mashed sweet potatoes with orange juice and a little butter, fresh cranberry relish, grilled mushrooms, a raw kale salad made with avocado and olive oil, or a from-scratch pumpkin pie. 

Other than that, my general rule is to put a smile on my face, eat whatever I can enthusiastically, and know that in a day or two I’ll be going home and can go back to eating how I like. Diplomacy is a highly valued skill in encouraging others to eat healthy, and I’ve found that a preachy, pedantic attitude is met with resistance. Be quiet, and let your tasty food do the talking. 

I would like to note here that I have the opposite problem when I go home to Philly for Thanksgiving. My whole family eats the same way I do, so I’m asked to cook everything, or to schlep five dishes with me on the train from New York! Like most Americans, I always overeat at this holiday, because I love the feast that my family creates.