CU & Eat Well Guide's challenge encourages Americans to buy and prepare one local/organic dish for Thanksgiving

Jean Halloran, NotInMyFood.org, A project of Consumers Union

In partnership with the Eat Well Guide®, ( http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Home&brand=67 )an easy online tool to find fresh, locally grown food in your area, we've issued the Thanksgiving Local and Organic Food Challenge!

Find at least one locally grown or organic ingredient for your coming Thanksgiving feast!

If you have tasted a home grown tomato, pulled an apple straight off the tree, or picked up pecans from a neighbor's yard, then you know why so many people are passionate about finding and eating locally grown food.

Buying local reduces your "carbon footprint." Your food hasn't been harvested prematurely and shipped thousands of miles. Organic farmers bring you foods grown more humanely and without chemicals or genetic modification.

So take a moment right now to check out all your local options in our Challenge!

Then, once you have located local or organic food, come to our website--where famous chefs Alice Waters, Dan Barber, and Mario Batali kick off our Challenge with some favorite recipes just for you. If you already know the recipe you intend to use for your local ingredient, you can share it with everyone now...or share it later.

Alice Waters suggests you might "roast a delicious Heritage organic turkey. These birds are slow growing and spend a large part of their lives grazing and foraging which results in a deep and complex flavor." You can also get something as simple as an organically produced veggie at very little cost.

Dan Barber reminds us that buying local also helps local farmers. "Remember what we know intuitively: that we aren't healthy unless our farms are healthy; that the end of the food chain is connected to the beginning of the food chain."

And tell your friends to join you in our Challenge! Let's get as many people as we can to buy local, support sustainable farmers, and eat well.

Related:

Join our Local Food Challenge!

1. Check out your options to buy a local, sustainable, or organic ingredient at the Eat Well Guide.

2. Share the recipe you intend to make with that ingredient with our famous chefs and with us!

3. We will post all the recipes here, where you can find great holiday dishes.