For Immediate Release November 6, 2002                               
Contact:    Jane Elder
               Biodiversity Project
               (608) 250-9876          
               jelder@biodiverse.org

Giving Thanks for Nature’s Bounty:
Biodiversity at the Thanksgiving Table

Madison, WI (November 6, 2002)—As you sit down for Thanksgiving, you may see the familiar faces of family and friends.  Chances are, you’ll see some familiar culinary friends too – the traditional dishes of the American Thanksgiving dinner.  But what do we know about the foods that have come to define Thanksgiving?  And how have these species flourished in the Americas, surviving thousands of years to provide yet another example of how our history, our culture and our survival are intimately connected to biodiversity?

	At the core of most Thanksgiving tables, we find the turkey.  The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is an American native, originally ranging from southern Canada into Mexico and Guatemala.  In the 1500s, Spanish explorers, having found that wild turkeys were domesticated in Central America, returned to Europe with this edible bird.  Colonists landed in North America with these turkeys, which eventually crossbred with the wild turkeys of North America.  This fusion has resulted in the variety of domestic turkeys we find at our tables.
Although wild and domestic turkeys are genetically the same species, their similarities stop there.  The wild turkey has strong feet and legs adapted for walking and scratching, and short wings adapted for short, hurried flight.  Domesticated turkeys have strong, modified breast muscles, and do not fly.  Wild turkey plumage exhibits a variety of iridescent colors.  Most domestic turkeys have white plumage, which has proven to attract consumers because of their “cleaner” appearance.  Five subspecies of wild turkeys inhabit the lower 48 states, including Hawaii, and prefer woodlands near water.  Research has shown that wild turkeys will consume over 600 species of plants and animals!  The domesticated turkey is no longer able to survive in the wild.
To obtain Vitamins A and C, we reach for the yams.  Or do we?  The true yam, a tuber of West African and Asian origin, is a member of the genus Dioscorea.  The African word “nyami” was adopted in the English form, yam.  The yam is often confused with the sweet potato, but this is not botanically correct.  Originating in Central and South America, and one of over three hundred food crops cultivated by Native Americans, the sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, is a member of the viney morning glory family (Convolvulacaeae).  Sweet potatoes or batatas, which eventually became patata in Spanish, became known as the potato in English.  Because it thrives in a hot, moist climate, the sweet potato has been grown in the Southern United States but more so, throughout the tropics.  Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon), along with the blueberry and Concord grape, are one of North America’s three native fruits.  Glacial deposits of sand, peat, gravel, and clay in areas from Maine to Wisconsin, and along the Appalachians to North Carolina, made these locations ideal for cranberry bogs to flourish.  Cranberry bogs naturally flood in spring to wash away insects, proving that you don’t need a lot of pesticides to add color and zest to a turkey dinner.  These bogs provide refuge for a variety of wildlife, including Great Blue Herons, eagles, otters, frogs, and snakes. A cranberry vine, if left untouched, can continue to produce berries for 150 years!  Colonists in the New World are credited with naming the “craneberry,” in recognition of the small, pink blossoms that appear in the Spring, resembling the head and bill of a crane.  The flowers fall in the summer, leaving spectacular red berries.

Have room for dessert?  Indigenous to North America, the pumpkin is cultivated widely in temperate climates.  According to archaeological records in Mexico (8750 B.C.), the pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) appears to be one of the first domesticated plant species.  Native Americans considered pumpkins, planted along with beans and corn, the “three sisters.”
Bean vines use the cornstalks as supports and fix nitrogen in the soil.  For the benefit of itself and kin, the large squash leaves shade the soil and retain its moisture.  As the story goes, the origin of pumpkin pie occurred when colonists sliced off the pumpkin top, removed the seeds, and filled the insides with milk, spices, and honey and baked it in hot ashes.

As you make your plans for Thanksgiving, consider taking steps that will allow these species and their habitats to flourish thousands of years longer.  Pick up your family and friends and carpool to the celebration, purchase free-range turkeys and organic, locally grown produce, reuse or recycle any paper, aluminum, or glass, and compost your vegetable scraps. 

If you’re feeling dizzy, or sleepy, after this bountiful feast, eat some pumpkin seeds.  They’re thought to relieve dizziness.  But before nodding off, say thanks.  Thanks to the Earth for Giving.

For more information on the biodiversity of Thanksgiving, see:

National Wild Turkey Federation http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/cranberry/top.html

Talking Turkeys: They are not always what we think they are  http://www.uga.edu/srel/ecoview11-14-99.htm

What is the Difference Between a Sweet Potato and a Yam? http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-23-a.html

Cranberries: The Most Intriguing North American Fruit http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/cranberry/top.html

Squash
http://www.soupsong.com/fsquash.html

Three Sisters: An Ancient Garden Trio
http://www.ecoliteracy.org/pages/news_threesisters041901.html