A new debate over turkey emissions landed just in time for Thanksgiving, as a climate activist group urged Axios to highlight the holiday bird’s supposed environmental toll. Axios reported Wednesday that Americans should “ponder” how the “beloved bird” contributes to “the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming,” citing warnings from the Environmental Working Group.
“Raising and processing a four-ounce turkey serving is the equivalent of nearly three miles’ worth of tailpipe emissions,” the group’s Iris Myers claimed. Axios added that turkey produces less carbon than beef but more than chicken, and that geography plays a major role in determining “how much damage your meal does.” According to a 2016 study, Thanksgiving dinners in Democratic strongholds such as Washington and Vermont “emitted the lowest amounts of carbon dioxide,” while Republican-led Wyoming, West Virginia, and Kentucky “had the highest Turkey Day emissions.”
The Environmental Working Group’s timing contrasted sharply with the Democratic Party’s own shifting tone on climate politics. Billionaire Bill Gates—who previously poured at least $2 billion into fighting what he once called a looming “climate disaster”—recently acknowledged that global warming “will not be the end of civilization” and criticized ineffective protests for “diverting money and attention from efforts that will have more impact on the human condition.” California regulators also rolled back a major electric-truck purchase mandate this year, a move the Trump administration hailed as a victory for consumers.
Axios conceded in its report that climate change is “fading in importance on some U.S. lawmakers’ priority lists,” though it noted activists’ insistence that “even small steps from the public are needed.”
As climate messaging grows more inconsistent, Americans appear increasingly unconvinced that holiday meals—and turkey emissions—sit at the center of a global crisis.
