Thanksgiving serves as an annual reminder of gratitude and harvest. Its significance is multifaceted, encompassing cultural, historical, and agricultural aspects that highlight the profound relationship between humans and the land. While it’s a day of feasting, celebration and family, at its core, Thanksgiving is a tribute to the agricultural foundations of society. The holiday reminds us that agriculture is not only the source of the food we consume but also a key element in human survival and prosperity.
History has it that the origins of Thanksgiving date back to 1621 when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Native Americans celebrated a successful harvest together in what is now Massachusetts. After a brutal winter in which many Pilgrims perished from hunger and disease, the arrival of spring brought new hope. The Wampanoag people, who had long been stewards of the land, taught the Pilgrims how to grow essential crops like corn, beans, and squash. This intercultural exchange of agricultural knowledge was vital for the Pilgrims’ survival.
The first Thanksgiving was more than just a feast; it was a celebration of agriculture’s crucial role in sustaining human life. The abundance of crops represented the resilience and partnership between the settlers and indigenous people, cementing agriculture as a central theme of the holiday. Over time, Thanksgiving evolved into a national holiday, with President Abraham Lincoln formalizing it in 1863 during the Civil War. Though the circumstances were different, the central message remained: a time to give thanks for the year’s harvest and the sustenance it provided.
Today, Thanksgiving remains a food and meal-centered family holiday with a focus on gratitude, but the emphasis on the importance of agriculture to life, society and to the Thanksgiving holiday itself, is mostly absent.
Farmers and agriculture are seldom mentioned and thanked at most (particularly urban and suburban) family dinner tables during this most food-centric of American holidays. I don’t think this is because most Americans aren’t grateful for farmers, but rather because American agriculture has become so successful that the majority of Americans take it and the bounty our farmers produce for granted. Out of sight, out of mind also plays a role. Many urban and suburban residents have never visited a farm, for example.
The rapid rise in the cost of groceries at the grocery store over the last few years due to inflation and other factors is a challenge for many Americans. For others, it’s less of a challenge but is still a major source of complaint because the approximate 25% overall increase in grocery costs since 2019 means less money for other household uses.
Despite this surge in grocery prices though, the typical Thanksgiving holiday meal remains relatively low and affordable for most Americans, thanks to the bounty produced by our farmers and the allied agricultural industry.
For example, according to the Farm Bureau, the average cost (items purchased at the grocery store and prepared at home) of Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people in 2023 was $61.17, which comes out to a little over $6 per-person. This is 25% higher than the cost of the identical Thanksgiving dinner in 2019, but it’s 4.5% lower than in 2022 ($64.04), according to the Farm Bureau. (See: https://www.fb.org/market-intel/thanksgiving-dinner-cost-relief-but-still-high-relative-to-recent-years.)
The Farm Bureau’s typical Thanksgiving dinner includes a 16 lb. turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes, carrots and celery, green peas, cube stuffing, dinner rolls, pie shells, pumpkin pie mix, whole milk and whipping cream.
The cost this year isn’t expected to rise considerably over 2023 – and might even be lower.
Additionally, many grocery chains are offering discounts on these and other Thanksgiving dinner items. The Aldi grocery chain, for example, is offering a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people for $49, which is a substantial savings over the Farm Bureau’s 2023 calculation. Walmart, which is the largest food retailer in America, is also offering deep discounts on standard Thanksgiving holiday dinner items. Price competition for Thanksgiving is back in the grocery retail business.
My point is that although a roughly 20% increase in the cost of Thanksgiving dinner over 5 years is significant, the holiday feast still remains reasonable for most Americans. You can thank our farmers, producers and the allied ag industry for this, along with the fact that the U.S. remains one of the few nation’s in the world that is largely self-sufficient in terms of producing a number of crops and livestock, including turkey and the other items featured in the Farm Bureau’s Thanksgiving dinner basket. This is important because the more self-sufficient a nation is agriculturally, the more food secure it is.
Continued food security isn’t something we should take for granted though. In fact, there are a number of disturbing signs that America is losing some of its self-sufficiency and therefore its food security.
These developments include the continued reduction in farmland nationally in favor of residential and commercial uses – farmers continue to grow more crops on less land due to technological advancements but that isn’t sustainable over time – and the buying up of farmland by investment firms – key to America’s agriculture success historically has been that it’s a nation of family farmers who farm on land they own or lease from other farmers – which threatens to turn farming into just another profit and loss statement type of business. Foreign countries too, such as China and Saudi Arabia, are buying up American farmland. This in my opinion isn’t a good idea because it decreases the nation’s agricultural self-sufficiency and food security and sovereignty.
We also, particularly here in California and elsewhere in the west, need to make more water available to farmers. Farmers are growing more crops (yield) with less water but have hit a point in which greater water allocation over the long-term is needed.
This isn’t a favor to farmers, by the way, but rather it’s a key element of the U.S. remaining mostly food self-sufficient. California is the largest food producer in the nation and the fifth-largest agricultural region in the world. Imagine what a significant reduction in farm output in the state due to lack of water would do to the domestic and global food supply? It would be catastrophic.
We also need to think about food security in another way this Thanksgiving. While the holiday is often associated with abundance, not everyone has access to sufficient food. Food insecurity is a domestic and global issue, with millions of people lacking reliable access to nutritious meals. On Thanksgiving, as many families gather to enjoy a feast, it is important to recognize the ongoing struggle of those who face hunger daily. Agriculture plays a critical role in addressing food security.
Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude and to celebrate community, family and the bounty of the earth. At the heart of the holiday is agriculture, the foundation of human survival and prosperity. From the historical lessons of the first Thanksgiving to modern-day farming practices, agriculture has played an essential role in shaping societies and feeding populations. As we enjoy the fruits of the harvest, it is also a time to reflect on the importance of sustainable agricultural practices, the challenges of modern farming and the need to support our farmers and ensure food security nationally as well as individually for all Americans.
In an age of environmental challenges and increasing global demand for food, the importance of agriculture cannot be overstated. Thanksgiving, with its emphasis on gratitude for the harvest, serves as a reminder to cherish and protect the land that sustains us and to support the farmers and agricultural innovations that will feed future generations. By embracing both tradition and innovation, we can ensure that the spirit of Thanksgiving – one of abundance, gratitude, and community – endures for years to come. It’s time to return to our roots and include agriculture as a central part of our Thanksgiving gratitude celebrations.
My Job Depends on Ag Magazine columnist and contributing editor Victor Martino is an agrifood industry consultant, entrepreneur and writer. One of his passions and current projects is working with farmers who want to develop their own branded food products. You can contact him at: victormartino415@gmail.com.
