Food waste is scary, pass it on.
Ellis wonders whether the annual tradition of carving pumpkins is due for an update after new research finds that almost half of Brits (45 per cent) think the land used to grow Halloween pumpkins should be put to better food use.
Food waste that reaches and then decomposes in landfill sites is a major emitter of greenhouse gases.
Composting at home, or via a council food waste collection, prevents food from reaching landfill and converts it back into nutrients for the soil instead. Pumpkins (and squash!) can be composted.
I’d like to go back the the original All Hallows tradition which was thoughtful rather than scarey. Turnips were the usual veg carved, so let’s decorate turnips, consider the wisdom of our ancestors and give each other Soul cakes/biscuits, something good as a free present to say we think of them. The new festival of Halloween is American so not a tradition which was observed here until pretty recently when business spotted a chance to make a lot of money out of youngsters.
Yes when our kids were young, we all used to dress up as witches or ghosts, light candles/lanterns, do a bit of gentle haunting down the street carrying the lanterns, and call on friends to offer them homemade gingerbread. Gifts – not tricks or treats. It was fun and gave pleasure to others.
I believe we used swedes and not turnips – and bent many spoons in the process. Mum used to save the inside bits for soup. If only today’s pumpkin carvers could be persuaded to make pumpkin soup! And also save and use the seeds.