Decorations or Wasted Food?

   The big news for Hallowe'en this year is the new variety of pumpkin being sold that's white, instead of the usual bright orange. The flesh inside the white outer layer is still orange, and that supposedly adds to the ghostly appeal of a carved pumpkin with a candle burning inside it. The white pumpkins are a little more expensive than their traditional orange cousins, but if you're after the latest the cost difference shouldn't stop you, should it? After all, Nancy Soriano, Country Living magazine's editor-in-chief says the white jack-o-lanterns will add an "iconic look" to your decorating. Of course, if you understand what the hell she's babbling about, then you've probably already bought one of these babies.
   On the other hand, you could have a Hallowe'en bash this year that's entirely devoid of the de rigueur pumpkins. Maybe you've been rethinking the annual squandering of food that North America indulges in each autumn. After all, that's exactly what those pumpkins are. Food. They are members of the squash family. They yield a flesh that can be used to bake in pies or quick breads or cookies. It can also be used to create delicious pumpkin pone, and hearty soups, curried pumpkin dahl - the list goes on and on. Pumpkin seeds are great items to include in your regular diet, too, since they offer manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, tryptophan, iron, copper, zinc and protein. I know some people who carve out a pumpkin save the seeds and roast them, but far more probably toss them out in the garbage.
    How can using food as a decoration which will be thrown out after a few days be justified? Yeah, yeah, I know, lighten up. What am I getting myself all worked up about? It's just a few pumpkins, and we do grow so incredibly many of them here. People always carve them into jack-o-lanterns every year. Why should we stop?
   Maybe the answer to that can be found in that powerful little phrase, "Think globally, act locally". Maybe the reason to stop can be found in the literature of any of the organizations that make their fervent appeals for help for the impoverished children of the world. Maybe a look at one or two of those little faces, already old beyond their years, could provide the impetus you need to walk past the pumpkin display, even if they are showing "chic" white pumpkins. Maybe reminding yourself that they are food would help you to change the way you think about this aspect of Hallowe'en. After all, didn't your mom always tell you not to play with your food?
   Please, give it a thought.