Fatal Conveniences™: The Hidden Cost of Halloween

If you live in the United States, you’ve most likely celebrated Halloween – you’ve gone trick or treating, you’ve carved a pumpkin, you’ve dressed up in costumes – you’ve done it all. While this holiday can be fun and add some excitement to our lives, it also comes at a cost.  For example, did you know in the United States, most of the 900,000 tons of pumpkin produced annually will be trashed, rather than used as food or composted? This enormous waste adds to the already critical global food waste crisis. Overall, around 1.3 billion tons of global waste are created each year. (World Economic  Forum, 2019)  This is just a small glimpse into the amount of waste created from this holiday, let alone the impact it can have on your health. From pumpkins and candy to costumes, decorations, and more, we need to look at the global impact of this holiday from every angle. That’s why in this episode of Fatal Conveniences™, we’re going to explore the holiday Halloween and how we can start to celebrate in a more sustainable and health-conscious way.   Don’t forget… You can order now by heading to darinolien.com/fatal-conveniences-book or order now on Amazon   Reliable sources where you can learn more: Halloween can have spooky environmental consequences  Why Halloween Is Terrible For The Environment  The Environmental Impact of Halloween: What the Jack-o’-Lantern Story Says About Food Waste in Our Society Halloween candy comes with hidden environmental costs  13 Sustainable Halloween Tips That Are Anything But Boo-Ring 4 Ways To Make Your Halloween As Sustainable As It Is Stylish  References: Goodwin, L. (2016). Don’t Let Pumpkin Season Go To Waste. Retrieved from Worl Resources  Institute: https://www.wri.org/insights/dont-let-pumpkin-season-go-waste  Handwerk, B. (2018). Halloween: costumes, history, myths, and more. Retrieved from National  Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/101029-halloween-costumes ideas-history-science-nation  Hernandez, J. (2023). California becomes the first state to ban 4 food additives linked to disease.  Retrieved from npr: https://www.npr.org/2023/10/10/1204839281/california-ban-food additives-red-dye-3-propylparaben-candy  History Editors. (2023). Halloween 2023. Retrieved from   https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#halloween-comes-to-america  Laplante, J. (2021). Halloween and the Reality of Fast Fashion. Retrieved from Her Campus: https://www.hercampus.com/school/lasell/halloween-and-the-reality-of-fast-fashion/  Mother Earth. (2023). Tackling Halloween Waste: A Spooky Environmental Concern and How We  Can Do Better. Retrieved from https://memotherearthbrand.com/blogs/plastic-free living/tackling-halloween-waste-a-spooky-environmental-concern-and-how-we-can-do-better Myers, I. (2022). Frightening food: The scary additives lurking in Halloween candy. Retrieved from  Environmental Working Group: https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2022/10/frightening food-scary-additives-lurking-halloween-candy  Perino, M. (2019). 15 mind-blowing facts about Halloween candy consumption in the US. Retrieved  from Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/halloween-candy-consumption-usa-facts statistics-2019-10?r=US&IR=T  Real Business. (2023). Are Brands Perpetuating Fast Fashion with Trendy Halloween  Items? Retrieved from https://realbusiness.co.uk/brands-perpetuating-fast-fashion-trendy halloween-items  Tighe, D. (2022). Halloween in the U.S. - Statistics & Facts. Retrieved from Statista:  https://www.statista.com/topics/1727/halloween-in-the-us/#topicOverview  Trinh, D. (2021). How much waste does Halloween produce? Retrieved from  https://thestute.com/2021/10/29/how-much-waste-does-halloween-produce/  World Economic Forum. (2019). Are Halloween pumpkins a problem for the planet? Retrieved from  https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/10/halloween-pumpkins-food-waste-energy/  Surucu-Balci E and Berberoglu B (2022) Wasted Pumpkins: A Real Halloween Horror Story. British  Food Journal. 124(12): 4718-4735.  Iwegbue C. M. (2011). Concentrations of selected metals in candies and chocolates consumed in  southern Nigeria. Food additives & contaminants. Part B, Surveillance, 4(1), 22–27.  https://doi.org/10.1080/19393210.2011.551943  Orisakwe, O. E., Igweze, Z. N., & Udowelle, N. A. (2019). Candy consumption may add to the body  burden of lead and cadmium of children in Nigeria. Environmental science and pollution research  international, 26(2), 1921–1931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3706-3  Devi, P., Bajala, V., Garg, V. K., Mor, S., & Ravindra, K. (2016). Heavy metal content in various types of  candies and their daily dietary intake by children. Environmental monitoring and  assessment, 188(2), 86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-5078-1  Kim, K., Park, Y., Lee, M., Kim, J., Huh, J., Kim, D., Lee, J., & Kim, J. (2007). Levels of heavy metals in  candy packages and candies likely to be consumed by small children. Food Research International,  41(4), 411-418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2008.01.004  Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H., Perry, P., Rissanen, T., & Gwilt, A. (2020). The environmental  price of fast fashion. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1(4), 189-200.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9   Yanush, V. (2023). Why halloween waste is the scariest monster of them all in 2022.  BREAKDOWN02:10 - Evaluating the Ecological Footprint of Halloween 07:21 - Exploring the Intersections of Halloween, Environmental Sustainability, and Public Health23:75 - How Can We Move Towards an Eco-friendly and Health-conscious Halloween Celebration LINKSFind more from Darin: Website: https://superlife.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Darinolien/Book: https://superlife.com/fatal-conveniences-book/Down to Earth: https://superlife.com/down-to-earth/SPONSORSThank you to our sponsors: Bite: Go to trybite.com/DARIN20 or use code DARIN20 for 20% off your first order. Therasage: Go to www.therasage.com  and use code DARIN at checkout for 15% off. I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Darin Olien Show! If you want to support or follow the podcast, here's how: Subscribe, rate or listen on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher Follow my Instagram to keep updated on the podcast, weekly deep dives and other projects that I'm supporting (and the occasional Chaga appreciation post)Sign up for my Weekly Email to keep up with what I’m tuned into.For feedback or suggestions, email my team at [email protected] Find the list of brands & products that get the big tick of approval from me here.Comment below to join the discussion!