Rockin’ Around the (Organic) Christmas Tree | Sojourners

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The photo, taken through the middle Christmas tree bailer, shows two men lifting up a Christmas tree

In rural Virginia, two men are seen through a bailer preparing freshly cut Christmas trees. In the U.S., nearly 30 million live trees will be purchased this year. / Photo by Gary Cameron / Reuters

Rockin’ Around the (Organic) Christmas Tree

How Michael Tabor fights against climate change on his Christmas tree farm.
December 2023
By Michael Tabor

WHEN I STARTED farming, 52 years ago, I knew it would take 15 to 20 years to plant Christmas trees without chemical fertilizer sprays and colors. Most commercial trees are sprayed with deep dark green. We get requests to mail the trees. We won’t do that because of the carbon footprint. If anything, we’re a little too idealistic. We started renting live trees in pots. They’re cedars. So, it doesn’t look like that perfect tree. Plastic trees are very questionable. A lot of people want a tree that looks like a plastic tree. They want a tree that has a certain look. We defy that.

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Michael Tabor

Michael Tabor is a Jewish activist and organic farmer who grows Christmas trees at Licking Bend Creek Farm in Pennsylvania. 

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