Tom Tom

Today, Matt ordered our Thanksgiving turkey. I say ordered because I insist on having a free-range, hormone-free, antibiotic free, heritage turkey, NOT a Butterball and DEFINITELY NOT a store brand turkey.

Pretty much all the turkeys sold in grocery stores are Broad Breasted White turkeys, which were bred to grow large breasts in a short period of time. They get to “market weight” quicker and often are not raised in humane conditions, so they are much cheaper to grow. Now they are intensively farmed, and so inbred and fat and stupid that that they cannot achieve natural fertilization.

Seriously. Look it up.

Then there’s the fact that their by-products – even their feathers – are often ground up and fed to them. Inbred, cannibal turkeys who might never see the light of day, and are pumped full of growth hormones to make their breasts even larger, and antibiotics as a preventative measure because they live in conditions gross enough to almost guarantee illness. I’ll leave out some of the other details; I gave you enough to think of while you are carving your turkey.

Even if you ignore the cannibal-druggie part of the White, the fact that it’s the only turkey available in stores is nuts. You can find several varieties of apples or oranges or pears in your grocery stores, but only one kind of bird.

Heritage breeds have pretty much been dying out, and will continue to do so unless the demand for heritage turkeys increases. Our provider, Carriage House Farms, raises Standard Bronze, Bourbon Red, and Narragansett turkeys. Being free-range, our turkey will have been able to munch on fresh grass and insects (rather than his brother), get some exercise, maybe even get laid. I’m just saying. The proprietor assured Matt that our turkey will be more moist and flavorful due to their more diverse diets and longer life.
He even said we can come visit our turkey if we want. I’m thinking about visiting the farm, to see for myself where a turkey SHOULD come from (though I don’t think I’ll want to have my turkey pointed out to me), and maybe to get some fresh eggs and honey.

I think it would be a great place to take kids, too, so they can see that their food doesn’t grow in the store.