Ode to the turkey: We are thankful we’re not you
Krystal Bick
The other day, I watched an interview that Gov. Sarah Palin did with Alaskan television channel KTUU. In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, it was conducted at a poultry slaughterhouse.
The entire three-minute video is difficult to watch. I couldn’t even tell you what Palin was talking about because the man behind her, “Lumberjack Grim Reaper,” steals the show, lifting each turkey upside down into what looks like a funnel, before their bodies start to wildly wriggle.
But Palin’s poor choice of interview locales aside, it got me thinking. Where does that Thanksgiving turkey come from?
While we all leave this weekend to sit down with friends, relatives and perhaps that cousin that you wish you didn’t share a bloodline with, that turkey soldier will undoubtedly be sitting pristine and glazed on the table, ready for carving.
The truth is, though, while we’re all giving thanks for the things we have, who ever considers themselves lucky for not being a turkey?
No one does, but there are plenty of reasons to.
By and large, turkeys are reared for their meat (at least 90 percent), as 46 million are expected to be sold and eaten this Thanksgiving alone. Such demand likewise explains the growth in mass warehouses where more than 25,000 birds are packed in and kept in windowless rooms.
The lack of environmental stimulation and inability to roam freely causes these turkeys to resort to increased aggression and even cannibalism. This problem is fixed by de-beaking, or cutting off the top beak with a hot blade, and cutting off the toes. De-beaking also helps fatten up the turkey, the bottom beak serving much like that of a shovel.
Both processes have been shown to be very painful and traumatizing for the animal.
In about 12 to 14 weeks, half the time of a non industrialized, farm-raised turkey, the whole flock (that has survived thus far) is ready for the slaughterhouse. At this point, they are severely overweight and unable to walk or even have sex.
A majority of turkeys are killed by use of a large, semi-automated assembly line. Turkeys are hung upside down on a moving line by shackles around their feet, considerably painful especially since many are overweight and have hip joint problems. They are then brought to a stunning bath where their heads are dragged through electrically charged water to render them unconscious to ease pain before their necks are cut.
However, researchers have concluded that slaughterhouses often do not ensure that sufficient electrical current is used to induce cardiac arrest or that both carotid arteries in the neck are completely severed to ensure a quick death.
While I’m sure no one expects this process to be glamorous or pretty as death never is, there must be a way around this whole turkey mess, without suggesting the unthinkable — not eating turkey entirely.
The most common type of turkey is the Broad Breasted White, bred at an alarming rate for its larger amount of breast meat. That said, the overproduction of the Broad Breasted White has pushed other types of turkeys to near-extinction.
As one columnist from The New York Times put it, “The future of the turkey as we know it rests on only one genetic strain”
So if at all possible, look for a different turkey this time around. There are a few independent companies like Slow Food U.S.A and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy that still produce the Broad Breasted White’s close cousins such as the Bourbon Red and the Jersey Bluff.
Also, while shopping, try to look for local turkey farms, like Rise and Shine Farms in Fallon, Nev. Local farmers are more likely to employ more humane practices since their stock isn’t as large.
Besides, helping out the little guy isn’t such a bad idea during these economic times either.
Next task: looking for the right maternity pants.
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November 27th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Maybe you should pray to Obama for guidance in your quandry.
November 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
You mean like they prayed to Bush’s life-size cardboard cutout in “Jesus Camp”?
November 29th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Grigory,
Apparently the post-graduate employment prospects granted by your alma mater haven’t netted you the best of results. Good luck moving up to assistant manager at the rural Nevada McDonalds of your choice. Spout your socialist babble elsewhere, nobody outside of your home country wants to hear it.
November 29th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
WL,
It’s good to know that you can follow directions and possess adequate reading comprehension skills to read my myspace page. Not that it’s any of your business, but I’ve got a great job as a freelance interpretor. I do have to admit that I am rather intrigued as to your identity. After all, if I am to be stalked, we should at least be properly introduced, don’t you think?
And how is citing Jesus Camp “social babble,” anyway?