My $80 Thanksgiving Turkey

by Greg Plotkin · 2009-11-13 11:08:00 UTC
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The argument can be made that paying $80 for a turkey this Thanksgiving is just a typical example of elitism in the sustainable food movement.  And that might be somewhat true.

However, I say that it is an example of paying for what's important to you, and for me, that's knowing not only who raised the bird on my table but how it was raised as well.

This Thanksgiving, I'll be serving a 10-12 pound heritage breed turkey from EcoFriendly Foods, a cooperative that sources sustainably produced meat from small farms throughout the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia; and here's why.

Somewhere around 99% of the turkeys consumed in America every year are the genetically engineered "Broadbreasted White" variety.  These turkeys, the ones you find in the grocery store, are raised in (I omit "on" for a reason) factory farms, and have been manipulated to the point that they cannot even stand on their own most of time.

While significantly cheaper (right now, Wal-Mart is marketing 12-pound Thanksgiving turkeys for under $5.00) than their heritage counterparts, traditional turkey's do not have the same flavor and do not come with an assurance of sustainability.

For those that aren't familiar with the term "heritage," it's basically what heirloom means in the produce world -- a species that has been saved and passed down through generations.

Although I'm sure this will seem ironic to some readers, the best way to save rare breeds and preserve broad genetic diversity is to return these animals to our dinner table (pdf). This won't be a popular view in some circles, I know, but it's the truth.

There are many reasons why genetic diversity in livestock production is important, and even the United Nations sees the extinction of animal species as "alarming" and has warned the international community that diversity will be a key resource in dealing with climate change.

For these reasons, and many more, I feel as though the $80 turkey I'll be picking up next week is worth every single penny.

Feel free to leave a comment and tell the Change.org community about what food choices are important to you this Thanksgiving season.

(Photo credit: tuchodi on Flickr)

Greg Plotkin is the Coordinator of Farm Camp at Flying Pigs Farm in Washington County, New York.
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