Pardon a Heritage Turkey 2022

Pardon a Heritage Turkey 2022

The story of Pilgrims and Thanksgiving turkeys is timeless. But the sidekick of that story — the turkey itself — is not. A truly American bird, this animal has been bred into an oversized, unsustainable, and barely recognizable version of its ancestors. The poultry industry acknowledged that consumers prefer white meat over dark meat and, in response, bred the Broad-Breasted version that suffers leg problems, heat stroke, and cardiac issues. This animal must be artificially inseminated to reproduce, and eggs must hatch in incubators, which makes breeding them prohibitive for small-scale and family farms. But the turkey’s ancestor still exists, as well as domesticated strains that all have rich, American stories. Examples of these strains include the Narragansett and the Bourbon Red, strong and healthy animals that can breed independently and carry the names of the regions where they were developed. Heritage turkeys allow American families to control their own sustainability and have a hand in how humanely
their Thanksgiving dinner was raised. The majority of Americans don’t know that heritage turkeys exist. By petitioning the President of the United States of America to pardon a heritage turkey — whether a Narragansett, a Bourbon Red, or a Beltsville Small White — these sustainable breeds will gain recognition, and more family farms will be encouraged to raise them. In addition, a stunning bird with a rich history and an American name will capture the heart of a nation.

Sign the petition to pardon a heritage turkey here: https://www.change.org/p/presidential-pardon-of-a-heritage-turkey

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