Orlando Sentinel, Sunday, November 23, 2014
Erika Maier spends nearly $200 for her Thanksgiving turkey. And she drives an 8 hour round trip to get the bird. Maier, who holds Thanksgiving at her Brevard County home every year, continues to buy the pricey turkeys because they are allowed to roam freely outdoors, instead of being cooped up.
"I want them to have as natural a life as possible," Maier said, adding that her family says a prayer for the turkeys and hopes they had a great life. "I would rather scrimp on other stuff and save my money during the year to have the very best meat possible for Thanksgiving," she explained.
My evaluation:
Let's examine the facts. According to the Sentinel article, the "free range" turkeys Maier saves up $200 to buy are "able to roam freely in a half-acre area." My back yard is larger than that. In my opinion, free range would be for the 100 turkeys this farm sells per year to roam on at least 50 acres of woods (domestic turkeys can't fly like wild ones can). 100 turkeys per half acre, is an area about 10 X 20 feet per turkey, smaller than most living rooms. Putting 100 turkeys on a half acre instead of in a commercial turkey house means that these turkeys probably eat their own feces. Turkey houses, where conventional turkeys are raised, have litter floors that are cleaned regularly to prevent turkeys from getting diseases. The litter material is usually wood shavings, sawdust, peanut hulls, straw, or other dry, absorbent materials that absorb moisture, limiting production of ammonia and harmful pathogens. Once removed, the litter is decontaminated and used or sold for fertilizer.
So Erika Maier is spending $200 for a turkey that is probably not as safe to eat or as healthy as a conventionally raised turkey that she could buy for much less. Is she irrational or what?
Erika Maier spends nearly $200 for her Thanksgiving turkey. And she drives an 8 hour round trip to get the bird. Maier, who holds Thanksgiving at her Brevard County home every year, continues to buy the pricey turkeys because they are allowed to roam freely outdoors, instead of being cooped up.
"I want them to have as natural a life as possible," Maier said, adding that her family says a prayer for the turkeys and hopes they had a great life. "I would rather scrimp on other stuff and save my money during the year to have the very best meat possible for Thanksgiving," she explained.
My evaluation:
Let's examine the facts. According to the Sentinel article, the "free range" turkeys Maier saves up $200 to buy are "able to roam freely in a half-acre area." My back yard is larger than that. In my opinion, free range would be for the 100 turkeys this farm sells per year to roam on at least 50 acres of woods (domestic turkeys can't fly like wild ones can). 100 turkeys per half acre, is an area about 10 X 20 feet per turkey, smaller than most living rooms. Putting 100 turkeys on a half acre instead of in a commercial turkey house means that these turkeys probably eat their own feces. Turkey houses, where conventional turkeys are raised, have litter floors that are cleaned regularly to prevent turkeys from getting diseases. The litter material is usually wood shavings, sawdust, peanut hulls, straw, or other dry, absorbent materials that absorb moisture, limiting production of ammonia and harmful pathogens. Once removed, the litter is decontaminated and used or sold for fertilizer.
So Erika Maier is spending $200 for a turkey that is probably not as safe to eat or as healthy as a conventionally raised turkey that she could buy for much less. Is she irrational or what?
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