Turkey Talk..Free Range Turkey, Natural Turkey, Organic Turkey & Many More

 Like the human variant, Turkeys come in a wide variety of types which are dependent on how the birds are raised, fed and processed..(you obviously could take this human analogy even further).

 Well, let’s start on the only Turkey that’s true blue. That of course is the Organic Turkey. The Organic Turkey is one raised per the organic standard from the second day of it’s life onward. So basically an organic life is all these relatively lucky birds ever knew.

 So what does this mean? Well, for one thing, only organic feeds may be used so that there’s no chemical residue issues from “conventional” farming practices..Nice. Also, no growth hormones or antibiotics for the birds which of course means no growth hormones or antibiotics for you as you sit down for your Thanksgiving Feast.

 Vaccines, they’re ok with the USDA and probably ok with me as well. So far haven’t seen any evidence that they do anything to the bird except prompt it’s immune system to be ready to fight a disease if exposed. And you know a disease could wipe of the entire flock PDQ. So I had my vaccines and I’m glad these guys do as well.

 However, the question had come up, “What if a bird did become sick? Do we just let it die a horrible death?”. Well the obvious wise-guy remark is that these birds are raised with the object of loosing their life anyhow so don’t pretend to care (but obviously they are slaughtered more humanely than slowly surcoming to sickness). So, what do they do? Well the bird is removed from the flock and treated, most times with antibiotics….(and then released?..noooo, they’re put into the “conventional” food supply instead..huh.). So the bottom line is that the Organic Bird was a very healthy bird until Farmer Brown needs to sell the flock.

  The other aspect of the Organic Turkey is that they must have access to the outdoors to walk around (the free range aspect). However, there are exceptions. For instance, if they are fouling the water or soil or if it would pose a danger to the animals’ health & safety free range may be restricted.

 In summary, if you want a Turkey that has never seen growth hormones, antibiotics, genetically engineered feeds, chemically exposed feeds or had been totally couped up his or her entire life…then Go Organic. However, if this isn’t important to you or if the price of the Organic Turkey is prohibitive and you’re willing to fall off the Organic Wagon for a day there are other alternatives..

  How about the “Natural” Turkey..At least it sounds good. Well, this guy generally has no artificial coloring, flavoring or preservatives. This is the good news. The bad is that it can have the growth hormones and all that other garbage that the Organic Turkey doesn’t. It also is most likely completely coup up.

  The “Kosher” Turkey is of course similar to other Kosher Foods in that it is processed under the supervision of a Rabbi.

  The “Fresh” Turkey. This may not ever be kept at temperatures lower than 26F…..That’s right, this is differentiated from “Frozen” yet it can be stored at 26F…Riiight. Well, this ‘splains why a Purdue “Fresh” Turkey was hard as a rock when I visited the local warehouse club. As an aside, I asked the guy who was putting them out how can these be frozen if they say Fresh? “They’re not frozen sir”(totally monotoned response)…Yes they are, they’re hard as a rock. “We don’t freeze the turkeys sir”… He obviously drank the Warehouse Club Kool-aid so what can you do?

  The “Frozen” Bird. This guy is seriously cold, specifically it must be stored at 0F or below..Do not drop one of these on your foot. By the way in the temp range between 1 and 26F the reference use to be “hard-chilled”. Now the USDA has published an explanation to clarify the Fresh vs. Frozen vs. Hard Chilled Designations that seemingly fly in the face of traditional science as we know it. Here it is for those who are unafraid of boredom and confusion..for the rest of us just skip to the next paragraph..(“FRESH POULTRY: In August, 1995 USDA/FSIS published a rule attempting to modify the definition of “fresh” to refer to poultry whose internal temperature has never been below 26 °F. That rule said poultry whose internal temperature is between 26 °F and 0 °F cannot be called “fresh” but must be called “hard-chilled” or “previously hard chilled.” In January, 1996 the final rule was published in the Federal Register. However, Congress did not appropriate money for enforcing the rule. On August 8, 1996, Congress asked FSIS to revise the final rule. FSIS has now amended the poultry product inspection regulations to prohibit the use of the term “fresh” on the labeling of raw poultry products whose internal temperature has ever been below 26 °F. Also, labels of raw poultry products whose temperature has ever been below 26 °F, but above 0 °F, will not be required to bear any specific, descriptive labeling terms, including “hard chilled” or “previously hard chilled.” To be in compliance with the revised rule, raw poultry products that are labeled as “fresh” but have ever had an internal temperature below 26 °F will have to have the “fresh” designation deleted or removed from labeling on the package. The final rule also sets a temperature tolerance for raw poultry products. The temperature of individual packages of raw poultry products labeled “fresh” can vary as much as 1°F below 26 °F within inspected establishments or 2 °F below 26 °F in commerce. This revised final rule appeared in the December 17, 1996, Federal Register and became effective 1 year later – December 17, 1997. FROZEN POULTRY: Temperature of raw, frozen poultry is 0 °F or below. “)..so now that this is clarified..

 And my favorite (to make fun of), the “Self-Basted” Turkey. Well the deal is for this gem you can have up to 3% Chemicals, aka “basting” this is usually injected but the bird may also be marinated in this chemical soup. However to be fair in the “conventional” food jargon Basting is usually some type of edible fat, broth, some water, a few spices and some flavor enhancers..Umm.

 There are some others as well such as Free Range (the farmer lets them outside), No Antibiotics Added and No Hormones Added. I don’t know, for the up-charge you’d pay it probably makes the most sense to go either full blown organic or if price or availability is an issue “conventional” fresh. But that’s just my opinion.

 So there you have it. Hope this provides you with some useful information so that you can decide what’s best for you and your family. One suggestion though. Even if you can’t afford a big Organic Turkey (and they are expensive) that won’t stop you from serving the rest of the feast from side dishes to desserts and wine (or milk, beer or whatever) as organic. Not only is this healthy and great tasting but it will also give anyone who would want to “opt out” of the turkey a great alternative. Hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday and it’s centerpiece the Thanksgiving Turkey. Have fun, enjoy family and friends and live naturally.