Ideal Bite

The Pilgrims ate pasture-raised and organic at the first Thanksgiving; for once, why not follow tradition?

11.16.2005

Submitted by idealbite on Wed, 11/16/2005 - 6:00pm.

The Bite:

When the Pilgrims sat down to dinner that first Thanksgiving, their turkey wasn’t a swollen illustration of agricultural practices gone bad. Purchasing a pasture-raised, organic turkey this Thanksgiving will give you the true natural flavors of the holiday.

The Benefits:

Avoid antibiotics. In September 2005, the FDA pulled a poultry antibiotic from the market because it could make similar antibiotics used by people less effective.

Eat turkey, not growth enhancers. The average organic turkey is usually around 15 lbs, much smaller than the 30 lb turkey you can typically find in the grocery store.

“Free-range” turkeys are only required to have access to the outdoors – which usually means a small opening to a small fenced area. So look for “pasture-raised” to ensure you support a truly free-range and natural turkey.

Personally Speaking:

Heather can't fit a whole turkey in her half-sized Brooklyn dollhouse oven, so she gets a pasture-raised, organic turkey breast from the great guys at Dines Farms. Jen's folks are nice enough to get wild salmon for Jen at Thanksgiving.

Wanna Try:

Local Harvest - go local if you can. Check here to use their farm locator so you can find a member farm near you. Or if you can’t go local, try these:
Heritage Foods - premium "heritage" turkeys, descendents of the first domesticated turkeys ($10/lb).
Williams-Sonoma - organic, free-range (they aren’t pasture-raised, though) heritage turkey with overnight shipping ($6/lb).

Good Earth Farms - pasture-raised organics, averaging 12 lbs ($3/lb).

Can’t bring yourself to eat Tom? Tofurkey is the vegetarian/vegan non-bird of choice (Tofurkey Feast feeds 6/$55).

Cocktail Fact

Every year, the President of the US gives a presidential pardon to one turkey that is then sent to a petting zoo instead of the dinner table.

Bang For The Bite

You pay more per lb when you go pasture-raised and organic. But if you can afford it, support organic farming efforts and help bring the prices down for next year. (Come on – give up just one “leftovers” sandwich on Sunday).

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