Back in the 1700s, the soft gobbling of the heritage turkey filled the cobblestone streets. A direct descendant of the turkeys Cortez brought back to Europe from present-day Mexico, heritage turkey came to North America via the pilgrims. As the colonies grew, the heritage turkey population grew alongside. The wild turkey became a well-loved commodity of early America. Brown feathers, blue head, graceful composure; a creature so dignified, Benjamin Franklin asked that it be made the United States’ national bird. 

Up until the 1960s, heritage turkey and other meats decorated the Thanksgiving table. Then came the poultry conglomerates, who decided the dark spotted skin of the heritage turkey (a consequence of their dark feathers) wasn’t appealing enough to consumers. They needed a new, improved bird. Breeding together several different types (White Holland, White Austrian, Narragansett, Bronze, and Wild) researchers artificially selected for a large breast and white feathers.

The result was the broad breasted white turkey. More meat lover’s fantasy than bird, the broad breasted white weighs in at around 35 pounds. Its round, waddling existence flaps in the face of natural law. The breast of the bird is so large and disproportional to the rest of its body that it struggles to walk and cannot reproduce on its own. The average lifespan is 12-19 weeks, during which it is fed a constant stream of corn and antibiotics in automated warehouse farms; a perfect engine of meat. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the past 50 years, the broad breasted white turkey has dominated the Thanksgiving market. Of the 46 million turkeys killed this year for Thanksgiving dinner, the broad breasted white will make up the large majority.

SEE ALSO: The History Of The Thanksgiving Feast

But the popularity of the commercial turkey industry is starting to wane. A new shift in consumer interest is ruffling feathers in the turkey business.

Yes sir, the heritage turkey is making a comeback. Sharla Mortimer, owner of Mortimer Farms in Arizona, is just one of the many organic turkey growers seeing a rise in demand for farm fresh Thanksgiving dinner this year. "People are interested in knowing where their food comes from," said Mortimer. For these turkey lovers, the artificiality of the broad breasted white has become unappealing. Happy, locally grown turkey is back in style.

The trend comes just as Butterball, one of the three big commercial turkey producers, announced last week a shortage of large, fresh turkeys this year, relying instead on their stash of frozen product to satisfy consumers. 

While some families are going back to basics for Thanksgiving dinner, other households are modernizing their feast: they're giving up on turkey all together. Instead of bothering with all the frustrations of cooking a turkey, more and more people are switching to easier meat dishes, eager to give the traditional dinner more variety. Sang Yoon, a Los Angeles Chef, is a strong supporter of enjoying a turkey-less Thanksgiving. "My perception is that turkey is no one's favorite part of the meal,” he said in an interview with Food&Wine. “Everyone talks about the mashed potatoes, the stuffing, the sides. The turkey is considered a huge success if it's not bone-dry."

SEE ALSO: Vegan Guide To A Turkey-Less Thanksgiving

Could it be that Thanksgiving is evolving past the need for an unnaturally plump centerpiece? I hope so. With all that money and time saved by not buying and cooking a turkey, we can focus on what really matters: pumpkin pie and Black Friday.