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Escarpment Magazine Harvest & Holiday 2013
When faced with buying a whole turkey we have to two
options, commercial and free-range. Quite apart from the
moral and ethical issues that plague our food purchases,
there’s the question of taste.
Commercial turkeys, while more economical and eas-
ier to come by, are generally less tasty than the free-
range birds. The difference is often one of rearing,
and here is where ethics and taste intersect.
Commercial turkey farming is a large-scale pro-
duction. Birds by the hundreds are raised in-
doors in specially built or converted barns. The
light and temperature are strictly controlled, and
space is tight. The turkeys’ living conditions are
such that the birds suffer a fair amount of stress,
which can influence the meat.
In Canada, commercially farmed turkeys are not fed
hormones or steroids, but their feed of mixed grains
and oilseeds may contain antibiotics and animal by-
products. The animal by-products are included to
make sure the turkeys get enough protein, calories,
minerals, and fat.
Free-range turkeys are generally farmed in smaller
numbers and enjoy outdoor time. The less stressful envi-
ronment means the birds can behave normally, preening and
stretching their wings, and roosting. Havingmore spacemeans the turkeys
are less likely to peck one another and suffer injury. Because they grow
more slowly than commercial birds, free-range turkeys have different nu-
tritional requirements. Still, they need a lot of protein but their feed is com-
plimented by what they forage in the pasture.
Within the wheelhouse of free-range turkeys we find the heritage birds.
The slow food movement which gained traction in the late 1990s and
early 2000s, helped revive interest in heritage turkeys as an ethical,
historical, and more flavourful alternative to commercially farmed birds.
In order for a turkey to be considered a heritage breed, the birdmust meet
certain requirements.
Namely, heritage turkeys mate naturally, have a long reproductive lifes-
pan, and have a slow to moderate growth rate. Heritage turkeys are
smaller than commercially farmed birds, may have colourful
plumage, and are more expensive to buy than commercial and
free-range birds.
There are a handful of places in and around the Georgian Triangle
where hungry people can buy turkey. The turkeys available at Black
Angus FineMeats &Game in Thornbury are not fed animal by-products
and are raised without medication. Martin’s Turkey in Mount Forest is
a farmgate operation, while both Cottenie’s Country Fresh Meats in
Owen Sound and West Grey Premium Beef in Durham, stock locally
grown turkey.
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ESCARPMENT EPICURE
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abundant harvest
{
Give thanks for unknown
blessings already
on their way.
~
First Nation saying
