Heritage turkey

But with the advent of factory farming of poultry, turkeys began to be selectively bred for increasingly larger size, focusing especially on the production of breast meat.

In the 1960s producers began to heavily favor turkeys that did not show the dark pin feathers in their carcass, and thus the Broad Breasted White grew to dominate the industry, a trend which continues to this day.

[1] To meet perceived consumer demand and increase producers' profit margins, the goal in turkey farming became the production of the maximum amount of breast meat at the lowest possible cost.

[2] Consequently, the birds are so heavy that they are completely incapable of reproducing without artificial insemination, and they reach such extreme weights so quickly their overall development fails to keep pace with their rapidly accruing muscle mass, resulting in severe immune system, cardiac, respiratory and leg problems.

A census conducted by the Conservancy found less than 1,500 total breeding birds (out of all heritage varieties) were left in the country.

[4] The Livestock Conservancy, Slow Food USA, the Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities (SPAA), the Heritage Turkey Foundation, and a few hundred key poultry enthusiasts launched a major effort to restore breeding populations of heritage turkeys in the late 20th century.

[6] Primary motivations for the endeavor included a passion for historic breeds and maintaining genetic diversity among domestic animals which humans depend upon.

[7] Except for a few flocks of toms kept for semen production, commercial turkeys generally never live past the point at which they reach market weight.

Less breast meat and more highly exercised thighs and wings mean heritage turkeys benefit from longer, slower cooking times.

Part of this stated increase in flavor is due to a difference in the maturity between industrial turkeys and heritage ones - if birds are slaughtered at less than four months old, they fail to ever accrue fat layers.

[3] Due to their rarity and the length of time involved in their growth, heritage turkeys are also far more expensive than their more common brethren.