heritage foods.

i'm not sure what this says about me as a vegan, but as someone concerned about genetic diversity and sustainability in food, i ordered a heritage turkey for my mom's thanksgiving dinner. these turkeys are raised humanely, are able to fly and live outdoors and are produced by small family farms. yes, the price is high, but by purchasing one, i know that i am allowing small farmers and their employees the ability to earn a living wage. unlike the industrial turkey you will find at your supermarket — its beak and nails clipped a few days after hatching, with a breast so large it is unable to walk or breed, fed solely on corn (a whole other issue) — these turkeys have a life. for more on industrial turkeys, read this or this.

i purchased our turkey from heritage foods usa, which is the sales organization for slow food usa. i also ordered native harvest wild rice because i heard this story about the company on npr and tohono o'odham white tepary beans because what goes better with rice?

while heritage foods is sold out of their turkeys for the year, you may inquire at your butcher or at whole foods, since they are offering heritage turkeys from mary's. next year, i will probably purchase locally from blue oak ranch in santa barbara. had i known about them earlier, i would have definitely ordered from them.

i'm anxious to see what the family thinks of the turkey and will report back. until then, to make amends, after reading various articles about the horrors of turkey production and consumption, including an article called "gobble, gobble, genocide" in the latest issue of satya magazine and feeling incredibly guilt-ridden about my purchase, i'm adopting a turkey. hopefully, my karma will be restored.