Thanksgiving.  

It's that time of year where you reconnect with family and relatives you haven't seen since last year.  It's that time of the year where you eat certain foods you'd normally wouldn't consume (I'm looking at you, cranberry sauce).  It's that time of the year where everyone sits around a giant table, ready to "consume mass quantities" of food, to quote a popular Saturday Night Live sketch.

But while you are sitting down and stuffing your face with delicious delights, do you really know what you are putting in your body? Is there more to it than regret and sleepiness from over stuffing yourself? From sweets, savory, cranberries, and stuff, do you really know what's on your Thanksgiving plate?

Butterball Convicted Of Animal Cruelty To Their Turkeys

There are numerous reports of turkey farms which raise these poor animals in living conditions that wouldn't be fit for a human by any stretch of the imagination.

According to CNN.com, about 46 million turkeys are eaten in the US on Thanksgiving.  With all those turkeys being consumed, do you know how those turkeys were raised?

Your Turkey Might Have Been Diseased and Had Tumors

Butterball turkey, which provides 30% of all turkeys eaten on Thanksgiving Day (in the United States?), has already been exposed for their shocking abuse and cruelty of turkeys such as kicking, throwing and dragging turkeys, not to mention the disfigurement from ulcers and sores on these birds.  In addition to the inhumane conditions are the turkeys fattened on GMO grain and weight-gain promoting antibiotics.

What About a Healthier Turkey Alternative?

Maybe this is the year, instead of buying Butterball, you'll try a "Heritage Turkey."

According to The Livestock Conservancy, Heritage turkeys must meet these criteria:

1. Naturally Mating – Heritage turkeys must be reproduced and genetically maintained through natural mating
2. Long Productive Outdoor Lifespan – Heritage turkeys must have long productive lifespans (Hens: 5-7 years, Toms: 3-5 years
3. Slow Growth Rate – Heritage turkeys must have a slow to moderate rate of growth.​

Along with the humane treatment of the turkeys are the taste benefits.  According to bonappetit.com, the best bird to buy is a Heritage Turkey because they're "pasture-raised, antibiotic-free and natural" and that "ensures a deeper, more intense flavor and firmer texture."  Did I also mention because they're leaner and smaller, they cook at higher temperatures for a fraction of the time you would normally cook a bigger, GMO turkey?

Read more about the health and taste benefits from buying a Heritage Turkey here and to find out how to purchase Heritage Turkeys, visit the turkey page on the Local Harvest website. (non-affiliate link)