Talking Turkeys

For those of you who remember our day-old turkey chicks that we reared under lamps in July, you will be pleased to hear they enjoyed a summer with the free range of my parents' garden. Fresh air, grass beneath their feet, a high calorie diet of kitchen scraps and grower feed was arguably preferable to their intensively farmed, indoor-raised fate, had we not taken them in. Whilst they were always destined for our table, at least the meat has zero food miles and is ethically and humanely reared. This was reflected in the delicious, succulent meat. Rather than 'Farm to Fork,' this was 'Garden to Fork.'

 

Many of us, myself and my parents included, always find it difficult to say goodbye to animals that have been part of our lives, regardless of the fact that these are farm animals, bred for food. The important thing to remember is that they are not pets, and whilst their life was healthy and happy, they are food as much as any meat we find in a supermarket or local butcher shop. I would rather know my meat than detatch myself from it by buying cuts of intensively farmed meat in polystyrene trays from a supermarket. But that's just me.

 

 

See the next post for turkey leftover ideas.