It might come in in fourth on the tilt of America ’s top protein choices , but one day out of the year nothing else will do [ source : National Turkey Federation ] . EveryThanksgiving Day , poulet , beef and porc all footmark aside and make room for their poultry compadre , the dud . For Meleagris gallopavo , however , Thanksgiving is n’t such a thanksgiving . It ’s judge that in 2007 , a thumping 46 million turkey were consumed for the affair , some suffering the fate of being stuffed not only with stuffing , but also with a duck and a chicken to create a domestic fowl profuseness promise turducken [ reservoir : National Turkey Federation ] .

The advent of Thanksgiving Day is often portrayed by elementary - aged students – all bedight out in momma - made outfits as Pilgrims and Indians – as a riotous good metre between the Wampanoag tribe of Native Americans living near Plymouth Rock and their lately acquired British neighbors in 1621 . Although the two groups did share a meal and consequently signalize a treaty that endure more than 50 years , the official home vacation was not decreed until President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Nov. 26 , 1863 , a internal day of give thanks [ source : Encyclopedia Britannica ] . Before that , thanksgivings – days spent in petition thanking God for some fortuitous result or another – were periodically lionize by New England settler , but not anything like the level of the internal Thanksgiving festivities we see today .

­­Presidentsfollowing Lincoln annually proclaimed the vacation the last Thursday in November until 1942 when Franklin D. Roosevelt switched it to the fourth Thursday in November – not necessarily the last – in an attempt to plain off the vacation shopping time of year a feeling before [ source : Encyclopedia Britannica ] .

But turk­ey did n’t immediately unite the Thanksgiving scene as the staple centrepiece and , interestingly enough , the turkeys that you see in the grocery fund today do n’t really resemble the shuttle that Pilgrims and Native Americans may or may not have actually feasted on during their infamous repast . Those would have been either risky or domesticated native turkeys that tended to be on the little side , procreate naturally , lived longer , grew slower and , perhaps most significantly , did not leave a good - looking corpse .

The dark plumage that looks so striking make midget pinprick of paint in the flesh that turned off many consumers . Because of this , and debates about which size was most appropriate for both private and commercial custom , a fostering campaign was conducted in the United States during the first half of the 20th century in hunting of a well - betray bird . The New result is the broad breast white turkey . These birds are specters of their antecedent ; they ’ve been bred to be colorless , big and have liberal titty .

Whether you roast it , smoke it , grill it or mystifying - fry it , turkey has really wedge itself a spot on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table . So how would turkeys have fared on the popularity chart if they were n’t the focal point of magnificent Thanksgiving spread ? On the next varlet , we ’ll find out just how the scrappy bird was able to peck its manner to the top .

Crunching the Numbers: Thanksgiving Turkey

­Now let ’s take a nigh spirit at the golden - brown roast that graces the tables of some 88 percent of American families onThanksgiving Day[source : National Turkey Federation ] . Back in 1929 , Americans ate only about 18 millionturkeysannually ; by 1970 , that routine was or so 116 million . In 2007 , the number of turkeys lift in the United States was about 272 million , and that was n’t even a peak class . In 1996 , U.S. growers produced a record 303 million turkeys [ generator : USDA ] . Now keep in mind , out of the 2007 bird , only about 235 million of those got tossed down the gullets of Americans , about 10 percent were exported – up from only 1.2 percent in 1990 [ source : National Turkey Federation ] .

When it add up to Thanksgiving , thing are n’t quite so straightforward . We mentioned to begin with that in 2007 , 46 million turkeys were eaten in the United States on Thanksgiving Day . At an average of 15 pound apiece , that ’s nigh to 700 million pound of turkey [ seed : National Turkey Federation ] . But even though Americans have been increasing their turkey consumption over the years ( and beginning to export more and more birds ) , they have n’t been exclusively increasing the act they rust on a certain November night .

Back in 1970 , about 50 percent of the joker consume in the United States was eaten around the holidays . Over the years that number has dropped to about 29 percent – meaning hoi polloi are corrode it throughout the yr [ source : National Turkey Federation ] . We know this because overall turkey consumption has about repeat in that same fourth dimension period . In 1970 , Americans chowed down an average of 8 pounds ( a little more than 3 and a half kilogram ) of turkey per person per yr ; that number has now climbed to about 18 lbf. [ informant : National Turkey Federation ] . possibly it ’s the fact that turkeys tend to be depleted infatand high inprotein , but whatever the ground , the now - flightless fowls seem to be have more popular for the dinner table every day .

­­The verdict ? Back in the days of disco , mass might have been grab bomb off the shelf because it was the pop alternative for the holiday season . But in the 20th 100 , the tables are turning . Turkey is a twelvemonth - round fixture on many menu , and although Thanksgiving is still big business in the industry , turkey would plausibly retain its popularity even if mutton and lamb tried to muscle their way into that special declension vacation celebration .

Is all this talk of Republic of Turkey making you sleepy ? Well , as you could interpret in " Is there something in turkey that makes you sleepy ? " it ’s probably not the tryptophan that ’s the culprit . For more interesting information about poultry and holidays , you could dig into some of the links on the next Thomas Nelson Page .

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