Making the Case for a $140 Turkey

Source: bon appetit



Patrick Martins,
Co-founder, Heritage Foods USA, Brooklyn;
718-389-0985; heritagefoodsusa.com

Patrick Martins likes happy animals--particularly endangered, humanely raised pigs, cows, and turkeys--and not just because they taste better. He believes their happiness is a moral imperative. As co-founder of Heritage Foods USA, his mission to save heritage breeds of livestock and the family farms that raise them began nine years ago, when a few hundred of his heirloom turkeys fanned out across the country. Today, that number is closer to 7,500, and every last one is raised by a farmer who shares Martins's passion.

Why did you start with turkeys?
It seemed like a single item that everyone in the country could get behind to support the small farmer. And it was a project that revolved around a single day, so it made it easier to find a sustainable source--to say, "We have to get 800 of these things raised for a single day in November."

What's the argument for a $140 turkey?
It ends up coming out to $8 a pound, or $8 per person. That's cheaper than Applebee's and almost as cheap as a McDonald's value meal.

Read the rest of our Q&A with Patrick Martins after the jump.

What makes a happy turkey?
It has room. That's the biggest thing. It can walk around. No living creature should be forced to spend its entire life in a box. That should shoot through to the heart of every American. We live in a country that is wealthy, that is trying to improve itself, that is like a moral beacon to the rest of the world. We cannot keep animals in boxes. Period. With turkeys, if their instinct is to roost--to wrap their talons around something and fall asleep--they should be allowed to roost. A happy animal is one that is allowed to fulfill its God-given instincts. And walking is a natural instinct.


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