A Major Achievement for the Cause of Preserving Tradition, Biodiversity and Bio-Security in the Food Supply
In 1987 The Livestock Conservancy conducted a national poultry census, resulting in the world’s first Conservation Priority List of endangered poultry breeds. This census was an important step to realizing that numerous breeds were on the verge of extinction because farmers were not raising them anymore.
In 2001 a seminal article in The New York Times by Marian Burros put Slow Food, Heritage Foods, and the Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch on the map of the national food scene by promoting their “Eat Them to Save Them” initiative – by eating these breeds and re-introducing them to American dinner tables, we were increasing their population and preserving them for future generations.
According to the Livestock Conservancy, from 2003 to 2015 the census counts for heritage poultry shows an increase in population of 54 percent for the Black turkey; 41 percent for the Bourbon Red; 506 percent for the Narragansett; 502 percent for the Standard Bronze; and 1129 percent for the White Holland. These statistics are a huge achievement for the cause of preserving tradition, biodiversity and bio-security in the food supply.
Good Shepherd turkeys are 100-percent purebred heritage, 100-percent pasture-raised, 100 percent antibiotic-free, and American Poultry Association (APA) certified. These are the oldest genetic line of heritage turkeys in America, dating back to the 1830s.
Fresh turkeys deliver Tuesday, November 20th! Reserve yours today!
