The National Turkey Federation (NTF) and the American Meat Institute (AMI) released a video presentation of a turkey farm and processing plant hosted by leading animal welfare expert Temple Grandin, Ph.D., professor of animal science at Colorado State University. The video is available on NTF’s YouTube channel http://youtube.com/NatlTurkeyFederation or by visiting AMI’s “Glass Walls Project” at http://www.animalhandling.org/. 

Grandin guides the viewing public with an expert eye on the growth and delivery of 253 million turkeys each year. In the video, the viewer gets an up-close look as Grandin interacts with a flock of 1,500 birds roaming easily down the football-field length of a climate-controlled turkey house. When readied for market, those turkeys ride up into conveyor loading trucks and to an orderly delivery at the processing plant. There, the process of humanely stunning the birds renders them unconscious before processing under the watchful presence of USDA government inspectors enforcing safe and sanitary preparation. At each step along the methodical movement of rinsing, cleaning and separating the meat from the carcass, Grandin provides context and common sense explanations. The reality of raising and preparing turkeys for market is revealed in the video for what it is: a modern process that is humane, safe and efficient.

“I’m really pleased that the industry wanted the public to see this process because I think we need to show people how it’s just done right in a typical plant,” Grandin said. “There’s a lot of good work going on in animal agriculture and I’m glad we’re telling our story openly and honestly.”

“The generations that have moved away from the farm to the city take a personal interest in seeing how their food is raised,” said National Turkey Federation President Joel Brandenberger. “Those farms are far from the cities but in this video are brought closer through Dr. Grandin’s one-of-a-kind way of explaining the orderly process of getting turkeys to market.”

“The responses to these ‘glass walls’ efforts have been remarkable. More than 120,000 people viewed our beef and pork plant video tours and this latest turkey video tour will bring more fact-based information to consumers who seek it,” said AMI President J. Patrick Boyle. According to Boyle, hundreds of teachers have written to AMI seeking “Glass Walls” materials to use with their students, including a print piece that was reviewed for accuracy by Grandin.

To view the video, click here. Complimentary copies of the video are provided to teachers who cannot access YouTube. Write Turkey Tour 1225 New York Ave., N.W. Suite 400, Washington, DC, 20005 (email: mailto:info@turkeyfed.org?subject=Turkey%20Tour%20video%20request) or Glass Walls Turkey, 1150 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC, 20036 or email publicaffairs@meatami.com.

Source: AMI