Temple Grandin hosts video tour of turkey processing plant
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.