Americans eat an average of 16 pounds of turkey per person on Thanksgiving Day. This means that the country consumes about 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving alone. This is enough turkey to feed every person in America over 20 times.
There are a number of reasons why turkey is such a popular Thanksgiving food. For one thing, it is a relatively inexpensive protein source that can be cooked in a variety of ways. Additionally, turkey is associated with abundance and prosperity, which are two things that Americans value on Thanksgiving.
According to a recent survey, 85% of Americans plan to eat turkey on Thanksgiving this year. The survey also found that the most popular way to cook turkey is to roast it in the oven. Other popular cooking methods include frying, grilling, and smoking.
That said, bird flu is back in the news in Iowa. That causes Jeff to check in with Morgan Pothoven of the Iowa Turkey Federation as to whether it's impacting Thanksgiving turkey prices and availability.