Holiday Feasting in the US of A
// December 23rd, 2009 // Thoughts
Our friend, the gobble head. Turkeys, which were first domesticated in Mexico and Central America and later brought to Europe because of their quality meat are a staple of U.S. holidays in the fourth quarter of the year.
The phrase “Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner” incites thoughts of stuffed birds garnished on a silver platter surrounded by delicious dishes such as Candied Yams, seasoned stuffing, fruit salad and green bean casserole. If your family is anything like mine, there is the hustle and bustle of hurried adults trying to navigate around playful, sometimes screaming, children. Precariously perched on their outstretched hands are paper plates piled with pieces of perfectly parsed tom (whew).
Setting aside the controversial origins of the Thanksgiving turkey dinner, The consumption of turkey in the United States is staggering.
According to the United States Census Bureau, citizens of the United States (as of 2007) consume an average of 13.8 lbs of Turkey per year. Considering that an average-small turkey, bone, meat and all weighs in about 13 lbs. Each of the 304,000,000 people in the US is devouring the equivalent of an entire bird (bone and all!) each year!
The forecasted total from sales receipts in 2009? $3.8 billion USD. This number exceeds the total sales receipts of peanuts for an entire year! Maybe domesticated US elephants should start eating Turkey?
Lets keep up the trend, guys! Make sure to keep extra room in that stomach. Perhaps, have a second one installed!
Don’t forget all of those delicious leftover turkey recipes like Leftover Turkey and Stuffing Casserole and Creamy Turkey Pie. Nom nom. Enjoy your birds and their adornments and most importantly,
Merry Christmas!
