A few weeks ago I visited one of Canada’s 523 regulated turkey farms. Despite the current global pandemic, I’m staying carefully mobile in my own country with investigative work.

In 2019, Canadians ate 6.3 million whole turkeys. In 2019, U.S. consumption of turkey was 5.3 billion pounds. And this number floors me: 656,309,000 turkeys were slaughtered worldwide in 2018.

I’ve met rescued turkeys and I absolutely revel in their curious and funny natures. They come running to you for company. They like to talk at you – a lot. If only we knew precisely what they were saying! We do know they have easily distinctive and understood calls: the gobble, the spit and drum, the cackle, the warning yelp, the purr. My favourite interactions with turkeys are when they let me stroke the feathers on their abdomen and under their wings. They love it, and start to preen themselves with pleasure.