National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation

President Harry S. Truman receiving a Thanksgiving turkey (this one a Bronze) from members of the Poultry and Egg National Board and other representatives of the turkey industry, outside the White House on November 16, 1949.

National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation is a ceremony that takes place at the White House every year shortly before Thanksgiving. The President of the United States is presented with a live domestic turkey by the National Turkey Federation, usually of the Broad Breasted White variety. The early years also included a joint presentation with the Poultry and Egg National Board. The ceremony dates back to the 1940s, with presidents occasionally sparing the bird presented to them; since 1989, during George H. W. Bush's first Thanksgiving as president, it has been an annual tradition for the president to "pardon" the turkey.[1]

History

"If they'd given me a different answer on Charlie and his future, I would have pardoned him." ―Ronald Reagan, 1987.

On various occasions, turkeys had been donated to the President as gifts from private citizens. Henry Vose, a Rhode Island turkey farmer, presented a turkey to the President each year from 1873 until his death in 1913.[2]

The official presentation of a turkey to the President each year began in 1947 under President Harry Truman, and many sources erroneously attribute the origin of the turkey pardon to Truman. However, the Truman Library says that no documents, speeches, newspaper clippings, photographs or other contemporary records are known to exist that specify that he ever "pardoned" a turkey; there are records that he publicly admitted to eating at least some of them.[1][3] The presentation was partially borne out of a lobbying campaign: the Truman Administration, in an effort to conserve grain for foreign aid campaigns, began promoting "Meatless Tuesdays" and "Poultryless Thursdays" in the autumn of 1947. Not only did American citizens quickly grow frustrated with the (voluntary, but strongly encouraged) restrictions and begin disregarding them in short order, the National Poultry and Egg Board, incensed at the attack on their industry, noted that not only was Thanksgiving on a Thursday (thus making the annual Thanksgiving turkey a taboo), but Christmas and New Year's Day also landed on a Thursday that year. A truce was called in the dispute in early November, before the Thanksgiving holiday, but "Eggless Thursdays" continued to be promoted for the rest of the year, meaning that pumpkin pie, another Thanksgiving staple, was still on the forbidden foods list.[4]

The Eisenhower Presidential Library says documents in their collection reveal that President Dwight Eisenhower ate the birds presented to him during his two terms. President John F. Kennedy spontaneously spared a turkey on November 18, 1963, just four days before his assassination. The bird was wearing a sign reading, "Good Eating Mr. President". Kennedy returned the massive 55-pound (25 kg) turkey to the farm, saying "we'll let this one grow."[5] Scattered reports in The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times referred to it as a pardon, but Kennedy did not refer to it as such.[6] Likewise, Richard Nixon also spared some of the turkeys given to him during his time as President.[7][8]

The first President on record issuing a "pardon" to his turkey was Ronald Reagan. Reagan had been sending the turkeys presented to him to farms and zoos since at least 1982,[8] and 1987's turkey, Charlie, was likewise headed to a petting zoo. At the time, Reagan was facing questions over the Iran-Contra affair, on whether or not he would consider pardoning Oliver North (who had yet to be tried for his involvement in the affair); Reagan conjured the notion of the turkey pardon as a joke to deflect those questions.[1][9] Reagan did not pardon a turkey in his final year as President in 1988, but his successor, George H. W. Bush, instituted the turkey pardon as a permanent part of the presentation beginning his first year in office, 1989, in response to the protests of animal rights activists.[2]

The phrase "presidential pardon" in that ceremony was apparently inserted by a speechwriter; Bush initially was indifferent to the terminology, saying "'Reprieve', 'keep him going', or 'pardon': it's all the same for the turkey, as long as he doesn't end up on the president's holiday table."[8] Since then, at least one of the turkeys presented to the President has been taken to a farm where it will live out the rest of its natural life. For many years the turkeys were sent to Frying Pan Farm Park in Fairfax County, Virginia. From 2005 to 2009, the pardoned turkeys were sent to either the Disneyland Resort in California or the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, where they served as the honorary grand marshals of Disney's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2010, 2011 and 2012,[10] the turkeys were sent to live at Mount Vernon, the estate and home of George Washington; Mount Vernon stopped displaying and accepting the turkeys due to the fact that they violated the estate's policy of maintaining its own historical accuracy (Washington never farmed turkeys). The 2013, 2014 and 2015 turkeys were sent to Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia, the estate of former Virginia governor (and prolific turkey farmer) Westmoreland Davis.[11] Virginia Polytechnic Institute housed the 2016 pardoned turkey[12] as well as the 2017 turkeys; Virginia Tech was chosen because of the college's poultry science program, and the National Turkey Federation wanted to begin a tradition of cooperation between the turkey industry and universities.[13]

Selection process

The turkeys are raised in the same fashion as turkeys designated for slaughter and are fed a grain-heavy diet of fortified corn and soybeans to increase the birds' size.[11] A flock of approximately 80 birds, typically from the farm of the current National Turkey Federation chairperson, are selected to be acclimated to handle loud noises, flash photography and large crowds; from the flock of 80, the 20 best-preened and best-behaved are chosen and eventually narrowed down to two finalists, whose names are chosen by the White House staff from suggestions by school children from the state where they were raised.[14] Thanksgiving turkeys are bred and raised to provide more meat than those of the 1960s. Turkey hens are usually marketed at 14 weeks and weigh 15.5 pounds (7.0 kg) when processed. This compares to the tom, which takes 18 weeks to reach a market weight of 38 pounds (17 kg).[15] The turkeys for the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation are usually 21 week-old toms (males) weighing 45 pounds by the time of their White House visit, compared to the shorter growing period for turkeys destined for market.

Broad Breasted White turkeys are bred for size at the expense of longer life, making them prone to health problems associated with obesity such as heart disease, respiratory failure and joint damage. For many years, the pardoned turkeys were documented to have very short lives after their pardoning, frequently dying within a year of being pardoned;[11][16] for comparison, a wild or heritage turkey has a lifespan of at least five years.[17] The lifespans of the pardoned turkeys have steadily improved in recent years, frequently having lifespans of over two years and occasionally reaching three years of age, an improvement attributed to better choices of homes after the pardons; rather than serving solely as tourist attractions, the turkeys are now placed in the care of experts who make conscious efforts to maintain the turkeys' health for as long as possible.

List of turkeys pardoned

Reagan Presidency

  • 1987: "Charlie", the pardoned turkey, was sent to a petting zoo in 1987.[1]

Clinton Presidency

  • 1999: "Harry the Turkey" is the first in the record of the formal pardon process to have been given an official name.[18]
  • 2000: "Jerry the Turkey", a 45-pounder (20 kg) from Barron, Wisconsin. The pardoned turkey (the eighth in Clinton's presidency) and its unnamed alternate were both sent to Kidwell Farm's petting zoo in Herndon, Virginia.[19]

George W. Bush Presidency

  • 2001: Liberty and his back-up Freedom, so named in the wake of 9/11 attacks. They weighed 48 and 52 pounds (22 and 24 kg), respectively.[20]
  • 2002: Katie, the first-ever female turkey pardoned. The 30-pound (14 kg) bird bred by Ron Prestage, chairman of the National Turkey Federation, as well as alternate bird Zack. The turkeys were named after Prestage's children.[21]
  • 2003: Stars and backup Stripes.[22]
  • 2004: Biscuits and backup Gravy.
  • 2005: Marshmallow and alternate bird Yam, raised in Henning, Minnesota. Beginning in 2005 pardoned birds were sent to Disneyland to live, and serve as the "honorary grand marshal" of that year's thanksgiving day parade, following concerns raised by animal rights groups that the birds had not survived for long. For the previous 15 years they had been sent to Frying Pan Farm Park near Herndon, Virginia.[23] Names were generally chosen in online votes taken at the White House website.
  • 2006: Flyer and alternate bird Fryer, raised in Missouri.[24]
  • 2007: 45-pound (20 kg) May and backup Flower, raised in Indiana.[25]
  • 2008: 45-pound backup "vice" turkey named Pumpkin, after the number one turkey Pecan fell ill the night before the ceremony. Both turkeys were allowed to live.[26][27]

Obama Presidency

  • 2009: Courage, a 45-pound turkey provided by the National Turkey Federation, and alternate bird Carolina, raised in North Carolina.[28]
  • 2010: Apple, a 45-pound turkey from Foster Farms in Modesto, California; and alternate bird Cider.[29] Both had died of natural causes by Thanksgiving 2011.[16]
  • 2011: A 45-pound turkey named Liberty and an alternate bird named Peace, both of which were raised in Willmar, Minnesota.[30] Peace survived until shortly before Thanksgiving 2012, when he was euthanized.[31] Liberty survived until being euthanized April 26, 2013 at the age of 2.[32]
  • 2012: Cobbler and Gobbler, both 40-pound (18 kg) turkeys from Rockingham County, Virginia.[33][34] Gobbler died suddenly in February 2013; Cobbler was euthanized on August 22 of that year.[5][32]
  • 2013: Popcorn, a 38-pound (17 kg) turkey from Badger, Minnesota. Popcorn won an online contest over its identically sized stablemate Caramel, which was also spared.[35] Popcorn died of heatstroke in summer 2014. Caramel survived much longer; it outlived one of the next year's turkeys and did not die until October 2015, spending most of its two years of life at Morven Park as the companion of a brown heritage turkey named Franklin.[36][37]
  • 2014: Cheese and alternate bird Mac, both of which were 48-pound (22 kg) turkeys from Fort Recovery, Ohio.[38][39] Mac died of suspected heatstroke in July 2015; Cheese remained alive as of November 2015, with the surviving Franklin as its companion.[37] Cheese was implied dead some time before June 2017, as the Morven Park Web site mentioned only housing the 2015 turkeys by that time.[40]
  • 2015: Abe, a 43-pound (20 kg) turkey again presented by Foster Farms. The alternate was 42-pound (19 kg) Honest.[41][42] Morven Park reported that both were still alive as of November 2016.[43] Morven Park stated that the turkeys either died or were relocated out of Morven Park in December 2017.[40]
  • 2016: Tater and Tot, 40-pound and 39½-pound (18 kg respectively) turkeys from Storm Lake, Iowa.[44][45] Both were reported as still alive and healthy but showing signs of old age as of November 2017.[46]

Trump Presidency

State ceremonies

A number of U.S. states have similar turkey-pardoning events, including Minnesota.[50] The pardoning ceremonies have also been extended to other holidays; for instance, Erie County, New York's county executive facetiously pardons a butter lamb during Holy Week.[51]

In The West Wing episode "Shibboleth," when C.J. learns the alternate turkey is to be slaughtered, she appeals to President Bartlet to save it. He points out that he cannot pardon a turkey, as it had committed no crime and he has no "judicial jurisdiction over birds". So, he drafts the turkey into military service to spare its life. In real life, both the turkey and the alternate are spared.

The animated film Free Birds centers around a turkey who was pardoned, then is recruited to go back in time in an attempt to change history and remove turkey from the menu of the first Thanksgiving dinner at Plymouth Colony.

In David Mamet's play November, an incumbent president losing his bid for reelection uses the yearly tradition to extort the turkey manufacturers to add to his lacking campaign fund.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hesse, Monica. 2007. Turkey Pardons, The Stuffing of Historic Legend. The Washington Post, November 21. (accessed November 22, 2007).
  2. 1 2 Kirkpatrick, Melanie. The turkey pardoning tradition may have started with a raccoon. The New York Post (November 20, 2016). Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  3. ↑ Edwards, Cynthia. 2003. Did Truman pardon a Turkey? http://www.trumanlibrary.org/trivia/turkey.htm (accessed November 24, 2007).
  4. ↑ Humes, Michele (November 23, 2009). "The Way We Ate: The Year Harry Truman Passed on Pumpkin Pie". Diner's Journal. The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Bruce, Mary (November 22, 2013). Obama pardons turkeys ... then they die. ABC News. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  6. ↑ Presidential turkey pardons not as long a history as you might think. NBC News. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  7. ↑ Lee, Jolie (November 25, 2014). Thanksgiving traditions: Turkey pardoning explained. USA Today. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Monkman, Betty. "Pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey". White House Historical Association. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  9. ↑ The actual, surprising origin of presidential turkey pardoning. MSNBC. November 25, 2015.
  10. ↑ NTF Chairman Presents President Obama with the National Thanksgiving Turkey. National Turkey Federation. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 Merica, Dan (November 27, 2013). Where pardoned turkeys go to die. CNN. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Pardoned National Thanksgiving Turkey to Reside at Virginia Tech". The Roanoke Star. November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  13. ↑ Korth, Robby. Trump-pardoned turkeys to live out days at Virginia Tech. The Roanoke Times. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  14. ↑ 10 things you didn't know about Presidential turkey pardons. Time. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  15. ↑
  16. 1 2 Fox, Lauren (November 23, 2011). 2010 Turkeys Pardoned By Obama Died This Year. U.S. News. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Definition of a Heritage Turkey". albc-usa.org. American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
  18. ↑ History of Names. Note that this source cites this Wikipedia article as a source, but Harry's name was not listed on this article until after this page was posted.
  19. ↑ Staff and Wire Reports (November 22, 2000). "Clinton spares 'Jerry' the turkey in annual Thanksgiving rite". CNN.
  20. ↑ Bijal P. Trivedi (November 20, 2001). "Where Do Turkeys Go After Being Pardoned by the President?". National Geographic.
  21. ↑ Elisabeth Bumiller (November 27, 2002). "In New Spin on Tradition, Turkey Pardon Goes to 'Katie'". New York Times.
  22. ↑ "Pardoned turkeys may not live happily ever after". cnn. November 26, 2002.
  23. ↑ "Bush sends pardoned turkeys to Disneyland". New Zealand Herald. November 23, 2005.
  24. ↑ "Bush Pardons Turkeys, But PETA Wants Better After-Care". Fox News. November 22, 2006.
  25. ↑ "Bush Gobbles Up Tradition In Turkey Pardon:Turkeys Head To Disney World". KERO. November 20, 2007.
  26. ↑ "Bush pardons Thanksgiving turkey". Associated Press. November 26, 2008.
  27. ↑ Manuel Roig-Franzia (November 27, 2008). "Thankfully, Bush Never Had an Ax To Grind". Washington Post.
  28. ↑ Peter Grier (November 25, 2009). "Obama pardons 'Courage,' the Thanksgiving turkey". Christian Science Monitor.
  29. ↑ Heim, Joe (November 25, 2010). "At White House, President Obama's pardons prevent turkeys' 'shellacking'". The Washington Post.
  30. ↑ Boyer, Dave (November 23, 2011). Obama pardons turkey — unilaterally. The Washington Times. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  31. ↑ Ahlers, Mike (November 21, 2012). Pardoned turkey's death untimely? Only to the naive. CNN.com. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  32. 1 2 Schwab, Nikki (November 19, 2013). All of President Obama's pardoned turkeys are dead. U.S. News. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  33. ↑ Obama to pardon Thanksgiving turkey. Associated Press. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  34. ↑ President Obama Pardons Turkey. United Press International, Inc. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  35. ↑ Jackson, David (November 27, 2013). "Obama pardons Thanksgiving turkey (and tells jokes)". USA Today. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  36. ↑ Turkey Pardoned From Death By Obama Last Year Is Still Gobbling Up The Good Life. The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  37. 1 2 Klein, Kerry (November 25, 2015). The Post-Pardon Life of the Presidential Turkey. The Atlantic. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  38. ↑ Decision 2014 redux: Ohio turkey farmers narrow down choice birds for presidential pardon. New York Daily News. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  39. ↑ Kim, Eun Kyung (November 26, 2014). No Thanksgiving Mac and Cheese: Obama pardons turkeys in annual ritual. Today. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  40. 1 2 http://www.morvenpark.org/explore/turkey-hill-farm/
  41. ↑ Wolf, Ali (November 20, 2015). Meet the Modesto Turkey Chosen for Presidential Pardon. Fox 40 Sacramento. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  42. ↑ Turkey pardon saves Honest, Abe: Obama saves birds in time for Thanksgiving. Today. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  43. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/morvenpk/photos/a.184664231572350.37611.180696458635794/1231294596909303/?type=3&theater
  44. ↑ https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/11/22/president-obama-final-turkey-pardon
  45. ↑ Yes We Cran: Obama pardons turkeys for last time as POTUS
  46. 1 2 Dziemanowicz, Joe. Presidential turkey pardon prep underway and last year’s survivors ‘doing well’. New York Daily News. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  47. ↑ Seyler, Matt (November 21, 2017). "President Trump spares turkey in second pardon of administration". ABC News. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  48. ↑ Minnesota-bred turkey heads to DC for a Thanksgiving pardon from President Trump
  49. ↑ "Trump will pardon his first turkey next week". CBS News. November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  50. ↑ Cassie Crowe & Becky Nahm (November 24, 2009). "Turkey Celebrates Pardon at State Capitol". kstp.
  51. ↑ Erie County Executive Pardons Butter Lamb. WGRZ (April 16, 2014). Retrieved April 16, 2014.
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