How many turkeys are slaughtered in the U.S. every year?
According to the USDA and the National Turkey Federation, between 250 and 300 million turkeys are raised for slaughter in the U.S. every year – more than 46 million alone for Thanksgiving. U.S. turkey consumption, which has increased by 108 percent since 1970, averaged 17.6 pounds per person last year. The USDA Economic Research Service estimated turkey meat production in 2008 to total 6.2 billion pounds – a 7.2 percent increase from 2007.
