Friday, March 29, 2024

Covid-19 blues: If we have our Deepawali to worry about, US has its own on Thanksgiving

(While India gets into its festival season, the United States too gets ready for its own, Thanksgiving which falls on November 26. But the one this year is like no other. Sniffing the mood is Bhumika Arora)

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the social activist and former President of the United States made his celebrated speech about human freedoms in 1941, Norman Rockwell wasted no time and soon virtually interpreted his postulates of freedom in four paintings, Thanksgiving.

It is that time of year again when cooks around the country are just starting to decide how many guests, they can safely host for Thanksgiving. But it seems like the people who are growing and selling the centrepiece of the meal have been doing their own kind of calculation.

The pandemic has sent the entire world into the lockdown for months and while we may have overcome the worst part of Covid-19, its impacts are still clipping the wings of people who are trying to find the ways to celebrate the holiday season. To make matters worse, there has been a consistent rise in plant-based meals since the pandemic began.

Without an iota of doubt, the pandemic has turned the tables and farmers and retailers are already placing their bets on how would pandemic Thanksgiving looks like?

Amidst the social distancing and travel challenges, the traditional holiday gathering that used to bring dozens of people together will be turning towards smaller celebrations – thus smaller home-cooked turkeys on the table.

The shift in demand is taking a toll on the turkey farmers as the majority of families planning to host their immediate family members only and with small gatherings, turkey farmers are anticipating demand for smaller turkey products. Their major fear is that they will be stuck with too many big turkeys with them. Turkey’s breasts and smaller hams are expected to be popular among retailers.

It is not easy for farmers to raise smaller turkeys quickly as they require a set amount of time to mature at a predetermined size.

They cannot opt for the entire frozen turkey as well because it is neither practically nor financially feasible for them. Fresh turkeys yield them much more returns than frozen ones.

Drew Bowman raises approximately 70,000 turkeys annually. He says the turkey industry is not one which you could quickly pivot. There is too much variation from bird-to-bird to allow for machine work. His slaughter facility employs 30 to 130 employees. Since he can’t depend entirely on machines, this new calibration is challenging for him with his manpower.

The Coronavirus lockdowns have crushed the market. Those small, sustainable farmers who raise a certain number of turkeys to sell fresh just for Thanksgiving, that’s going to be a problem this year. They commit to their chicks as early as January.

For a 300-500 flock range, you have to bring all your birds in at once and have them slaughtered at the same time. A lot of coordination follows—cold storage, packaging, transportation. A lot goes to time it with Thanksgiving. For farmers like Bowman, the challenge is people might not opt for a whole turkey, opting instead for other entrees or for turkey parts.

The United States has been the world’s largest turkey producer and exporter for years and turkey consumption has doubled since 1970.

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