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A Natural for the Holidays : Even Vegetarians Gobble Company’s Free-Range Turkeys

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

As you settle down for your Thanksgiving feast today, here’s a question to contemplate: What does a vegetarian do on this day of national eating frenzy centered on a roasted bird?

Some “fall off the wagon,” said Gary Flanagan, president of Shelton’s Poultry Inc. in Pomona, the only Southern California operation that raises free-range poultry without antibiotics, growth hormones and other drugs.

“We have a lot of vegetarians who . . . get their protein fix for the year by eating one of our turkeys,” he said.

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Since 1924, Shelton’s has been selling fresh and frozen turkeys raised in outdoor range pens. For this Thanksgiving, the company sold about 95,000 birds. That makes it a small contributor to California’s status as the nation’s fifth-largest turkey-selling state, with projected 1996 sales of 23 million birds. Sales of Shelton’s frozen turkeys are up 20% over last year, whereas fresh turkey sales climbed 15%. They are sold at Shelton’s farm and in upscale grocery and health food stores.

As shoppers flock to free-range turkeys, even the big commercial producers are starting to get into the game. Among them is Zacky Farms, a big privately held producer in El Monte and Fresno.

Flanagan noticed another item in distributors’ catalogs geared to making it easier for vegetarians to remain true: Tofurky, a tofu loaf shaped like a turkey. “They’re supposed to be pretty tasty,” he said, “but I have no idea. I never eat the stuff.”

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The Golden Bird State

California is the nation’s fifth-largest turkey producer. Number of turkeys produced in the state in millions: ’96 projection, 23

Source: California Department of Food and Agriculture

Researched by JENNIFER OLDHAM / Los Angeles Times

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