Purchase Organic Pastured Turkey!
Raised on Cocofeed
What are Tropical Traditions Pastured Turkeys?
Tropical Traditions pastured
turkeys are raised on pasture (grass,
sunshine, insects, etc.) and on Cocofeed.
What is Cocofeed?
Cocofeed is an organic turkey-feed ration developed by Tropical
Traditions that contains coconut pulp as well as other high-quality natural ingredients. The
coconut pulp is the residue left over after coconut oil has been extracted from the coconut
meat. Cocofeed contains NO soy.
Read more here.
What makes Tropical Traditions Pastured
Turkeys different from other turkeys?
1. Tropical Traditions Pastured Turkeys are raised outdoors on pasture.
Commercially produced turkeys are
typically raised entirely indoors with thousands of other
turkeys in close quarters. They typically never see the sun or
pasture. Organic or “Free Range” turkeys also have no standard definition or industry
guidelines for how long they must be outdoors on pasture, leaving the consumer very
confused. The USDA definition of “free-range” is rather vague. In order to label their meat
and poultry “free-range or free-roaming,” “Producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.”(1) No mention of vegetation (pasture) is made. Poultry producers
themselves seem to have no common standards on what the term means. Some producers interpret
“access to the outside” as a small door on an end-wall of a 100 ft. long
shed filled with un-caged birds moving about freely on a litter-covered floor. Others feel
they are compliant with the spirit of free-range if their birds are outside in the open air
and under the sun; even if their “range” is simply bare dirt.
When it comes to the consumer’s perception of “free-range,” arguably
the vision that “free-range” most often conjures is of a bird happily hunting and pecking in
the grass in an open field. Because of the wholesomeness associated with the term “organic,”
many consumers take for granted that all certified organic poultry raised for meat and eggs
are raised outside on green pasture. Sadly, this is not so. The term “free-range” is not
even listed in the NOP (National Organic Program) “terms defined.”(2)
They do give guidelines that say: “All organically raised animals must have access to the
outdoors...”(3)
So when someone purchases poultry products labeled “free range” or “organic,” the birds may
never have actually seen the light of day or green grass its entire life. Technically, they
simply have to have a door out of their confinement, but they don’t have to necessarily walk
through that door to meet the requirements. To read more about how pastured poultry is
different,
go here.
2. Tropical Traditions pastured poultry are fed Cocofeed which contains no soy.
Cocofeed is an organic turkey-feed ration developed by Tropical
Traditions that contains coconut pulp as well as other high-quality natural ingredients. The
coconut pulp is the residue left over after coconut oil has been extracted from the coconut
meat. Cocofeed contains NO soy.
In tropical cultures, coconut has been a traditional ingredient in
poultry feed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. The coconut pulp residue left over
after coconut oil was extracted from the coconut meat is still a common animal feed
component today in places where coconuts grow. This coconut pulp is high in fiber and
protein. Mechanically extracted coconut pulp was also approved by the FDA as an animal feed
and listed in the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials, Official
Publication) as early as 1955. While coconut cannot supply ALL the nutritional needs of
turkeys, there are multitudes of studies that have been done in the Philippines and
elsewhere showing how coconut pulp can be a major component of
poultry feeds when combined
with other quality ingredients. Some of these studies are more than 50 years old.
In more recent history, with the development of fast-growing
factory turkeys, soy has become a key ingredient in
poultry feeds for the purpose of
supplying a high concentration of protein to promote fast growth. It is very difficult to
find a turkey in the US market today that has not been fed high soy-based feeds. Even
turkeys advertised as “organic” or “free range” are
almost always fed an organic mixture high in
soybeans.
3. Tropical Traditions pastured poultry are raised by family farmers.
Tropical Traditions Pastured Poultry
turkeys are all raised by family
farmers. These farmers run diversified farms practicing sustainable agriculture. They will
rotate tracts of land with crops and other animals, or let it go fallow from time to time.
When a batch of turkeys is raised on a piece of pasture, typically that pasture will not
see poultry again for two or more years. In the interval, crops may be grown in that
pasture, or it may go fallow allowing grass to grow, die, and decompose so that the soil is
kept in balance and not contaminated from too much chicken manure. So when you buy Tropical
Traditions pastured poultry, you are supporting small-scale family farmers and by-passing
the system that produces the conventional “factory
bird.”
About our Pastured
Turkeys
We have various farmers throughout Wisconsin raise these
turkeys during the short
Wisconsin summers, when they can roam around outside on fresh green pasture. We have
limited supplies, and they are offered on a first-come first-serve basis. While the
turkeys are all raised on family farms, they are processed at a USDA certified
processing plant that is also organic certified. All of the ingredients of the Cocofeed and the pastures they roam in are also certified organic.
Shipping
Cold storage and frozen items like poultry are shipped from a separate location and
have separate shipping charges from non-cold storage items. Shipping charges depend
on weight and zip code, and will be chosen at check out. Due to the nature of the
products, perishable food items such as meat, poultry and dairy are not eligible for
refund or return.
Frequently asked questions about Cocofeed and Pastured Poultry
Why do your pastured turkeys cost so much compared to other
turkeys?
1. There is no comparison to turkeys raised on pasture and Cocofeed and other
commercial turkeys. Tropical Traditions spent over a year in research and
development in developing Cocofeed, and our poultry research continues. There are no
other turkeys on the market we are aware of that are raised on a special formula
that contains no soy and something like Cocofeed. We developed the Cocofeed
ourselves.
2. By purchasing our turkeys people are directly supporting the farmers who raise
them, rather than a large company that runs vertically integrated farming systems
producing cheap food. The independent farmers who raise pasture birds for Tropical
Traditions make a fair profit. Unless there is an economic incentive for more people
to begin this type of farming, we are left with cheap factory produced
birds
because nobody wants to take the time to raise them on pasture.
3. It costs more to purchase this type of a product from the Internet and have it
delivered to your home, because of our costs to make this available. If you can find
a local farmer willing to raise these types of
birds, you can purchase them
directly from the farm for less. We encourage you to support your local farmer!
Unfortunately, with the escalating cost of real estate, most people wanting to go
into farming have to look at rural land far away from most major population centers.
Companies like Tropical Traditions are helping to bridge the gap between urban
dwellers and healthy farms in remote areas.
4. Everyone has the freedom of choice. If one does not like the high price of
properly grown food, they have the choice to move out into the country and to raise
it themselves. When Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States, 48% of the
population were farmers, and almost everyone was close to fresh farm sources. Today,
less than 2% of the population raises our food. Those unwilling to make the
sacrifice to raise their own healthy food should be prepared to pay a premium price
to those who do.
Do you sell your Cocofeed?
No. We are not a feed company, and feed sources will vary depending on one’s
location in the US. We are working to have some feed mills across the country carry
the coconut pulp so that they can mix feeds like this for purchase. Once we know of
some feed mills carrying the coconut pulp, we will pass those references on.
References
(1) From the USDA site on meat and poultry labeling:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/lablterm.htm
(2) NOP terms defined:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004445&acct=nopgeninfo
(3) From the USDA website on the National Organic Program:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/FactSheets/ProdHandE.html
*Plus cold-storage separate shipping. See above. Orders are shipped
on Mondays through Wednesdays each week.
©Copyright 2002-2009 Tropical Traditions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Tropical Traditions® is a registered trademark of Tropical Traditions, Inc.
America's source of Certified Organic Virgin Coconut Oil.
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