Broad Breasted White Turkey

Commercially the most widely used breed of domesticated turkey, marked by shorter breast bones and larger breasts that can leave the birds unable to breed without human assistance, typically artificial insemination. The breed produces more breast meat, and its pin feathers show less against its white plumage once the carcass is dressed, properties that have made it the standard of commercial turkey production since the 1960s, superseding the Broad Breasted Bronze, from which it was bred by crossing with the White Holland, in industrial settings, and displacing the Beltsville Small White for home cooking, though slow food enthusiasts argue the breed's development and the methods of commercial turkey production have come at the cost of flavor. Raised in large, fully automated grow-out barns housing as many as 10,000 birds, the breed has been refined to grow past 40 pounds, with typical birds weighing 38 to 40 pounds; their size, tendency to overeat and sedentary temperament leave them flightless and prone to obesity-related health problems such as heart disease, respiratory failure and joint damage, so that even birds spared from slaughter, including those granted the annual turkey pardon, usually live short lives afterward. Broad Breasted White eggs also hatch at a very high rate, which makes turkey eggs themselves a rare food delicacy.