Turkeys raised for meat are among the most intensively modified farm animals, bred to grow so rapidly that natural behaviors and physical health are severely compromised.
Commercial turkeys represent an extreme example of selective breeding that has traded animal welfare for production efficiency. The same process that creates fast-growing, large-breasted birds creates an animal whose body is a source of constant compromise — hearts strained by their own growth, legs struggling to support disproportionate muscle mass, social behaviors frustrated by dense, barren environments. Welfare improvement requires slowing growth rates through genetic selection that prioritizes health alongside production, and providing environments that allow the behavioral complexity appropriate for cognitively capable birds.