Purchase Organic Pastured Turkey!
Raised on Cocofeed
 
70% OFF!
2 Pastured Turkeys
until Thursday, May 15th only

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.

Shipped Frozen with Dry Ice.   1 Whole Pastured Organic Turkey (Average weight 12.00 lbs.) 12 lbs. total Retail: $125.00 Now: $75.00* 70% OFF! 2 Whole Pastured Organic Turkeys (Average weight 12 - 14 lbs. each) 26 lbs. total Retail: $250.00 Now: $75.00* until Thursday, May 15th

(Lower 48 states -  US only) Orders are shipped Monday through Wednesday each week with dry ice in coolers.

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.as.usda.gov/nop/NOP/standards/DefineReg.htmll

(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.

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