The holidays are here. If you’re the one making the delicious feast for all your friends and family, you’ve probably been planning the components of the meal for some time now. Of course, it just simply wouldn’t be Thanksgiving or Christmas without the star of the meal, turkey. Sure, you could go to the local supermarket and grab the turkey like you probably do every year, but what if you got it from a local farmer instead? Here are reasons to skip the supermarket when buying your turkey this year.

Support Your Local Economy

The holidays are a great time to show support for your local farmers. Farmers often put extra care into raising their birds in the most humane and environmentally friendly way possible. Not to mention shopping local keeps four times the money in your community’s economy compared to shopping at major chains. Vote with your dollars this Thanksgiving and support your community. A farmer will thank you.

You’re Buying a Turkey That Got To Be A Turkey

Most conventionally raised turkeys live their lives indoors in confined conditions, and odds are they have never even seen the outdoors. In contrast, when you buy a turkey from a local farm you know that they got to live their life the way nature intended. Grazing on a pasture with plenty of access to sunshine and all the bugs they could possibly eat.

You Know What You Are Eating

When you’re buying from a supermarket, do you really know where the food you are eating comes from? Sure, you can see where the farm was and read a list of what was injected into it. But you still don’t know what kind of farm raised the turkey.

Buying from a local farmer gives you the opportunity to visit the farm and see what kind of conditions your turkey was living in. You have the ability to talk to the farmer about their farming practices, what kind of feed they use and their processing. You can rest assured that the bird you are purchasing isn’t injected with unwanted preservatives and saline.

It Tastes Better

It’s true that a farm-fresh turkey tastes better than a turkey you don’t know anything about. They aren’t given hormones or antibiotics which influence the flavor. Also, knowing that you helped support a local farmer, put money back into your community and are eating a healthy, humanely raised turkey will make your holiday season that much better.