--- title: Head to Head: Wild vs. Supermarket Turkeys description: Which bird is better? canonical: https://time.com/3598279/turkey-wild-supermarket/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-21T18:36:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:59.107Z article:section: Health og:title: Head to Head: Wild vs. Supermarket Turkeys og:description: Which bird is better? og:url: https://time.com/3598279/turkey-wild-supermarket/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72d8b3ef696c26b8/69876a135f570f38b3b13b38/turkey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: turkey og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Head to Head: Wild vs. Supermarket Turkeys twitter:description: Which bird is better? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72d8b3ef696c26b8/69876a135f570f38b3b13b38/turkey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Tale of Two Turkeys: Wild vs. Supermarket by [Julie Rossman and Roxanne Palmer / World Science Festival](/author/world-science-festival/) ## Julie Rossman and Roxanne Palmer / World Science Festival Nov 21, 2014 6:36 PM CUT  Turkey in roaster Turkey in roasterGetty Images by [Julie Rossman and Roxanne Palmer / World Science Festival](/author/world-science-festival/) ## Julie Rossman and Roxanne Palmer / World Science Festival Nov 21, 2014 6:36 PM CUT  Whether you like yours brined or unbrined, stuffed with cornbread or sausage, in drumstick or leftover-sandwich format, it all starts with the turkey. Today’s turkey-lover has two choices: The supermarket bird, an artificially giganticized product of careful breeding and industrial farming methods, and the wild turkey, which hasn’t evolved much since the first Thanksgiving. Here’s a quick visual guide to help you decide which is best for you:  World Science Festival World Science Festival [_This article originally appeared on World Science Festival._](http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2014/11/head-head-wild-vs-supermarket-turkeys/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3598279/turkey-wild-supermarket/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3598279/turkey-wild-supermarket/"},"headline":"A Tale of Two Turkeys: Wild vs. Supermarket","datePublished":"2014-11-21T18:36:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:59.107Z","description":"Which bird is better?","url":"https://time.com/3598279/turkey-wild-supermarket/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Food","Turkey","Supermarket","Thanksgiving"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72d8b3ef696c26b8/69876a135f570f38b3b13b38/turkey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julie Rossman and Roxanne Palmer / World Science Festival"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72d8b3ef696c26b8/69876a135f570f38b3b13b38/turkey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"turkey","caption":"turkey","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3598279/turkey-wild-supermarket/","name":"A Tale of Two Turkeys: Wild vs. Supermarket"}}]}] ```