Turkeys
Some farmers grew turkeys on their farms in 1907, but most people probably went out hunting for wild turkey for their Thanksgiving tables. In fact, wild turkeys were nearly wiped out in the early days of statehood because of the influx of people. By 1925, most people thought they were extinct. In the late 1940s the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation embarked on a stocking program to reestablish the wild turkey to its former range. This program was so successful that today we have huntable populations in every county. History of Oklahoma's Wild Turkeys In 1990 the wild turkey was named Oklahoma's official game bird. Online OAITC Lesson: A Rafter of Turkeys and Smart Board Lesson
What makes dark meat dark?Dark meat, which avian myologists (bird muscle scientists) refer to as "red muscle," is used for sustained activity—chiefly walking, in the case of a turkey. The dark color comes from a chemical compound in the muscle called myoglobin, which plays a key role in oxygen transport. White muscle, in contrast, is suitable only for short bursts of activity such as, for turkeys, flying. That's why the turkey's leg meat and thigh meat are dark, and its breast meat (which makes up the primary flight muscles) is white. Other birds more capable in the flight department, such as ducks and geese, have red muscle (and dark meat) throughout. A 3-ounce serving of skinless white turkey meat contains 25 grams of fat, and less than 1 gram of saturated fat. Dark meat has more saturated fat than white meat, and eating the skin adds even more saturated fat. Turkey is also a good source of arginine—an amino acid the body uses to make new protein and nitric oxide, the substance that relaxes and opens arteries. (Source: Harvard Health Publications) Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom
Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is a program of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the Oklahoma State Department of Education. |
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