Editor’s note: This story was originally published on November 22, 2023, and reflects events that took place that year. We’re republishing it in its original form for this year’s Thanksgiving week.

Late into the night on November 2, a few animal rights activists opened an unlocked barn door and stepped foot into a sea of turkeys living in gruesome conditions. It was one of several barns at a sprawling factory farming operation in Owatonna, Minnesota, that raises turkeys for Jennie-O, the country’s second-largest turkey producer and this year’s supplier to the annual White House turkey pardon ceremony.

Inside this story

• An undercover investigation into one of America’s biggest turkey companies revealed sick birds in inhumane conditions.
• Part of the problem is the farms themselves, where turkeys are overcrowded and suffer from high rates of disease.
• But the biggest problem is the bird’s biology. To boost profits, turkey companies have bred turkeys to grow twice as fast, and nearly twice as big, as they were in the 1960s.
• The rapid growth causes a range of health issues, and many turkeys are so top-heavy they can hardly walk.

“We documented a lot of really horrific health issues,” activist Kecia Doolittle, one of the investigators, told Vox. “It was about as bad as you can imagine.”

They found numerous turkeys who were dead and rotting, Doolittle said, and many who had trouble walking. There were also live birds pecking at dead birds, and dozens of birds with visible wounds — each a sign of cannibalism, a persistent problem in turkey farming.

Doolittle also alleges there were a number of turkeys who were immobilized and unable to access food and water. In a letter to Steele County’s attorney and local law enforcement, Bonnie Klapper — a former assistant US attorney advising Doolittle — said the conditions are a violation of Minnesota’s animal cruelty law, which stipulates that “No person shall deprive any animal over which the person has charge or control of necessary food, water, or shelter.” (Minnesota is one of the few states that don’t exempt agricultural practices from their animal cruelty statute.)

“It smelled terrible,” Doolittle said. The air made her throat burn, likely due to high ammonia levels from the turkeys’ waste, which gives the birds eye and respiratory issues.

The activists found a sign on the property that read, “Jennie-O Turkey Store cares about turkeys — you should, too!”

“Jennie-O Turkey Store takes the welfare of the animals under our care seriously and has robust animal care standards throughout our supply chain,” a spokesperson from Hormel Foods, Jennie-O’s parent company, told Vox via email. “We conduct routine audits at our facilities to ensure that our standards........

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