With the Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner, Foster Farms is hoping to bring something different to the table this year with their USDA certified organic whole turkeys, which are available at Costco locations throughout California.

“Our total turkey business for this time of year is approximately 1.2 to 1.4 million birds and of that, approximately 150,000 will be organic,” said Patrick Sai, Foster Farmers Marketing Manager, Turkey Division.

Foster Farms introduced their organic whole turkeys in November 2015, just months after the company launched its line of organic ground turkey amid increasing consumer demand for organic choices in July. It was at this time that the company became the largest producer of organic ground turkey in the Western United States.

“We decided to offer our organic whole turkeys because of the growing consumer demand. More and more consumers want to know what is in their food,” said Sai. “We see it every day with our organic ground turkey, which has continued to grow.”

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture Organic Production Survey and the USDA Certified Organic Survey 2015 Summary, the number of organic turkeys sold in California increased by 700 percent between 2007 and 2015. Last year, the state accounted for nearly 70 percent of all organic turkeys sold nationwide.

Raised free range and USDA certified organic, Sai said the turkeys are 100 percent organic vegetarian fed using feed that contains non-genetically engineered ingredients, and they are given no antibiotics, hormones or steroids throughout the duration of their life. Birds that are raised as organic whole turkeys are kept on separate ranches than the Foster Farms “Fresh & Natural” turkeys.