{"id":13502,"date":"2008-11-26T20:39:44","date_gmt":"2008-11-27T03:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2008\/11\/26\/they-stuffed-and-roasted-me-with-science.html"},"modified":"2008-11-26T20:39:44","modified_gmt":"2008-11-27T03:39:44","slug":"they_stuffed_and_roasted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/11\/26\/they_stuffed_and_roasted.html","title":{"rendered":"“They stuffed and roasted me with Science!”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fascinating article from Wired on the agronomic evolution of the components of the Thanksgiving meal<\/a> — from turkeys …<\/p>\n

\n

Anderson, who has bred the birds for 26 years, said the key technical advance was artificial insemination, which came into widespread use in the 1960s, right around the time that turkey size starts to skyrocket. The reason is that turkeys over 30 pounds are “inefficient” breeders: It’s difficult for them to actually perform the natural mating act. With artificial insemination, the largest birds can still be used as sires, even if they have a hard time walking, let alone engaging in sexual reproduction.<\/p>\n

“You can spread the one tom around better. It adds a whole new level of efficiency. You can spread him over more hens,” Anderson said. “It takes the lid off how big the bird can be. If the size of the bird keeps them from mating, then you’re stuck.”<\/p>\n

This process, compounded over dozens of generations, has yielded turkeys with genes that make them very big. In one study<\/a> in the journal Poultry Science<\/em>, turkeys genetically representative of old birds from 1966 and modern turkeys were each fed the exact same old-school diet. The 2003 birds grew to 39 pounds while the legacy birds only made it to 21 pounds. Other researchers have estimated that 90 percent of the changes in turkey size are genetic.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most obvious change in turkey genetics is that, unlike the colorful pictures we all drew in elementary school, modern, factory-farmed birds are all white. The Broad Breasted White turkey became the dominant commercial breed in the middle of the 20th century.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

… to corn …<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

That original sweet corn was only about 10 percent sugar, but it also was about 25 percent phytoglycogen, lending it a nice, creamy texture. In the next major corn transition \u2014 to supersweet corn in the 1970s through a variation in the Shrunken2 gene<\/a> \u2014 that creamy texture was lost, even as the sweetness of the corn skyrocketed.<\/p>\n

Among the thirteen genes known to affect corn sweetness<\/a>, however, industrious agronomists have found an even better gene to work with, called SE, and they made “sugar enhanced corn.”<\/p>\n

“That’s the most popular for fresh market today,” Tracy said. “It gives a sugar level of 20 to 25 percent and it turns out to be very tender.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

… to potatoes.<\/p>\n

\n

Potatoes are now driven by a decidedly nonfestive activity: the making of french fries and potato chips. Almost a mirror of corn genetics, agronomists have ratcheted up the starch in potatoes and turned down the sugar, said Gregory Porter<\/a>, a potato specialist at the University of Maine.<\/p>\n

“High-starch french fries, when they fry, don’t get soggy,” Porter said. “Low sugars are important because high sugars in potatoes would result in a dark brown discoloration. High-starch potatoes result in a nice golden-colored fry.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m certainly not going to turn my nose up at Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow … but I may see if I can find some of those heritage turkeys the article talks about, to see what the taste difference is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fascinating article from Wired on the agronomic evolution of the components of the Thanksgiving meal — from turkeys … Anderson, who has bred the birds for 26 years, said the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[38,68,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food-drink","category-holidays","category-science"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6495,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/08\/25\/more_mixed_mess.html","url_meta":{"origin":13502,"position":0},"title":"More mixed messages","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 25-Aug-04 10:59am","format":false,"excerpt":"Couple agree to have a kid, woman gets pregnant by artificial insemination, couple breaks up, woman sues for child support ... ... and the court rules the \"informal agreement\" isn't...","rel":"","context":"In "Politics & Law"","block_context":{"text":"Politics & Law","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5460,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/03\/08\/half_way_measur.html","url_meta":{"origin":13502,"position":1},"title":"Half-way measures","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 8-Mar-04 8:41am","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's why we need gay marriage: \"Lesbian Breakup Raises a Child-Support Issue\" (emphasis below mine): The highest court in Massachusetts met Thursday to consider a child-support case involving a lesbian...","rel":"","context":"In "LGBTQ &c"","block_context":{"text":"LGBTQ &c","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/gay-stuff"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7783,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2005\/08\/11\/or_if_not_bacon.html","url_meta":{"origin":13502,"position":2},"title":"Or, if not bacon, then vanilla","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 11-Aug-05 1:46pm","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my favorite flavors. I'll take vanilla ice cream over many another flavor. So why does it have such a bland reputation? Not because of it's commonplaceness ... Real...","rel":"","context":"In "Food & Drink"","block_context":{"text":"Food & Drink","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/food-drink"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30435,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/01\/is-parenthood-genetic-legal-emotional-magical-or-what.html","url_meta":{"origin":13502,"position":3},"title":"Is parenthood genetic, legal, emotional, magical, or what?","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 1-Oct-12 2:52pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, it's elements of all of the above, in varying mixes depending on the circumstance. But it's primarily emotional, I think, which is what makes adoptive and blended families work so very specially -- and which is what makes NOM and the AFA and other conservative groups shrill defense in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/images0-focus-opensocial.googleusercontent.com\/gadgets\/proxy?container=focus&gadget=a&resize_h=100&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthinkprogress.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F10%2FLisa-Miller-227x300.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":131529,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/09\/13\/marriage-in-name-only.html","url_meta":{"origin":13502,"position":4},"title":"Marriage in Name Only","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 13-Sep-16 10:44pm","format":false,"excerpt":"After the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell that blocking gay couples from marrying was unconstitutional, the initial reaction from lawmakers in conservatives states was defiance. That's largely faded, but a new tactic has come onto the scene that's even more insidious, as exemplified in the story below.Rather than blocking gay\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":315,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/05\/05\/looting.html","url_meta":{"origin":13502,"position":5},"title":"Looting!","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 5-May-03 8:38pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Dammit! Where were the Marines? The decision to make the cafeterias into \"no pay zones\" spread through the 40-acre complex like wildfire. Soon, the hungry patrons came running. \"It was...","rel":"","context":"In "Geopolitical Brouhaha"","block_context":{"text":"Geopolitical Brouhaha","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/geopolitical-brouhaha"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13502\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}