I lived 6 miles from Moroni, Utah, for almost ten years. Scott Carrier didn't mention directly how far removed these agri-business turkeys are from their wild cousins, genetically speaking. He does suggest one of the effects of genetic modification: an inverse relation between intelligence and rapid weight gain.
Mr. Carrier has a wonderful way of telling stories that seem to happen the way life happens. This one moves from the humor in the grower's observation about turkeys' suicidal nature to the robotic tone of the personnel director / tour guide. The sound of the turkeys' air cavities being sucked out hit a gut-level reflex of creature feeling, even though the birds are dead by then. And, my god, the machine that could be the name of a super-hero: The Eviscerator! And to finish with the lite-muzak at Dan's food store and Carrier's own fade-out left me pondering just what it is we Americans have to be thankful for--besides our own increasing capacities for rapid weight gain.
Review of Turkeys
Creighton King
Posted on June 15, 2007 at 10:17 PM
I lived 6 miles from Moroni, Utah, for almost ten years. Scott Carrier didn't mention directly how far removed these agri-business turkeys are from their wild cousins, genetically speaking. He does suggest one of the effects of genetic modification: an inverse relation between intelligence and rapid weight gain.
Mr. Carrier has a wonderful way of telling stories that seem to happen the way life happens. This one moves from the humor in the grower's observation about turkeys' suicidal nature to the robotic tone of the personnel director / tour guide. The sound of the turkeys' air cavities being sucked out hit a gut-level reflex of creature feeling, even though the birds are dead by then. And, my god, the machine that could be the name of a super-hero: The Eviscerator! And to finish with the lite-muzak at Dan's food store and Carrier's own fade-out left me pondering just what it is we Americans have to be thankful for--besides our own increasing capacities for rapid weight gain.