Here’s How Many Turkeys Are Killed Each Year For Thanksgiving

Turkey is the centerpiece of most Thanksgiving meals — a time when family, friends and loved ones come together for an expansive and filling meal.

But Thanksgiving marks a far darker time in the short, farm-bred lives of these gobbling poultry. Around 45 million turkeys will be killed this year as a result of high demand for the annual feasts, according to the National Turkey Federation.

That's more than 18 percent of all the 244.