01. Frank Reese Jr.
Owner, Good Shepherd Poultry
Bio: I am a fourth generation Kansas Farmer. I grew up farming and loved it and never stopped. As I grew older and saw most of my mentors dying off and many of the birds disappearing I knew I had to do something to save these wonderful old breeds. Even though I know I am producing the best product by raising heritage poultry it is more than that; I have a great love and respect for these beautiful birds. The emotional attachment to the birds being raised is completely gone from farming today.
What do you think is the most pressing food issue today?
I think there is no food more radically changed and altered than factory chickens and turkeys being sold to the public. When people say they are raising their poultry free range, organic, pastured, antibiotic-free, etc., it does not change the genetics of the birds they are raising. The modern genetically engineered turkey and chicken grows 300 times faster than their ancestors did. This is not because of antibiotics, hormones or growth stimulants but because they have been genetically engineered through hybrid selection to do so.
We pay a price to have factory farms produce cheap poultry and turkeys and that price is our health. The other issue is welfare. There are no animals on Earth that suffer more than turkeys and chickens when being raised for our consumption.
After 60 years of raising poultry I am shocked at how quickly poultry has changed and become nothing more than a product that people do not even know or seem to care where it comes from. I think there are very few chefs left who would know how to cook a heritage bird.
