2 turkeys from Minnesota-based Jennie-O will be pardoned by Biden this Thanksgiving
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Jennie-O Turkey Store says two turkeys from Minnesota will be flown to Washington, D.C. this Thanksgiving, to be pardoned by President Joe Biden.
The birds were hatched in July, and they are currently being raised in a Jennie-O flock.
It has been 30 years since Jennie-O last sent turkeys to the White House.
The turkeys were presented on the Christensen Farms Stage at the Minnesota State Fair Thursday afternoon.
The tradition of presidents pardoning turkeys is traditionally thought to have started in the Truman era, though the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum has reported "no documents, speeches, newspaper clippings, photographs, or other contemporary records in our holdings which refer to Truman pardoning a turkey that he received as a gift in 1947, or at any other time during his Presidency." The White House Historical Association reports that it actually began much later, with President George H.W. Bush.
Minnesota is the top producer of turkeys in the U.S. Jennie-O, which is based in Willmar, is owned by Hormel Foods.