Georgia chicken sales remain steady during Thanksgiving holiday

GAINESVILLE - Thanksgiving is a holiday centered around a picturesque meal. What ends up on the table varies from house to house, but turkey is the traditional constant. <br /> <br /> Or is it? Mike Giles, president of the Georgia Poultry Federation said a chicken often graces the table of many Georgians and chicken sales are fairly steady during the Thanksgiving holiday.<br /> <br /> "Turkeys are traditional, although there are no turkeys produced commercially in Georgia, many consumers chose to by a delicious Georgia chicken to compliment their Thanksgiving meal," said Giles.<br /> <br /> Giles said that the United States, most turkeys come from other states, such as Iowa and South Carolina, but there are no commercial turkey farms in the state. <br /> <br /> "There used to be a few in the east Georgia, around Athens, area, and the processing plants for those were in South Carolina but [there are] no longer any commercial turkey farms."<br /> <br /> While the demand for chicken is highest in the summer, Giles says the fall months have steady sales. "But chicken is the most popular meat product produced in the United States today - per capita consumption leads all other proteins, so demand stays pretty steady." <br /> <br /> Those steady sales mean good things for the state economy. The Federation reports that the poultry industry - including chicken meat, eggs and the like - contributes $38 billion to the state's economy annually, and impacts approximately 138,000 jobs.<br />