Butterball is a
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
of
turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and other
poultry
Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...
products produced by Butterball LLC. The company manufactures food products in the United States and internationally—specializing in turkey, cured deli meats, raw roasts and specialty products such as soups and salads, sandwiches, and entrées.
Butterball LLC was a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
of
Smithfield Foods and
Maxwell Farms Inc., an affiliate of the Goldsboro Milling Co.
Seaboard Corporation bought Smithfield's stake in Butterball in 2010. The company sells over one billion pounds of turkey a year. Though the ''Butterball'' brand has been formally recognized since 1940, Butterball LLC was formed in 2006.
In Canada, the rights to Butterball are owned by Exceldor Foods Ltd.
Products
According to Butterball, the following products are sold under the Butterball name:
*whole turkeys
*turkey cuts
*
cold cuts
*
sausage
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders.
...
*
turkey bacon
Turkey bacon is a meat prepared from chopped, formed, cured, and smoked turkey, commonly marketed as a low-fat alternative to pork bacon; it may also be used as a substitute for bacon where religious dietary laws (for example halal in Islam an ...
*turkey medallions, strips, chicken strips
*turkey franks
*ground turkey
*frozen turkey burgers, mignons, meatballs
*
corn dog
A corn dog (also spelled corndog and also known by #Name variations, several other names) is a hot dog on a stick that has been coated in a thick layer of cornmeal Batter (cooking), batter and Deep frying, deep fried. It originated in the Unite ...
Among numerous other brands,
English-bred Butterball turkeys are sold in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
during
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
time for the Christmas
feast.
History
In 1951, Leo Peters, an employee of the Chicago meat processor
Swift and Co., purchased the trademark for "Butterball" from an Ohio woman who had owned it since 1940. According to Peters' son, Peters was unsure what he would actually use it for, but by 1954 Peters' trimmed, dressed, and fast-froze turkeys were patented under the name Butterball Turkey.
According to Butterball's website, "Butterball received its name from the broad breast and plump, round shape of the turkey."
Peters licensed the Butterball name to Swift for ten years before selling it to them in the 1960s, which was acquired by
ConAgra
Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...
in 1990.
Leo Peters retained rights to use the name Butterball Farms for his butter products
and the company operates today as Butterball Farms, Inc. (founded in 1950s as Peters Pak
), producing and marketing shaped
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...
products.
In October 2006, ConAgra's Butterball branded turkey business was sold to
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
–based Carolina Turkeys, making Carolina Turkey the largest turkey producer in the United States.
The company, located southeast of Raleigh, North Carolina, in
Mount Olive, North Carolina
Mount Olive is a town in Duplin and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,198. It is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is home to the M ...
, on the Wayne and Duplin county line, subsequently renamed itself Butterball LLC.
In 2008, the company moved its headquarters to a new $12 million building in Greenfield North off Interstate 40 in
Garner, North Carolina
Garner is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 31,159 as of the 2020 census. A suburb of Raleigh, the city limits are entirely within Wake County, though portions of unincorporated Wake County, as well as the ...
. The headquarters has a "customer experience center" with a special kitchen for promotional demonstrations.
Smithfield offered $200 million to Maxwell Farms for the portion of Butterball that Smithfield did not own. Chief executive C. Larry Pope said at that time that he hoped Maxwell Farms would spend more on the company's facilities and marketing. A decision had to be made whether to buy Maxwell's share or sell Smithfield's. On September 10, 2010, Smithfield announced the sale of its 49 percent share of Butterball for an estimated $175 million. Maxwell Farms will sell 50 percent of Butterball to Seaboard Corp.
[ ]
Corporate
Walter “Gator” Pelletier, past chairman of the
National Turkey Federation, is Butterball LLC's corporate secretary—managing all operating activities from turkey production and directing Maxwell Farms, the managing partner of Butterball. Pelletier is also president of Maxwell Farms, Inc., vice president of Goldsboro Milling Company, and secretary-treasurer of Maxwell Foods, Inc. Pelletier had joined Goldsboro Milling Company in 1981.
Turkey Talk-Line
Beginning in late 1981, Butterball has maintained a toll-free telephone line called the Turkey Talk-Line to help customers with cooking and preparation questions. Eleven thousand people called in 1981, and in recent years the number has grown to over 200,000 each holiday season. The most frequent question asked is how long a turkey takes to defrost.
In ''
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...
'' episode "
The Indians in the Lobby", President
Josiah Bartlet calls the number (referred to as the "Butterball Hotline" in the script) to discuss stuffing and cooking his Thanksgiving turkey while trying to avoid revealing his identity to the operator (voiced by an uncredited
Ana Gasteyer).
In 2013 the Talk-Line began employing men and the company noted that one-quarter of the calls came from men.
Criticism
Animal rights activists such as
Mercy for Animals, the
Humane Society of the United States
Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society International (HSI), is a global nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scop ...
, and
PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president.
Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...
have accused Butterball of animal cruelty.
These organizations cite intentional cruelty inflicted on the birds, as well as the incidental cruelty inherent in the slaughter methods used, and the breeding practices which produce animals too large to reproduce without human intervention.
In October 2012, a Mercy for Animals investigator documented a pattern of abuse and neglect at numerous Butterball turkey operations in North Carolina. The investigation revealed workers kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their wings and necks, and throwing turkeys onto the ground or on top of other birds; birds suffering from serious untreated illnesses and injuries, including open sores, infections, and broken bones; and workers grabbing birds by their wings or necks and violently slamming them into tiny transport crates with no regard for their welfare.
This investigation occurred less than one year after a Mercy for Animals undercover investigation into a different Butterball turkey facility led to five workers being charged with criminal
cruelty to animals
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or Injury, harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...
. Mercy for Animals’ 2011 investigation at a Butterball turkey factory farm in Shannon, Hoke County, North Carolina revealed Butterball workers violently kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their wings and necks, slamming them into transport crates, and leaving turkeys to suffer from serious untreated injuries and infections. As a result of the investigation, North Carolina officials raided the facility and arrested several employees.
In August 2012, Butterball worker Brian Douglas pleaded guilty to felony cruelty to animals—marking the first-ever felony conviction for cruelty to factory-farmed birds in United States history. Several days later, another Butterball employee, Rueben Mendoza, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor cruelty to animals and felony identity theft.
In February 2013, two more Butterball workers, Terry Johnson and Billy McBride, were found guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty as a result of MFA's investigation.
In addition to the felony and misdemeanor cruelty convictions, MFA's investigation at Butterball uncovered government corruption. Dr. Sarah Jean Mason, the director of Animal Health Programs with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, was arrested and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges after admitting to warning Butterball about the raid by law enforcement and potentially compromising the criminal cruelty investigation.
In November 2024, PETA released a video and an accompanying article where undercover employees detailed numerous animal abuses by workers, including sexual assault to the birds as well as excessive violence.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Butterball, LLC- Turkey Purveyor
Butterball Farms, Inc.- Butter Purveyor
Brand name poultry meats
Companies based in North Carolina
Animal cruelty incidents
Joint ventures