Turkey statistics

Thanksgiving was proclaimed a national holiday in 1863 by 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

91 percent of Americans eat turkey during Thanksgiving.

About 45 million turkeys are consumed on the holiday, which comes out to approximately 736 million pounds.

Of all 50 states, Missouri has the fourth highest turkey production.

In 2009, 247 million turkeys were raised in the US and of those, 226 million were consumed in the US.

Information gathered from the National Turkey Federation.