Everybody Panic: Butterball Says There’s a Turkey Shortage Just in Time for Thanksgiving

Although it could just be a marketing stunt, in which case, gobble on.

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Stuffed roasted turkey on platter.

Tryptophan induced food comas might be at an all-time low this year. Butterball (purveyor of 20 percent of US turkeys) announced that there’s a shortage of their larger birds.

New England grocery chain Big Y broke the news that Butterball cut back its turkey sales by 50 percent this year.

“We experienced a decline in weight gains on some of our farms causing a limited availability of large, fresh turkeys,” Butterball said in a statement. “While we are continuing to evaluate all potential causes, we are working to remedy the issue.”

Since the average Thanksgiving turkey weighs an average of 16 lbs, we should start hoarding our turkeys now, right?

Considering that the news only refers Butterball’s fresh turkeys, there’s no need for hysteria just yet. Families can go with the freezer option — which, according to National Turkey Federation spokesman Keith Williams, accounts for a whopping 85 percent  of the whole turkeys Americans eat for Thanksgiving, or just buy a different brand.

And of course, there’s always the overwhelming chance that this is a marketing ploy to build turkey hype. Kind of like that time that there was a “bacon shortage.”

Or, ya know, any time Apple comes out with anything.