In 2001, Israel had the world’s highest per-capita turkey consumption, at 28.8 pounds per person. The figure measures average annual consumption across the population, not the amount eaten by every individual Israeli.
Israel’s unusually high ranking reflects the country’s strong poultry industry and the prominent place of turkey in everyday food production. Turkey is sold in forms ranging from sliced deli meat and schnitzel to roasted preparations, making it a regular protein rather than a food reserved mainly for one holiday.
The result is especially striking because turkey is native to North America. It spread internationally after European contact and became important in many cuisines, but the United States is more commonly associated with turkey because of Thanksgiving. In the cited 2001 comparison, Americans consumed about 17.5 pounds per person, well below Israel’s 28.8-pound figure.
Another possible source of confusion is the bird’s name. The English word “turkey” reflects an old European naming mistake that associated the American bird with goods arriving through Ottoman-controlled trade routes. The bird itself did not originate in the country now called Turkey.