Why the Biggest Thanksgiving Lie May Be the Turkey on Your Table

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Nov 22, 2010 at 06:00:00 AM PST

Turkey May Reject Genetically Engineered Food Imports

by: Jill Richardson

Sun Nov 07, 2010 at 18:38:17 PM PST

I've not been able to find much about this story in the news, aside from what's been said by the United Soybean Board, some of which sounds like it might be bogus. But apparently, Turkey might be doing this because they want to become more in line with the policies of the EU. Or, honestly, and the United Soybean Board wouldn't say this, maybe they've seen some good science that made them decide to rethink their policies on biotech imports.

At any rate, it does not look like this is a ban. Rather, they are creating a new Turkey Biosafety Board and GE varieties that are already legally sold in Turkey will have to resubmit paperwork to be approved all over again. Or not approved, as the case may be. And it seems there might be a period of time in between the currently approved stuff being disallowed and the new approvals being issued in which U.S. soybeans won't be allowed into Turkey.

Let's continue to follow this one. It's certainly likely the U.S. government will weigh in on GE soy's behalf. I'm also interested to see where Turkey plans to get its soy, if not from the U.S. The other big producers are Brazil and Argentina... and I believe they grow GE soy too.  

Did I just meet the devil?

by: rossl

Fri May 15, 2009 at 16:36:17 PM PDT

Set out runnin but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight.

Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills
I spent the night in utah in a cave up in the hills.

Set out runnin but I take my time, a friend of the devil is a friend of mine,
If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight.

I ran down to the levee but the devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill and vanished in the air.

Set out runnin but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine

There is a farm about a mile away from my house.  There is a gravel road that runs along one side of this farm.  I often run along this road with my dogs, and a few days ago while I was running I saw an old man out in his garden tending to some peas.  I stopped and said hello and said, "I'm growing some peas in my garden but they're not doing as well as yours."  In an accent that I later learned was Turkish, he said back, "Come one day this week after school.  I will go to your house and show you how you get peas like this."

This afternoon I learned that this small man might not be so innocent.

Mentally Handicapped Kept in Appalling Conditions, Working at a Turkey Plant

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Feb 12, 2009 at 23:42:17 PM PST

From The Des Moines Register (which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite newspapers):

Since the late 1970s, Henry's Turkey Service has been shipping mentally retarded men from Texas to Iowa to work in the West Liberty plant. Henry's has acted as the workers' employer, landlord and caregiver - paying the men a reduced wage for their work at the plant and then deducting from their pay the cost of room, board and care. Payroll records indicate the men are left with as little as $65 per month in salary.

Did you read that? $65 per month. Here's how they pull that one off:

Keith Brown, 57, has lived there since 1979. His sister, Sherri Brown, said her brother has $80 in the bank after working 30 years for Henry's.

Payroll records obtained by the Register show that in January Henry's Turkey Service deducted $487 from Brown's earnings to pay for his room and board. The company also deducted $572 for "kind care," although the bunkhouse is an unregulated group home, not a facility that provides medical care or assistance.

That's $487 for room and board per month per person even though the ENTIRE BUILDING cost the company $600 total to rent each month. There were 21 men, mostly in their 50s and 60s, living in these conditions, in a building known as "the bunkhouse." Let's see... $487 x 21... $10,227 per month in room and board from these guys when the entire building costs $600.

The 106-year-old bunkhouse, once a school, sits high on a windswept hilltop in Atalissa.

The cracked foundation, locked doors, and boarded-up windows have long given the structure the appearance of an abandoned building.

Later, the article mentions that the bunkhouse had a nasty cockroach problem and it was incredibly cold and drafty. The men's caretaker, who does sound very loving towards them, put plywood over the windows to help with the drafts because so many repairs were needed and not done.

And what do these men do for their $65 or so a month?

Typically, their days began at 2:30 a.m., when they were awakened. At 4:30 a.m., they were taken into the still-dark yard and loaded into passenger vans for the six-mile drive to the West Liberty plant. Once there, they donned protective clothing and went to work "on the line," cleaning turkeys. Gene Berg, a 53-year-old cancer patient, has worked there as a "gut puller." Billy and Robert Penner, two brothers in their 60s, have pulled guts and plucked feathers.

Legally, the plant can pay these men less than minimum wage because, in theory, their special needs make them less productive than other employees.

The FBI is investigating and this is a terrible embarrassment for the town where it occurred that nobody intervened sooner. The men were taken from "the bunkhouse" after their story was discovered and moved to a hotel, but now there's a question about where they will go.

The Turkey Pardoning Sham

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Nov 26, 2008 at 09:32:39 AM PST

Enjoy, Pumpkin. Shh! Nobody tell the cage of alternate turkeys that they missed their chance and they all have Subway sandwiches in their near future.

Let's Talk Turkey

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 11:03:21 AM PST

The conventional Thanksgiving turkey purchased at the grocery store is a Broad Breasted White. These turkeys are bred to have so much breast meat, that they are often unable to physically support themselves or breed. That means that without human help, these birds would die out in just one generation. Talk about a franken-turkey!

Thanksgiving, which I love for being the one day a year in which we celebrate local food indigenous American food, is instead of celebration of these unnatural factory farmed turkeys. From what I hear, as we developed the Broad Breasted White for its efficient conversion of grain to breast meat, we lost flavor.

Eating in Istanbul (Graphics-Heavy)

by: DebtorsPrison

Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 18:34:45 PM PDT

Oh, no doubt that with some research I could uncover plenty of unfortunate facts about food and agriculture in Turkey, but that can be another diary.  Right now, I want to just revel in the good memories, and share them in some photos below the fold...