TURKEY MODE: A compendium of US Thanksgiving Day links

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!
You can print out Tom Turkey and label him.

More turkeys to follow.

Turkey. During the holidays, there's nothing more all-American.

But do you really know where your turkey comes from?

Thanks to companies like Wal-Mart, you may never find out. On Friday, Senate Republicans filibustered the 2007 Farm Bill, which would have required country of origin labeling (COOL) on all meat products sold in the United States.

This was a huge victory for Wal-Mart and its corporate lobbyists. Wal-Mart doesn't want you to know where its products come from, and it spent millions of dollars pressuring the Senate to block stricter COOL standards.

Show your support for country of origin labeling:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/farmbill

We've seen the sort of health risks that have occurred from Wal-Mart's foreign-produced products - from toxic toys to poisoned pet treats.

So when it comes to the food that Wal-Mart sells, don't consumers deserve to know where Wal-Mart's meat comes from?

According to a Consumer Reports survey, 92 percent of Americans want to know which country produced the food they are buying. But Wal-Mart isn't listening to its customers' demands, claiming that it provides "zero benefits to the consumer."

Wal-Mart buys products from more than 60,000 suppliers in 70 countries - and a majority of its food products come from overseas manufacturers. The country's largest grocer just doesn't want you to know it.

Let Wal-Mart and the Senate know that you're paying attention to the 2007 Farm Bill. Show your support for COOL:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/farmbill

This Thanksgiving, the retail giant says:

"Wal-Mart expects to sell truckloads and truckloads of turkeys. So many, in fact, that the trucks would stretch the length of 194 football fields if lined back-to-back and weigh the same as 1,900 male elephants."

Make sure you know where your holiday dinner comes from.

Sincerely, David Nassar Wal-Mart Watch

Bush Pardons Thanksgiving Turkey

By BEN FELLER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The turkey at the White House really draws a crowd. When President Bush stepped into the Rose Garden on Tuesday, he found visitors in every coveted seat, reporters standing three rows deep and staff members craning for just one good glimpse. They came for one of those signature White House moments: Bush saving the life of a huge, white, gobbling bird.

Bush granted his yearly pardon to the national Thanksgiving turkey, named "May," and a backup turkey who went unseen, who goes by "Flower."

The names were chosen in an online poll that drew more than 28,000 votes. It was close; people also liked "Wish and Bone," and "Wing and Prayer."

"They're certainly better than the names the vice president suggested, which was `lunch' and `dinner,'" Bush said.

Bush and the bird coexisted peacefully, although the turkey interrupted the president three times with gobbles, much to the delight of the audience.

After the pardon, the president petted the bird gently and then encouraged some young children to gather around him and do the same.

The White House made clear that the national turkey and its alternate were raised under "normal feeding" conditions. The one exception is when the birds were given some extra interaction with people so that they would be ready for their big moment at the White House.

The popular pardon ceremony, now in its 60th year, dates to Harry Truman's days as president.

May and Flower are now headed to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., to be honorary grand marshals at Disney's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

"May they live the rest of their lives in blissful gobbling," Bush said.

The president and first lady Laura Bush, meanwhile, flew off to the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md., for the holiday week.