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U N I T E D P O U L T R Y C O N C E R N S [UPC] E-mail list - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/11/11232001/reu_45658.asp Thanksgiving gobbling saddens U.S. turkey lovers Friday, November 23, 2001By Reuters[INLINE] WASHINGTON - Nearly 100 million turkeys winged their way to Thanksgiving tables as part of the annual American feast this year - but not Florence. She lives in a Virginia-based sanctuary whose owner, Karen Davis, has spent the past 10 years trying to persuade the American public that turkeys are "more than a meal." "Turkeys are too neat to eat," said Davis, founder of the nonprofit group, United Poultry Concerns. Thanksgiving, a fun-filled day off work for many, is one of Davis' busiest and saddest times. "I am aware of what turkeys are being put through in order to have these few hours on Thursday," she said in a telephone interview from her home in Machipongo, Va. "The birds are forced to grow too fast and too large. Their skeletal systems cannot accommodate the demand of their overly heavy body." Last Friday, Davis and 30 other poultry activists staged a candlelight vigil in the suburbs of Washington, waving photographs of turkeys "in winning poses" to counter the caricature that the birds are ugly. "They have a side that's cute and appealing. It's important that people see who they are and ask why there is so much disparagement surrounding the turkey in the build-up to the dinner," she said. Turkey has been the staple of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on the last Thursday in November, since the early 17th century when English settlers gave thanks for their survival in the new American colonies. Following a tradition begun in 1947, President Bush granted clemency to a plump Thanksgiving turkey called Liberty earlier this week. Davis dismissed this as a token gesture and said the public needed to change their Thanksgiving diet. She said she would attend a vegetarian society dinner whose menu offered butternut squash baked with leeks and vanilla beans, followed by wild mushroom ravioli with sauted spinach. But changing holiday eating habits may be an uphill struggle for Davis in a country which has designated hotlines helping wannabe chefs with their Thanksgiving culinary conundrums. One popular brand of turkey has 45 trained dietitians manning the phones of its help-line, which solves about 2,000 turkey troubles a day. The most common question is how to thaw a turkey. But one of the more unusual queries came from a man who was seeking to impress by cooking the holiday bird. Having run out of cooking oil, he asked if motor oil would suffice. _____________________________________________________________________ UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS http://www.UPC-online.org Promoting the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl PO Box 150 Machipongo, VA 23405 * 757-678-7875 The Moment You Turn Your Back You Are Involved ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
