Do turkeys enjoy Thanksgiving?

This year marks the 61st anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation. Though live Thanksgiving turkeys have been presented intermittently to presidents since the Lincoln administration, the current ceremony dates to 1947, when the first National Thanksgiving Turkey was presented to President Harry TrumanHarry Truman.

The presentation at times has brushed against broader history. For example, the November 1963 event was one of President Kennedy's last in the Rose Garden. The first President BushPresident Bush conducted the 1990 ceremony just before leaving for Thanksgiving with the troops in the Persian Gulf region. President ClintonPresident Clinton in 1996 returned from an Asian summit and literally went directly to the ceremony.

The 2008 National Thanksgiving Turkey and its alternate are from Ellsworth, Iowa and were raised under the direction of National Turkey Federation Chairman Paul Hill. The 20-week old turkey, weighed about 45 pounds, when he was driven to Washington.

The National Thanksgiving Turkey was raised using normal feeding and other production techniques. The one exception is they were provided increased interaction with people so that they would be prepared for their role at the White House Ceremony.

After the presentation, the turkey will be flown first class to Disneyland Resort in Southern California, where he will be the grand marshal of "Disney's Thanksgiving Day Parade." After the parade, guests will be able to visit the turkey in Frontierland section.

Source: www.whitehouse.gov

Vinny’s take: Every Thanksgiving for the last few years, I’m reminded of the speech Arundhati RoyArundhati Roy, the booker prize winner from India gave at the World Social Forum in Mumbai on Jan 16 2004. The “turkey pardoning” by the most powerful man in the world shows the barbaric face of the developed world. One particular bird chosen by the president is given the majestic privilege. The rest of the 50 million turkeys raised for Thanksgiving are slaughtered and eaten on the day. This casually ritualistic act is a wonderful allegory for the functioning of a capitalistic system. It’s resemblance to the recent bailout is repugnant. The elite ”investment bankers” are pardoned leaving the rest of the common population to be slaughtered.