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Thursday, November 24, 2011

Arkansas Culture and Characters Talking turkey at the Butterball plant in Ozark

Posted by Max Brantley on Thu, Nov 24, 2011 at 6:55 AM

tasteofhome.com

Fine story in the New York Times today about the Butterball plant in Ozark, which, with another plant in the state, produces about a third of the zillion turkeys to be eaten in the U.S. this week. Veterans of the turkey bagging line give their free holiday turkey to relatives, opting for ham, after watching thousands pass before them every day. The article quotes women who've worked on the line for 17 years (now making $11.40 an hour):

It is not easy work. Turkeys need to be stunned and dispatched and gutted. Someone has to cut the oil gland out of the tail. Necks and gizzards and livers have to be cleaned and stuffed into a cavity. During a six-week period that begins in October, the line runs seven days a week to process fresh turkey. It is a period people in town simply refer to as “fresh,” and it is grueling.

“It’s a long battle when we’re working fresh, but I at least got some bills paid and Christmas money,” Mrs. Farmer said. “I just sit there and hum and sing and talk to my friend Willie. We get through it together.”

Tags: Butterball turkeys, Ozark

        
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I am thankful for the men and women in our country who still perform such labors. They have my respect.

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Posted by Artificial Inteligence on 11/24/2011 at 7:06 AM

I've seen posts on some Facebook walls trying to get people to stop buying butterball since butterball certifies that their turkey manufacturing process follows the Islamic food preparation law known as Halal. To qualify as Halal you animals being prepared for consumption must be killed in the name of Allah. So, naturally, all butterballs that are Halal certified must be Islamic Blessed. We can't have that at our pure bread, good ole, Christian, U-S-of-A, sit down of a Thanksgiving can we? I don't see how a Giant Killing machine or anyone on the "fresh" schedule described above is blessing anything at the rate those birds are whizzing through that plant.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/…

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Posted by Arkbear on 11/24/2011 at 7:34 AM

>>After accounting for the costs of raising the birds and their size, the farmer gets a check.
...
“It was like working for the company store,” Mr. Freeman said. “You could never get ahead.” <<

And that's the game that's been going on in the poultry bidness for at least 50 yrs.
It replaced the sawmill town and sharecropping in one fell swoop. At least they don't have to rent their houses from the turkey company and Waltons replaced the company store so I suppose they're all free now.

So long as either the husband or wife had a 'town job' the 12 hr-a-day operation would eventually pay off, like 20-25 yrs later you owned some land around your mobile home.

Up here in the Ozarks there's still new ones, math deprived, who long for independence of country life and self employment and have a decent credit rating who are willing to do it. I've seen many of them over the past 35 years. During the Nixon and Reagan recessions abandoned chicken/turkey houses would outnumber abandoned cars on Ozark hillsides.

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Posted by eLwood on 11/24/2011 at 12:22 PM

TBogg had a funny take on this story, Arkbear, titled "We Will All Be Muslims Before the Niners and Ravens Kick Off".

http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/

It ends with this: "So basically Muslim death turkeys are the end result of ritual turkey throat slitting that occurs while someone stands nearby spouting gibberish, which confirms what we have suspected for some time: Sarah Palin is a Muslim sleeper cell spy."

It also includes what should become a thanksgiving classic of then Governor Palin giving an interview, oblivious to the turkeys being slaughtered behind her. Some wag pointed out that Sharia Plan is an anagram of Sarah Palin.

I'm off to buy my contribution to dinner at the neighbors---the wine. After a bit of research, I've decided on a nice sparkling rose.

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Posted by the outlier on 11/24/2011 at 1:23 PM

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