at my job every thursday the company has a mandatory meeting in which it supplies food and takes up our lunch hour our H.R dept assures us this is legal I'm an exempt salaried employee we are told that we have to be here from 8-5pm no exception I was just wondering is this legal are we not entitled to choose where and what we eat for lunch .and are we not entitled to leave work early on days that we have these meetings , HR says no but I would like to know if thats so then where my I find this written .

There is no law that entitles you to leave early on the days you have meetings. There is also no law that prohibits it.

Whether or not you can or cannot is up to the employer. If HR and/or upper managment says no, then it's no.

It IS legal for them to require mandatory meetings during lunch.

Nothing you have posted suggests that any laws have been violated.

are we not entitled to leave work early on days that we have these meetings

No.

You can leave early if the employer says you can.

Otherwise, you work until the employer says your day is over and that could be many hours AFTER your "normal" work day.

Welcome to the world of exempt employees.