Cleveland VegFest Presents Karen Davis: Chicken Versus Chickens

The Cleveland VegFest is only two short weeks away.  We want to highlight the lineup of incredible speakers, detail where they’ll be presenting, and what time- all designed to help you plan your trip.  First up, Ms. Karen Davis.

Karen Davis, PhD is the president and founder of United Poultry Concerns, a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl including a sanctuary for chickens in Virginia. Her essays appear in Experiencing Animal Minds (2012), Sister Species (2011), Animals and Women (1995), and many other publications on the lives and feelings of animals. Karen and UPC are the subjects of the Genesis Award-winning article “For the Birds” in The Washington Post, and in 2012, she was profiled in “Won’t Back Down” in the Altoona Mirror in Pennsylvania where she grew up. In 2002, Karen was inducted into the US Animal Rights Hall of Fame “for outstanding contributions to animal liberation.”

Karen Davis will present the following at 9:45 – 10:45 am in Main Classroom Auditorium:

Karen Davis: Chicken Versus Chickens – What is the Difference & Why Does it Matter?

The disappearance of chickens into featureless buildings and poultry products makes it easy for the poultry industry to belittle chickens through advertising, cartoons and other means. many people have no idea who chickens are or even think of them as birds.  In my presentation, I will provide important information about the intelligence, emotions, and social life of chickens, along with discussing the pros and cons of the new trend in backyard chicken-keeping and the contentious issues surrounding the “Rotten Egg” Bill that’s supposed to improve the lives of hens used for commercial egg production if enacted – but would it? I personally have facilitated the recovery of hundreds of chickens rescued from poultry and egg operations and have witnessed the revival of their personalities and self-confidence under the influence of sunshine, fresh air, loving care, and loss of fear.

Visit Karen’s web site:
United Poultry Concerns

Books by Karen Davis:

• Prisoned Chickens Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry Industry)

• More than a Meal: The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality
  

• A Home for Henny 

• Instead of Chicken, Instead of Turkey: A Poultryless “Poultry” Potpourri

• The Holocaust & the Henmaid’s Tale: A Case for Comparing Atrocities

This post is part of our on-going coverage of the 2013 Cleveland VegFest. Be sure to check out the whole series to keep up on the latest news!

Photo credit: Daquella manera via Flickr