Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Karen M. Davis
Karen Davis: What’s Wrong with the New York Times Framing of Vegans?
Photo credit: Daniel Turbert My first reaction to “Stop Mocking Vegans” by Opinion columnist Farhad Manjoo in The New York Times, Aug.
Dustbath By Karen Davis, PhD
First claws then beak, then Little bursts of earth – our hen Is taking a dustbath, her first Since rescued in a ravaged state Now safe at our place. This spectral ballerina with Pendulous pale comb, blurred eyes, Spiny shafts, long thin nails Diaphanous almost. A sight to behold as hesitantly, then vigorously she Washes her body and soul clean in the soil Of the manmade filth That never was herself.
Are Farmed Animal Sanctuaries at Risk?
By Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns In this article I want to raise a concern about a possible peril confronting farmed animal sanctuaries in the United States. I’ve been told by several farmed animal sanctuary founders recently that there is a movement of sorts to reduce or eliminate funding for farmed animal sanctuaries.
The problem with 'humanely raised' poultry and eggs
Chicken producers are misleading consumers with misinformation. On June 13, the animal advocacy organization Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) rescued and reported their removal of nineteen chickens from trucks delivering the 6-week-old birds to a slaughterhouse in Sonoma County owned by Petaluma Poultry, a subsidiary of Perdue Farms. Petaluma Poultry markets its chickens as “free-range” and “organic” under brand names like Rocky and Rosie.
The problem with 'humanely raised' poultry and eggs
Chicken producers are misleading consumers with misinformation. On June 13, the animal advocacy organization Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) rescued and reported their removal of nineteen chickens from trucks delivering the 6-week-old birds to a slaughterhouse in Sonoma County owned by Petaluma Poultry, a subsidiary of Perdue Farms. Petaluma Poultry markets its chickens as “free-range” and “organic” under brand names like Rocky and Rosie.
BOOK REVIEW: 'For the Birds'
In my Feb. 12, 2022, Finger Lakes Times essay “Abraham Lincoln’s Compassion,” I wrote that the Lincoln White House became a sanctuary for animals: cats, dogs, goats, rabbits and horses. When a turkey arrived at the White House destined to become a holiday meal, Lincoln’s son, Tad, befriended the turkey and named him Jack. Tad interrupted a Cabinet meeting to plead with his father to spare the turkey’s life. The president complied, and Jack became a White House resident.
False Equivalencies Between Humans and Other Animals
By Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns “Congenitally Crippled Villains” – Ann Rule In February this year I reread a book by the American true-crime writer, Ann Rule (d. 2015). If You Really Loved Me (1991) is the story of a sociopath named David Arnold Brown who went from rags to riches to life without parole for brainwashing a 14-year-old girl named Cinnamon to shoot to death his then wife Linda as she lay sleeping in bed.
A few holiday Unschool notes!
I could not resist a photo of a time when there was no television in a home, but there was a radio, a piano, and a tree. In this room, those who didn’t want to communicate could sit in the two seats with the wide tree in between. The radiator had a sort of mantelpiece! 1942, mid-war.
The Beauty and Sentience of Chickens and Turkeys
By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns The poultry industry does not want the public to empathize with birds raised for food. To that end, industry propagates a false image of chickens and turkeys as radically inferior to their wild counterparts and to “pets.” I will show who chickens and turkeys bred for the poultry and egg industry really are, based on my personal experience with these birds for 37 years going back to when I met a little hen named Viva who changed my life.
Our Violence Toward Nature and Animals Permeates Everything
By Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns “Our violence toward nature and other species permeates everything as the violence of human slavery did. Most people are too divorced from nonhuman life to get it, except for their dogs and cats.” ‑ David Johns via email to Karen Davis, Nov. 2nd. We are in agreement about Michael Moore and about the Left. Most people Left, Right, Center are dissociated from the world that exists outside our parochial domain.
Bringing Animals Into the College Classroom: My Experience
By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns A Student Outcry Led Me to Bring Animal Issues into My Classroom In the 1980s I taught a writing course at the University of Maryland, College Park, designed for students in their sophomore year who planned to enter the nursing profession. One student wrote a paper on the case of the Silver Spring monkeys.
One Major Way We Can Reduce The Suffering Of Animals Raised For Food| Countercurrents
Veterinarians have an opportunity to uphold medical ethics—and give the nation’s factory-farmed animals a small bit of mercy when they are killed. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is holding its annual convention in Philadelphia starting on July 29. This is an opportunity for the group to formulate a policy statement opposing a method of killing farmed animals that epitomizes the inhumane treatment of millions of birds on factory farms.
How to reduce the suffering of factory farm animals
Veterinarians have an opportunity to uphold medical ethics—and give the nation’s factory-farmed animals a small bit of mercy when they are killed. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is holding its annual convention in Philadelphia starting on July 29. This is an opportunity for the group to formulate a policy statement opposing a method of killing farmed animals that epitomizes the inhumane treatment of millions of birds on factory farms.
A Loving Tribute to Henry Spira
"I don't think one can articulate a satisfaction with harming another being whether it's human or nonhuman." – Henry Spira In the mid-1970s, Henry Spira questioned getting involved in the farm animal issue because the issue was just too big, too "unwinnable." This is the man who went on to become a vigorous, globally famous advocate on behalf of farmed animals.
International Respect for Chickens Day is coming up and they deserve it
Chickens are indeed native to the earth. Despite centuries of domestication—from the tropical forest to the farmyard to the factory farm—the call of the wild has always been in the chicken’s heart. Far from being “chicken,” roosters and hens are legendary for their bravery.
Mature skin care in winter - top tips for the over-50s
Beauty expert Karen Davis looks at how to love your skin in winter, and how beauty is far more than skin deep The cold weather is tough on everyone’s skin – not just from being outside in the cold, but also the drying effects of central heating. So, what are the best beauty products and practices for mature skin care in winter? Read: How can I protect my skin in the autumn or holiday sun?
What Does It Mean to Be an “Animal Lover”?
7 January 2022 By Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns Ms. White and her husband, Allen Ludden, at a fund-raising party for the Los Angeles Zoo in 1979. Ms. White had a longstanding interest in animal welfare. Credit: NewsBase/Associated Press The term “animal lover” sounds like a relic of a bygone era, pre-1990s at least. For modern animal rights advocates, “animal lover” sounds quaint, but the mainstream media seem content with it.
Traditional Thanksgiving: Where the “Sacred” and the Profane Intersect
23 November 2021 Shame on Obama “Two turkeys — named Peanut Butter and Jelly — were pardoned by President Biden on Friday during this year’s annual turkey pardoning ceremony.” “I want to take a moment to recognize the brave turkeys that weren’t so lucky, who didn’t get to ride the gravy train to freedom,” Obama said from the Rose Garden in November 2016.
Moral Injury in Animal Advocates and Nonhuman Animals and the Commonality of Being Reduced to “Lesser Beings”
27 October 2021 By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns This article was first published October 26, 2021 on Animals 24-7. Image credit: Beth Clifton collage “Some people seemed unfazed when witnessing cruelty, but I could feel the pain of every living organism through my bones, as if it were my own.” Elin Gundersen, “Understanding the Power of Compassion,” VEGAN VOICES: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers, ed. Joanne Kong, Lantern Publishing & Media, 2021, p. 49.
Regarding the Pain of Farmed Animals
Factory farms are places in which large numbers of genetically and chemically
manipulated animals are warehoused to grow into food for human consumption. Farmed animals live and die in lonely, relentless agony that even pain-
relieving medication could not overcome. We may think that roasting a live bird in front of a fire and devouring her while she is dying is too cruel and savage for today’s world, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Do Chickens Mind Seeing Other Chickens Traumatized in Their Presence?
1 May 2021 UPC photo shows hens perching safely in our predator-proof sanctuary. A perspective on chickens in honor of International Respect for Chickens Day, May 4/month of May By Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns (This article was first posted April 27 on Animals 24-7.) A fellow activist once asked me if I believed chickens don’t mind watching and hearing other chickens being killed in their presence. He asked because a farmer had told him they don’t.
Breaking the Sound of Silence for Good
12 April 2021 By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns “Regret for things we did is tempered by time. But regret for things we did not do is inconsolable.” – Allan McDonald, an engineer who spoke out against the Space Shuttle Challenger before it blew up in 1986. It was maybe twenty years ago in an airport where a woman in a brazen fur jacket sat chatting with the man next to her and I sat across from them watching and waiting to intervene. In the end, I didn’t.
I Stopped Saying “Meat” and Here’s Why
18 February 2021 By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns “As bad as it is to use euphemisms, it seems even worse when a word like ‘meat’ isn’t even thought of as a euphemism by people.” – Mike Spurlino “The word meat is likely the most overused euphemism of them all.” – Craig Cline Drawing by Leslie Goldberg. “With friends like these . .
Lav | English | Metal Magazine
We all have different ways to cope with whatever hardships or challenges life throws at us. Whilst some of us convince ourselves that self-destructive behaviour and partying helps, others turn to hiding behind their humour whilst the very brightest of us are able to channel and express all those experiences, good and bad, into art. This last one being Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Lav's chosen coping mechanism, one that has gone from being a simple bedroom hobby to a full-blown music career.
Can Killing an Animal Be Compensated For by the Creation of a New Animal?
6 November 2020 By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns This article was first published today on the Animals 24-7 Website. (Beth Clifton collage) There’s a line of thought in moral philosophy that says “yes,” as long as the animal lived a pleasant life and the method used to kill the animal is humane – quick and painless. This is not about euthanasia, which means the merciful killing of a creature in irremediable misery.
COVID-19 invites us to rethink our food choices
Published Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, 11:50 am Join AFP's 100,000+ followers on Facebook Purchase a subscription to AFP | Subscribe to AFP podcasts on iTunes News, press releases, letters to the editor: augustafreepress2@gmail.com Advertising inquiries: freepress@ntelos.net By Karen Davis For the Bay Journal News Service (© Fabian – stock.adobe.com) The coronavirus pandemic has focused our attention on the link between cleanliness and the avoidance of disease.
COVID-19 invites us to rethink our food choices
Chickens are often raised for market in crowded conditions. Ad Crable The coronavirus pandemic has focused our attention on the link between cleanliness and the avoidance of disease. People are sanitizing their hands, social distancing and covering their faces to prevent the virus from spreading. Still, most people consume products from chickens and other animals that have spent their lives in densely polluted, overcrowded and disease-ridden facilities.
Role of the Rooster – Father, Lover, Brother, Food-finder, Guardian, Sentinel
31 July 2020 UPC photo from Rescue of Kukkuta by Hope Bohanec By Karen Davis, PhD Published by Vegan India What is the role of the rooster is a question that people often ask. Previously, we have had articles by Dr. Karen Davis, President of United Poultry Concerns explain about the hen as a symbol of motherhood and elucidate very admirable and interesting facts about baby chickens.
Slaughterhouse Workers, Farmed Animals, and Animal Advocates: Can There Be Justice For All?
28 July 2020 By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns This article was first published July 28, 2020 by Animals-24-7. Photo by Carol McCormick for United Poultry Concerns “It really does something to your mind when you stand there in all that blood, killing so many times, over and over again.” – Virgil Butler, former Tyson chicken slaughterhouse employee If I see or hear the word “meatpacking” one more time, I will throw up.
Understanding Euthanasia: When Life and Words Become Worthless
June 18, 2020 Jo-Anne McArthur/Animal Equality By Karen Davis and Barbara Stagno This article was first published by Sentient Media on June 17, 2020. If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation even among people who should and do know better. Debased language is in some ways very convenient.
Understanding Euthanasia: When Life and Words Become Worthless
The American Veterinary Medical Association’s Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals rightly defines euthanasia as a “good death.” But the Guidelines make all kinds of exceptions for situations in which the inhumane killing of animals—a very bad death—may be considered “euthanasia.” People take their beloved companion animals reluctantly to the veterinarian to be euthanized, not to get rid of an inconvenience or for some other selfish purpose, but because their pet’s suffering is profound,...
Take a GIANT STEP: Go Vegan! - The Echo World
21 April 2020 By Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns This article, excerpted from Life Can Be Beautiful - Go Vegan!, is featured in the April 2020 issue of The Echo World: The Alternative Voice in the South. The Echo World appears in print and online. April 2020 Issue Animal-free eating gets easier every day as more and more people seek healthy, delicious vegan foods and restaurant dishes. More and more supermarkets sell a range of easy-to-prepare products marked Vegan.
Overlapping Oppressions: Register Now for Our Conscious Eating Conference Feb. 29, 2020!
6 January 2020 Conscious Eating Conference My talk, “Comparing Atrocities: Pros, Cons and Paradoxes,” will argue that parallels can be drawn between incommensurable atrocities affecting both human and nonhuman animals, but that we need to be selective in our use of parallels. I further argue that while every experience is incommensurable, each unique experience paradoxically expresses the larger fabric of life to which no single individual or group can lay claim as the sole proprietor.
Some Good News and Some Victories for Animals in 2018!
Image of Marble the Sheep from Indraloka Animal Sanctuary: Animals Just Know... THANK YOU for every single thing you did to make a difference for animals in 2019! We know there are many more victories and many more good news items for animals in 2019 and we know there are LOTS of opinions of what "victory" or "good news" mean. These are good news/victories posted in our All-Creatures.org 2019 weekly eNewsletters [subscribe HERE]. If you have articles/stories to share, send an . THANK YOU...
Chickens or Pigs: Would You Pick One to Suffer More?
23 December 2019 By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns First Published December 23, 2019 on Sentient Media UPC sanctuary hen. Photo by Davida G. Breier. Most Sentient Animal Myth Upon reading From Shepherd to Advocate by Sentient Media founder Mikko Jarvenpaa, I made a note: “He would choose to inflict suffering on birds over mammals.
The “Thanksgiving” Turkey: Object of Sentimentality, Sarcasm, and Sacrifice
23 November 2019 By Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns The “Thanksgiving” turkey: object of sentimentality, sarcasm, & sacrifice was first published Nov 23, 2019 on the Animals 24-7 website. (Beth Clifton collage) by Karen Davis, Ph.D., president, United Poultry Concerns “Nothing so unites us as gathering with one mind to murder someone we hate, unless it is coming together to share in a meal.” – Margaret Visser, The Rituals of Dinner, p. 33.
Why families need to make time to travel
As the owner of a San Antonio insurance agency, Ernie Martinez has a busy life. But his job doesn’t keep him, his wife Mireya, 46, and their 15-year-old son, Alan, from traveling. “It’s very important to take time off,” said Martinez, 45. “One of the things we always say is that we work to live, we don’t live to work.” The family carves several weeks a year from their schedule for trips to Mexico and to other states such as Colorado and California. “We do Cancun and Mexico City,” Ernie said.
Chickens are Courageous Birds. They are NOT Cowards, or a Trope for Human Cowardice
10 November 2019 Cayman Chickens. Photo by Davida G. Breier By Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns In August I posted Chickens Are NOT Cannibals. A post coauthored by Carol Adams and Marc Bekoff on October 28, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Didn't Die Like a Dog, has inspired me to say further that chickens are not cowards, either. Chickens are not “chicken.” Therefore, they cannot be invoked as a metaphor for human cowardice except as an ironic or uninformed cliché.
Illegal Rooster Operation in Melrose, New Mexico
30 October 2019 By Karen Davis, PhD, President On August 20, 2019, United Poultry Concerns received an email from a man in eastern New Mexico in a small town close to the Texas State line. He wrote: “I am looking for some ways to stop the torture of the roosters two doors down from me.
Blooming Grove names Homecoming Court
Photo by Karen Davis Blooming Grove High School names its 2019 Homecoming Queen nominees. Homecoming is Friday, Oct. 11. Pictured l-r are Claire Kirk, Kylee Ivey, Callye Spence, Tory Cox, and Madison Peterson This Week's Circulars Obituaries Bryan E. Jordan, III was born June 22, 1948 and passed away Sept. 5, 2019 at his home.
Anthropomorphic Visions of Chickens Bred for Human Consumption
7 June 2017 By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns This essay was written for publication in Critical Animal Studies: Thinking the Unthinkable, ed. John Sorenson, Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press, Inc., 2014.
“Stop Mocking Vegans” - My Reaction
9 September 2019 NY Times Opinion: Stop Mocking Vegans By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns UPC photo by Richard Cundari My first reaction to “Stop Mocking Vegans” by Opinion columnist Farhad Manjoo in The New York Times, Aug.
Chickens Are NOT Cannibals
28 August 2019 By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns Weaver Brothers Egg Farm in Versailles, Ohio. Photo by: Mercy for Animals. Animal people must never call chickens “cannibals,” or suggest that they are naturally prone to “cannibalism” – the practice of eating the flesh of one’s own species.
Tell Liberty Mutual Insurance to Pull Their Emu Ads
25 September 2019 By Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns The long necks and excellent periscopic vision of emus enable them to survey the land for miles in all directions at once. Emu parents incubate and raise their young together. They are very gentle birds. Dear Friends, Liberty Mutual Insurance is running a series of TV ads featuring an emu outfitted with sunglasses, wigs and other demeaning attire.
All-Creatures.org Weekly Newsletter - August 1, 2019
Working for a Peaceful World for Humans, Animals and the Environment
'Euthanized' not the right word for killings of geese in Salisbury: Letter
OPINION Karen Davis, Reader Published 9:00 a.m. ET July 12, 2019 Last week, 362 Canada geese were euthanized, by request of the city of Salisbury to manage "an excessive population." Kelly Powers, Salisbury Daily Times Re: “Hundreds of geese euthanized in Salisbury, meat goes to local shelters,” July 8, 2019. I object to use of the term “euthanize” in this coverage of the cruel roundup, transport and gassing to death of the Canada geese.
The “Easter” Chick - A Lost Soul
April 18, 2019 By Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns This article originally appeared March 28, 2018. Easter Egg Hunt and Egg Gathering The association of a hen’s egg with Easter and Spring survives ironically in the annual children’s Easter Egg Hunt, for the origin of this ritual has been largely forgotten. Traditionally, the finding of eggs was identified with the finding of riches.
Turkeys: Who are they, and why should we care?
We adopted Amelia as a young turkey into our sanctuary from a local farmer. She lived with us for five years until her legs gave out, and we had to call our veterinarian to put her to rest, surrounded by her friends in the yard. Until then she hung out happily with the chickens and ducks, and when people visited, she’d fan out her white tail feathers and stroll amiably beside them. Amelia chose a leafy spot to lay her eggs, and there she would sit quietly in the spring and early summer.
Chickens: Their Life and Death in Farming Operations
— Karen Davis, Ph.D., is the President and Founder of United Poultry Concerns, a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl, including by providing a sanctuary for chickens in Virginia.
”Killing IT“: ”It’s a Deeply Personal Thing,“ Slaughter Practitioner Tells NPR's Fresh Air July 24
Camas Davis is the founder of the Portland Meat Collective which is part of the “Ethical Meat Movement.” She was a guest yesterday on Terry Gross’s Fresh Air where she described going from “righteous” vegetarianism to a “hands-on relationship with food.” Her book is called Killing It: An Education. Her interview consisted of clichés including how farmers and butchers are not “sentimental” but have “reverence” and “respect” for the animals they kill and cut up.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Karen M.
Contact Karen M., search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack