Karen Davis
Encyclopedia
Karen Davis is the president of United Poultry Concerns
, Inc., which she founded in 1990 as a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl and includes a sanctuary for domestic fowl.
She has a PhD in English from the University of Maryland, College Park
, where she taught for twelve years in the English department.
At the University of Maryland, Davis founded the Animal Rights Coalition in 1989, and she pioneered a course in the University Honors Program on the role of animals in the Western philosophic and literary tradition. Karen is a featured speaker at the annual National Animal Rights and Taking Action for Animals conferences in Washington, DC and Los Angeles
. On July 2, 2002, Karen was inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame "for outstanding contributions to animal liberation."
Since 1999, Karen and United Poultry Concerns have hosted six conferences on farmed animal advocacy issues.
" for its annual Poultry Slam show, saying that host Ira Glass
contributed to the slaughter of chickens everywhere. Eventually, Glass visited Davis' chicken sanctuary and became a vegetarian.
Davis was one of several people who provided information used in the writing of the book Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism
(2008) by Mark Hawthorne.
Davis wrote a chapter of Lisa Kemmerer's 2011 anthology Sister Species: Women, Animals, and Social Justice.
, English Language Notes, Teaching English in the Two-Year College, Between the Species: A Journal of Ethics, and many other publications. She’s been published in the New York Times, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washingtonian, Chicago Tribune, Columbus Dispatch, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Harper’s Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Nation, Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, “Dear Abby,” Egg Industry, Feedstuffs, Satya and has appeared on the Howard Stern Show.
Karen has essays in Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations (Duke UP, 1995), Terrorists or Freedom Fighters: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals (Lantern Books, 2004), and Animal Liberation Philosophy and Policy Studies Journal Vol. 2, No. 2 (Center on Animal Liberation Affairs, 2005).
United Poultry Concerns
United Poultry Concerns is a national non-profit animal rights organization that addresses the concerns over the treatment of domestic fowl, including chickens, ducks and turkeys in food production, science, education, entertainment, and human companship situations.According to UPC's website,...
, Inc., which she founded in 1990 as a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl and includes a sanctuary for domestic fowl.
She has a PhD in English from the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, where she taught for twelve years in the English department.
At the University of Maryland, Davis founded the Animal Rights Coalition in 1989, and she pioneered a course in the University Honors Program on the role of animals in the Western philosophic and literary tradition. Karen is a featured speaker at the annual National Animal Rights and Taking Action for Animals conferences in Washington, DC and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. On July 2, 2002, Karen was inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame "for outstanding contributions to animal liberation."
Since 1999, Karen and United Poultry Concerns have hosted six conferences on farmed animal advocacy issues.
Accomplishments
Karen Davis launched a campaign against NPR's "This American LifeThis American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
" for its annual Poultry Slam show, saying that host Ira Glass
Ira Glass
Ira Glass is an American public radio personality, and host and producer of the radio and television show This American Life.- Early life :...
contributed to the slaughter of chickens everywhere. Eventually, Glass visited Davis' chicken sanctuary and became a vegetarian.
Davis was one of several people who provided information used in the writing of the book Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism
Striking at the Roots
Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism is a non-fiction book by Mark Hawthorne that examines a number of strategies for animal activism in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States...
(2008) by Mark Hawthorne.
Davis wrote a chapter of Lisa Kemmerer's 2011 anthology Sister Species: Women, Animals, and Social Justice.
Books
- Instead of Chicken Instead of Turkey: A Poultryless "Poultry" Potpourri : Featuring Homestyle, Ethnic, and Exotic Alternatives to Traditional Poultry and Egg Recipes (Book Publishing Co.), ISBN 1-570-67083-8
- Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry Industry (Book Publishing Co.), ISBN 1-570-67032-3
- More Than a Meal: The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality (Lantern Books), ISBN 1-930-05188-3
- The Holocaust and the Henmaid’s Tale: A Case for Comparing Atrocities (Lantern Books), ISBN 1-590-56091-4
Articles
Her articles have appeared in The Faculty Voice (University of Maryland), Journal of English and Germanic PhilologyJournal of English and Germanic Philology
The Journal of English and Germanic Philology is an academic journal of medieval studies founded in 1897 and now published by University of Illinois Press. Its focus is on the cultures of English, Germanic, and Celtic-speaking parts of medieval northern Europe. Previous editors include Albert S....
, English Language Notes, Teaching English in the Two-Year College, Between the Species: A Journal of Ethics, and many other publications. She’s been published in the New York Times, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washingtonian, Chicago Tribune, Columbus Dispatch, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Harper’s Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Nation, Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, “Dear Abby,” Egg Industry, Feedstuffs, Satya and has appeared on the Howard Stern Show.
Karen has essays in Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations (Duke UP, 1995), Terrorists or Freedom Fighters: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals (Lantern Books, 2004), and Animal Liberation Philosophy and Policy Studies Journal Vol. 2, No. 2 (Center on Animal Liberation Affairs, 2005).