Talk with author Gene Baur
President and Co-Founder of Farm Sanctuary

7 p.m., Thursday, March 27
Clinton Theater
2522 SE Clinton, Portland
FREE

Factory-farmed meat has been front and center in the news, mostly thanks to the recent undercover investigation at the California slaughter plant that revealed rampant animal cruelty. The fact that the plant was a major supplier to America's school lunch program made us all sit back, take notice, and ask questions: What are downer cows? What is supposed to be done with them? Where were the USDA inspectors who are tasked with keeping such cruelty from happening?

It is a great time, then, to pick up a copy of Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food. Author Gene Baur knows firsthand what happens in stockyards, slaughterhouses and factory farms. Baur, a vegan, does not proselytize in this book. "Rather, he makes a strong case that meat eaters have an ethical responsibility to ensure that the animals they eat have not been abused." (Publishers Weekly)

Baur encourages us to support local farms and to avoid factory-farmed meat, milk and eggs when possible. We're lucky to be living in Portland, where it's relatively easy to do so.