On The DL

Factory Farms Versus Sustainable Agriculture

by Nadia Stadnycki

Mon., April 28, 6:45 p.m., free, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., fourth floor, 215-686-5322, pennsylvania.sierraclub.org

As there's no Bill of Rights protecting the critters who frequently end up as our dinner, David Cantor and Brian Moyer are speaking up. Cantor, founder of Responsible Policies for Animals, and Moyer, a farmer and vice president of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, have taken on the responsibility of educating the public about unfair and inhumane treatment of animals in factory farms. At a lecture at the Free Library, they will discuss tactics that can be used to end these conditions, including limiting the use of fertilizers, pesticides and fuel-driven farming machines; eliminating the overuse of antibiotics on animals; eating less meat; and rallying for stricter laws against factory farming.

The evening is presented by the Sierra Club of Southeastern Pennsylvania, which works to improve environmental conditions in Philadelphia, Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties. According to William Brainerd, director of the lecture series, even city dwellers who don't hang out with tractors can still learn quite a bit. "[People] should look over what meat they eat and be aware of the incredibly cruel conditions in factory farming," he says. "I hope [Philadelphians] see the desirability of organic produce and realize the amount of pesticides and chemicals that go on nonorganic foods."