Animal Place’s Food for Thought Program Endorsed by Best Friends Animal Society

March 4, 2016

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Animal Place’s ‘Food For Thought’ Program Promoting Vegetarian/Vegan Menu Policy Endorsed by Best Friends Animal Society

GRASS VALLEY, Calif. – Best Friends Animal Society, the only national animal welfare organization focused on ending the killing of animals in shelters in the U.S., has endorsed animal-friendly menu policies that specify only vegan or vegetarian food should be served at events held by companion animal shelters, SPCAs, humane societies, and rescue agencies.

Best Friends has endorsed “Food For Thought,” a program of California-based Animal Place, one of the oldest and largest farmed animal sanctuaries in the U.S. In appreciation of this endorsement, Best Friends has been named Shelter of the Month by Animal Place.

Best Friends, which formally adopted an animal-friendly menu policy in early 2015, said in a statement:

“Since the very early days of Best Friends, the organization has always believed that we can have ‘a better world through kindness to animals.’ That belief remains today, and remains our guiding principle. While our goal is to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters, we believe we should show compassion for all living creatures. All Best Friends-related events are vegetarian, and whenever feasible, entirely plant-based. Efforts like the Food for Thought campaign are very important, and Best Friends encourages other animal welfare organizations to adopt animal-friendly food policies themselves.”

Best Friends runs the nation’s largest companion animal sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, plus adoption centers and spay/neuter facilities in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. Best Friends and its nationwide network of members and partners, including more than 1,300 rescue groups and shelters across the country, build effective programs that reduce the number of animals entering shelters and increase the number who find homes. Since its founding in 1984, Best Friends has helped reduce the number of animals killed in American shelters from 17 million per year to an estimated four million.

Companion animal organizations are increasingly serving plant-based foods as a way to align their menu policy with their ethical mission and address critical public concerns such as environmental sustainability and human health. Animal Place has recognized more than 200 progressive groups for adopting plant-based menu policies.

“We were over the moon to have such a powerful and groundbreaking animal organization support Food for Thought and animal-friendly menu policies,” said Patti Nyman, campaigns manager at Animal Place. “Thanks to Best Friends, the shelter and rescue community is receiving a clear message that advocacy for animals must extend to the food they serve by leaving cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, fish, and other farmed animals off the menu.”

Other national and international organizations that endorse Food For Thought include the Humane Society of the U.S. and Humane Society International, Alley Cat Allies, Grey2K USA, Animal Rescue Corps, Together for Animals in China, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Rainforest Action Network.

Animal Planet’s “Cat Daddy” Jackson Galaxy, who also endorses Food For Thought, offered advice and encouragement for other shelters to adopt a similar policy in a recent video: http://www.foodforthoughtcampaign.org/campaign-videos.html.

For more information about Animal Place’s “Food for Thought” campaign visit http://www.foodforthoughtcampaign.org.

For more information about Best Friends visit http://bestfriends.org.

About Animal Place

Animal Place, founded in 1989, is one of the oldest and largest animal sanctuaries in the nation, operating a 600-acre sanctuary in Grass Valley, California, a 60-acre animal shelter in Vacaville, California, and an all-vegan market in Berkeley, California. Animal Place’s California animal shelters fill a much-needed niche of farm animal rescue, sanctuary, education, and adoption. Animals arrive from small and large farms, slaughterhouses, research facilities, and neglect or cruelty cases. Nestled between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, its Grass Valley location offers tours, cooking classes, and workshops at the sanctuary as well as volunteer and internship opportunities. In 2010, Animal Place began rescuing animals directly from California egg farms, and since then has saved more than 24,000 hens. At its Vacaville location, these hens, as well as many other animals, are rehabilitated and placed in permanent adoptive homes. Animal Place – named best farm sanctuary in the country by Best in Shelter – is a nonprofit 501c3 organization funded by private donors. For more information, visit www.animalplace.org.

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