The Farm Sanctuary will be sponsoring Ithaca’s 2009 Walk for Farm Animals to raise awareness and funds about animal treatment on factory farms. The five-kilometer walk will take place at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Bernie Milton Pavilion on The Commons. The funds will to go towards continuing advocacy, education and rescue programs for the Farm Sanctuary at their facilities in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and in Orland, Calif.

Meredith Turner, media relation’s specialist for the sanctuary, said the walk is meant to help the animals.

“The walk is to raise awareness for the suffering and abuse that farm animals endure on factory farms everyday in this country,” she said.

Beth Begany, Farm Sanctuary’s national walk coordinator, said a big issue is that people don't know what's happening to animals on factory farms.

“[People] have in their minds this conception of pasture-lands and animals living outside,” she said. “And that‘s not the case for most animals that are raised for food in the United States…they‘re basically put in little boxes and raised like that for their entire lives.”

The Farm Sanctuary is an animal rights organization established in 1986 to fight animal abuses on factory farms. The annual event is one of more than 60 walks held across the country during October and September. Begany said the walks have been in effect for more than 20 years.

“They’re a very important part of our history and continue to be an important part of our fundraising and our awareness-raising for this issue,” she said.

The walk will take participants past some of the local businesses and restaurants in the area before ending on The Commons.

At noon, Bill Ring, a local folk guitarist from the band Ironwood, will be performing and Free Critter, a vender of vegan-baked goods, will have a table at the event. Good Groceries, a natural food market in Watkins Glen, N.Y., will be providing fruit and the Ithaca Bakery will provide vegan bagels for walkers.

At 1 p.m. Gene Baur, president and founder of Farm Sanctuary, will give a presentation about the walks, successes the sanctuary has had and the reasons behind these walks.

Local walk coordinator Anastasia St. John said having Baur speak at the event is moving.

“That’s exciting for us because even though he lives near the farm in Watkins Glen ... he usually attends the bigger walks, so for him to be able to attend this one is good for us,” she said.

St. John said 30 walkers have registered online, but she expects that more will sign up the day of the walk. Last year, 57 participants registered in Ithaca and raised $3,200. Begany said even though it is a goal of Farm Sanctuary to always make more than the previous year, money raised isn’t the only value of the walks.

“Last year, all of the walks together raised about $231,000,” she said. “We would certainly like to beat that $231,000 [but] part of the importance of the walk is…the invaluable outreach and education that we do.”

Began said the sanctuary’s goal is to present information and educate people about the reality of factory farming today.

“People as consumers are not necessarily that informed about where their food comes from and how it’s raised,” she said. “People are unwittingly supporting cruel and inhumane practices because they don’t know and they have no other way to find out about it.”

Begany said education also involves letting people know about the repercussions factory farming has had on the environment as well.

“The [United Nations] issued a report two years ago that attributed where greenhouse gasses were coming from and animal agriculture is the number one producer of greenhouse gasses,” she said. “That environmental message is really starting to resonate with people and they realize that their food choices have a very direct impact on what we’re doing to the environment.”

St. John said along with educating people about factory farms, the sanctuary also promotes plant-based diets.

“We’re encouraging people to make compassionate lifestyle choices,” she said. Begany said the sanctuary would ultimately like to leave people with the knowledge that factory farming is a prevalent issue that they should be aware of.

“I think that we’d like for people to just be aware of this issue so that they can make informed and educated decisions about their food … and its impact on animals, the environment and human health as well,” she said.