What happens when we begin to see farmed animals not as products, but as fellow beings sharing this journey with us?
In this profound conversation, Victoria Moran speaks with Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary and one of the pioneering voices in the movement for farm animal protection.
Gene has spent four decades working to change the way we think about animals, food, farming, and compassion. Since co-founding Farm Sanctuary in 1986, he has helped bring the realities of factory farming into public view while creating a place where rescued animals can live out their lives in safety.
Gene's new book, Farm Sanctuary: The Story of a Movement, celebrates 40 years of rescue, education, and advocacy.
The book traces Farm Sanctuary's journey from a small grassroots effort to a movement that has helped change conversations around farmed animals and our food system. It also shares photographs and stories from those four decades of work.
Victoria and Gene talk about what inspired him to begin this work and what he has learned along the way.
The conversation also moves beyond factory farming and into the way we relate to food itself.
Gene shares his thoughts on returning to a more agrarian way of seeing things. That might mean growing some of our own food, getting to know the farmers who grow it, and becoming more connected with the land and the food on our plates.
It's an invitation to think differently about where our food comes from and what a more connected food system could look like.
In This Episode
- Gene's four decades of work with Farm Sanctuary
- The story behind the founding of Farm Sanctuary
- Gene's new book, Farm Sanctuary: The Story of a Movement
- What four decades of rescue, education, and advocacy have taught him
- Why we might benefit from returning to a more agrarian way of living
- How to communicate with people who don't yet understand veganism
- Standing firmly in our vegan values without judging others
- Seeing animals as fellow beings rather than commodities
- What compassion can look like in everyday choices
- The continuing work of changing hearts and minds about animals and food
About Our Guest
Gene Baur is an activist, author, and president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, which he helped establish in 1986.
A pioneer in undercover investigations and farm animal rescue, Gene has visited hundreds of farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses. His work has helped expose the realities of factory farming and inspired a wider farm sanctuary movement.
Gene has also advocated for stronger protections for farmed animals and has worked with legislators, policymakers, farmers, and the public to promote a more compassionate and sustainable food system.
His latest book, Farm Sanctuary: The Story of a Movement, looks back at four decades of rescue, education, and advocacy through photographs and personal stories.
Gene's New Book
Farm Sanctuary: The Story of a Movement is available now.
The book celebrates Farm Sanctuary's 40-year journey, from the rescue of its first animal to the growth of an international movement dedicated to changing the way farmed animals are seen and treated.
Farm Sanctuary
Learn more about Gene's work, Farm Sanctuary, the animals who call it home, and the organisation's ongoing rescue, education, and advocacy work:
https://www.farmsanctuary.org/
Gene's website also includes information about his upcoming book tour stops. If you'd like to see Gene in person, visit Farm Sanctuary's events page for current dates and locations.
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