Gene Baur's Blog

"Vegan America" is Closer Than You Think

2011-05-24T17:57:24Z

Thousands of years ago, Hippocrates, the founder of western medicine, said, “Let food be thy medicine.” Tragically, the way most Americans eat, food is more like poison, making us sick and killing us prematurely. Heart disease and cancer are the nation’s top killers, and the risks of both can be reduced by eating plants instead of animal products. Removing meat, milk and eggs from the menu also prevents animal suffering and goes a long way toward lightening our environmental footprint. People are finally recognizing the profound impacts of their food choices, and we are now in the midst of a burgeoning food movement.

We read about it daily-- more and more people are eating local and organic, going vegetarian and even vegan. I want to see it for myself, so on May 14^th I’m heading out on a three week, cross-country adventure to explore “vegan America.” It’s called the Just Eats Tour and you can follow along daily here.

The Just Eats Tour is part of Farm Sanctuary’s 25^th anniversary. We were founded in 1986 to combat the abuses of factory farming and to promote plant based eating. In the early years, we funded the organization by selling veggie hot dogs out of an old VW van at Grateful Dead concerts. Farm Sanctuary is now America’s leading farm animal protection organization, supported by more than 230,000 citizens across the United States.

We work to educate people about the animal cruelty and other abuses of factory farming, and believe that most people, when provided with information, will make healthier, more humane and environmentally sustainable choices. We also advocate for legal reforms, and although the laws are still grossly inadequate, we have been able to pass groundbreaking legislation to lessen the suffering of animals exploited by the food industry. And, we operate sanctuaries in New York and California where we care for nearly 1,000 chickens, turkeys, pigs, cows and other rescued farm animals. Once they come to Farm Sanctuary, the animals are treated like our friends, not our food. We encourage people to consider adopting vegan lifestyles, and we disseminate information like this fun video we recently released to expose the environmental impacts of animal agriculture.

I’ve been vegan since 1985, and it is great to see a growing interest in this lifestyle, especially in the past couple of years. People are coming to it for diverse reasons—health, spirituality, a desire to live gently on the earth or to prevent animal suffering. Among those who have moved toward eating plants instead of animals are: Bill Clinton, Natalie Portman, Woody Harrelson, Mike Tyson, Lea Michelle, Steve Wynn, Mary Tyler Moore, Alicia Silverstone, Russell Simmons, Ellen DeGeneres, Jesse Eisenberg, Biz Stone, John Mackey, and Prince Fielder. Vegans still comprise a small percentage of the U.S. population, but our numbers are growing.

The Just Eats Tour begins at a black tie gala in New York City at Cipriani’s on Wall Street on May 14^th and three weeks later we’ll arrive at Farm Sanctuary’s shelter in Orland, California for our annual Hoe Down on June 4^th. Along the way, we’ll visit big cities and rural communities. We’ll speak with chefs, business owners, entrepreneurs, fitness experts, celebrities and everyday heroes who are exploring vegan living. We’ll be posting recipes, videos, photos and other resources. We also want you to share your recipes on our website, and we encourage you to take the Vegan Challenge.

We hope this tour will help Americans better recognize the impacts of their food choices, learn about positive alternatives, and ultimately, choose healthier, more humane and sustainable options. You can keep up with the Just Eats Tour daily by checking our website at www.justeatstour.org, or by following me on Twitter at @genebaur.

The Low-Down on Downers and the USDA

2011-03-04T16:54:30Z

When it comes to slaughtering animals too sick or weak to even stand for human food, the majority of U.S. citizens are resoundingly opposed. But despite this public sentiment, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) allows this irresponsible and inhumane practice to continue, resulting in immense suffering for several species of farm animals.

Commonly referred to as “downers,” these incapacitated animals can languish for hours or days without receiving veterinary care or having their basic needs met, and are often subjected to extreme cruelty, including being dragged, kicked, prodded, and beaten to get them to the kill floor. Ignoring the plight of these sick, injured and weak animals, the factory farming industry sees them as commodities and acts according to short sighted economic considerations without regard for their suffering or the human health risks associated with consuming their flesh. Since 1986, Farm Sanctuary has been waging our No Downers Campaign to bring an end to these appalling abuses, and we have made important progress – including helping to pass the first state law to protect downed animals at stockyards and slaughterhouses in California in 1995 and inspiring others to follow suit.

On a national level, after the discovery of mad cow disease in a downed cow in Washington state in 2003, the USDA approved a stop gap policy against slaughtering downed cattle for human food; however, it took the agency until 2009 to solidify and better enforce this policy and remove loopholes that were allowing downer cows to remain on consumers’ plates. But even after enacting a clear “no downer” policy for cattle, the USDA still permits downed calves, pigs, sheep, and goats to be used for human food, and it’s estimated that nearly 1 million farm animals, mainly pigs, are downed each year at U.S. slaughterhouses.

Meat industry representatives have argued that using downed animals for food poses no risk to human health and assert that the practice should continue. In fact, that’s exactly what they said in regard to downer cattle and, even after the discovery of mad cow disease and proof that downed cows are more likely to carry it, continued feeding meat from non-ambulatory animals to U.S. consumers, including children who received meals through the National School Lunch Program. Clearly, this is an industry that cannot be trusted.

It stands to reason that meat from any farm animal who is too sick to stand poses an increased risk to consumers, but the USDA has typically taken a “don’t look, don’t find” approach, enabling agribusiness to act unscrupulously in order to bring in a few extra dollars. It’s time for the USDA to stop protecting factory farmers and start doing right by consumers and suffering animals by extending its “no downer” policy to include species besides cattle too.

In prior deliberations about downed cattle, the USDA was encouraged to address concerns surrounding the slaughter of other non-ambulatory animals, but had failed to do so. Recently, however, in response to a petition submitted by Farm Sanctuary requesting that the USDA extend the “no downer” regulations to pigs, sheep, goats, and other animals, the agency announced that it will accept public comment on the issue. Now is our chance to let the USDA know that we reject these inhumane and unsafe practices and demand that action is taken to prevent downed animals from being abused and slaughtered for human food.

The Truth Behind Thanksgiving

2010-11-09T15:14:25Z

Dark, filthy warehouses that reek of excrement. Masses of animals in distress. Mutilated beaks and toes. Sick, injured birds left to suffer and die without anyone to help them. These are not the kinds of images we tend to think about at Thanksgiving, yet they are indicative of the reality faced by more than 46 million turkeys raised every year in the U.S. for this holiday alone.

Selectively bred by the industry to grow extremely large and fast, and fed high-calorie diets designed for rapid weight gain, today's commercially-raised turkeys become so top heavy that their legs can barely hold them. The birds have been so profoundly altered that they also cannot breed naturally, and so the industry relies on artificial insemination as the sole means of reproduction.

Commercially-raised turkeys are packed by the thousands in factory farms, where each is allotted just three square feet of space. The crowded, stressed birds are unable to engage in natural behaviors and resort to pecking and fighting. To minimize resulting harm, the industry painfully removes portions of the birds' beaks and toes, leaving them disfigured for life.

And as if this were not bad enough, the deplorable conditions these birds are raised in, paired with their unnatural genetic makeup, lead to illness and injury, and many birds on factory farms are left to languish without care and die. Those who do survive are shipped to slaughterhouses where, exempt from animal protection laws, they meet an equally brutal end. For turkeys, this is the sad truth behind Thanksgiving.

Fortunately, there is an alternative, and more citizens are being inspired to embrace a kinder tradition. For more than two decades, Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-A-Turkey Project has raised awareness about the plight of turkeys on factory farms, and provided individuals who care about farm animals with opportunities to make a difference. And this year, with Ellen DeGeneres as our 2010 spokesperson, we expect to reach more people than ever before!

One of the principal aspects of this campaign is our turkey sponsorship program through which anyone can "adopt" one of our rescued Farm Sanctuary residents. For a one-time donation that goes towards the daily care of turkeys who live at our shelters and other efforts to protect farm animals, sponsors receive an adoption certificate that they can put on display, reminding everyone who sees it that behind every turkey dinner was once a living, breathing individual with desires, feelings and a life of his or her own. It is a powerful reminder that we can all make a different choice.

Through our Farm Animal Adoption Network, Farm Sanctuary physically adopts out rescued turkeys to loving, permanent homes too. This annual event, called Turkey Express, shatters conceptions that some animals are for eating while others are for loving. Like cats and dogs, turkeys are social, sensitive animals who deserve to be treated as part of a family and given a comfortable home to call their own. Through the years we have helped hundreds of turkeys from factory farms meet this far happier end.

The Adopt-A-Turkey Project also offers educational resources, as well as tips and ideas on how to open hearts and minds, for anyone who wants to join us in promoting compassion around the holiday. This year, we've created a new video, Thanksgiving's Toll on Turkeys, that incorporates all the investigations we've done at turkey production facilities throughout the years and offers solutions to end these cruel practices. We are also petitioning President Obama for the third year running to adopt a new tradition by sending the turkeys he pardons this year to Farm Sanctuary, where they can receive the best care possible.

Finally, we are hosting hundreds of people at our Orland, California and Watkins Glen, New York Shelters for our Celebrations FOR the Turkeys, where we serve vegan holiday meals not only to our human guests, but to our turkey residents as well. This Feeding of the Turkeys ceremony, in which rescued turkeys are fed a feast of their favorite treats, is a fun, and often deeply moving, experience for many people, and the attention the event draws from media helps spread our message of compassion far and wide.

Every year, all of these efforts work together to encourage millions of people to rethink the role turkeys play in the Thanksgiving holiday. The more our fellow citizens become educated about the cruelty that goes on behind the closed doors of our nation's factory farms, the less sense it makes that we feast on these maligned birds as symbols of gratitude, and the more natural it becomes to spare a life in the spirit of thankfulness that shines this time of year.

Change for Chickens (and the Nation)

2010-07-08T21:28:51Z

In Ohio, half a million citizens signed petitions this year to place a measure on the statewide ballot to outlaw veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages. As the deadline to submit those signatures approached last month, agribusiness came to the table and agreed to phase out veal crates and gestation crates and to disallow any new battery cage operations from being constructed in Ohio. The fact that agribusiness leaders agreed to phase out veal crates and gestation crates, and put a moratorium on new battery cage facilities, is significant, indicating that these systems are coming to be widely recognized as unacceptable. Although we weren't able to achieve a full phase out of battery cages at this time in Ohio, the signatures gathered for the initiative will remain valid and they can be submitted in the future if need be.

It is critical to continue educating consumers and pushing for an end to battery cages. So far, two states, California and Michigan, have passed laws to phase out battery cages, and we expect that number to grow in the coming years. And this week, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law that prohibits the sale of eggs from facilities that do not adhere to California's battery cage ban. California is the nation's most populated state and it represents a huge market for eggs and other products so banning the sale of battery cage eggs in California is extremely significant and will go a long way toward pushing egg producers to move away from these cruel confinement systems.

Just 10 years ago, there were no laws in the U.S. to outlaw inhumane enclosures like veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages. Today, eight states (Florida, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, Maine, California, Michigan and Ohio) have taken steps to ban at least one of these cruel systems, and more are sure to follow. Finally, the cruelty of factory farming is being challenged, and changed.

Important Progress for Farm Animals in Ohio

2010-07-01T16:56:19Z

Over the past year, more than 500,000 Ohio citizens signed a petition aimed at placing an initiative on the statewide ballot this November to ban cruel factory farming practices. Those signatures gathered by tireless volunteers, many of whom were Farm Sanctuary members, were to be submitted this week, kicking off an initiative battle to be waged over the course of the next several months. However, at the eleventh hour, as it became clear that we had enough signatures to make it on the ballot, agribusiness came to the table and an agreement was brokered by Ohio's Governor Stickland. Here's what came of the agreement pertaining to farm animals:

• A ban on veal crates, to be phased out within six years, as outlined in the ballot initiative.
• A ban on new gestation crates in the state after December 31, 2010. Existing facilities are grandfathered, but must cease use of these crates within 15 years.
• A permanent moratorium on permits for new battery cage facilities in place immediately.
• A ban on the transport of downed cows and calves for slaughter, as outlined in the ballot initiative.
• A ban on strangulation and other forms of on farm killing that are not included in euthanasia standards as outlined by the American Veterinary Medical Association and part of the ballot initiative.
• Enactment of legislation establishing felony-level penalties for cock fighters.

This agreement didn't accomplish everything we would like, as quickly as we would like, but we will continue raising awareness and actively fighting to ban these intolerably cruel systems. And, if agribusiness doesn't comply with this agreement, we have the option to go back to the ballot with the 500,000 signatures already gathered.

Ohio has been known for its exceptionally weak animal protection laws and, as the second largest egg producer, it is among the most entrenched factory farming states in the U.S., so these developments are especially important. The moratorium on new egg laying facilities includes putting a stop to plans for a six million hen battery cage operation that was in the final stages of approval. And no less than six new gestation crate facilities were in the works in the state. We have driven a spike into the cogs of factory farming and agribusiness leaders are finally coming to recognize that treating cows, pigs, chickens and other animals as mere production units is inconsistent with popular sentiments.

When citizens speak up, change is inevitable. Agribusiness never would have come to the table had it not been for all the volunteers giving their time and commitment to this cause by gathering signatures and gaining endorsements. We are proud to have stood alongside these volunteers as well as several organizations working toward one common goal to end cruel factory farming practices in Ohio. The movement to protect farm animals is gaining momentum, and the reforms announced this week in Ohio will reverberate in Washington, D.C. and send ripples across the United States.

The Power on Your Plate

2010-06-10T12:24:11Z

by Gene

Millions of gallons of oil are spreading across the Gulf of Mexico, killing wildlife and threatening coastal communities. This environmental disaster makes it clear that there are costs associated with our dependency on fossil fuel. These costs are usually hidden well and they often seem out of our hands - challenges for businesses and governments to take on, but too large and unseemly for one person to make a real impact.

I am reminded of a 2008 New York Times article entitled "Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler," in which the author, Mark Bittman, compares oil to meat. He writes, "Like oil, meat is subsidized by the federal government. Like oil, meat is subject to accelerating demand as nations become wealthier, and this, in turn, sends prices higher. Finally--like oil--meat is something people are encouraged to consume less of, as the toll exacted by industrial production increases, and becomes increasingly visible." Bittman's piece compares the amount of fossil fuels needed to produce a meat meal versus fossil fuels needed for a plant-based meal and illustrates that the meat meal requires 16 times more!

Although the negative consequences of excessive oil and meat consumption are usually hidden, a growing bed of evidence is making these issues harder and harder to ignore. In 2006, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization released a report called "Livestock's Long Shadow." The report states that animal agriculture is a major contributor to climate change and "emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." It didn't take long for industry to challenge that report in attempts to debunk the conclusion that animal agriculture contributes more to climate change than transportation. In April of this year, James McWilliams wrote a piece for Atlantic Monthly challenging the rash of media articles that jumped on this industry-led PR campaign. McWilliams rightly concluded, "No matter what the exact figure, the environmental case against industrial meat production remains powerfully convincing."

Now, the United Nations' Environment Programme has published a new report called "Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Production and Consumption: Priority Products and Materials." It identifies the largest contributors to environmental impacts and pressures, citing "food" and "agricultural materials, especially animal products" as priority areas of concern. Referring to this report, The Guardian newspaper published an article under the heading "UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet," that states, "A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change."

There are many things in this world that are out of our control and where we may feel helpless to make a difference. But, that's not the case with food. We can each exercise a large degree of control over what we eat, and by making food choices that are consistent with our own values and interests, we can make the world a better place. Choosing to eat plants instead of animals lightens our environmental footprint, including our dependency on oil, and it improves and saves lives, both human and non-human. Of that, we can be certain.

Ohio Animal Abuse Demonstrates Need for Farm Animal Protection Laws

2010-05-28T21:40:23Z

This week, the animal protection group, Mercy For Animals, released a heart-wrenching undercover video from Conklin Dairy, located in Union County, Ohio, near Columbus. This disturbing footage shows workers brutally beating cows with crowbars, stabbing them with pitchforks, breaking their tails, and violently punching, throwing and kicking young calves. Workers then brag about torturing the helpless animals. In response, Farm Sanctuary issued a press statement calling for better farm animal protection laws, and we contacted local authorities to offer rehabilitative care and lifelong shelter for animals in need from Conklin's farm.

At Farm Sanctuary, we are not strangers to confronting extreme animal abuse, and indeed, have witnessed it firsthand, and have provided rescue and refuge for thousands of abused farm animals. This utterly unconscionable behavior is a logical extension of an industry attitude which sees animals as mere units of production, rather than as feeling, sentient individuals. In the animal agriculture industry, bad has become normal. On factory farms, animals are subject to unspeakable cruelty every single day. In battery cages, gestation crates and veal crates, chickens, pigs, and calves endure confinement so extreme that they cannot stand up, turn around, stretch their limbs, or lie down comfortably. Unable to exercise their most basic natural behaviors, these animals exhibit signs of extreme psychological distress. This daily reality for millions of farm animals across the nation is rarely covered on the nightly news. There, cruelty is just a way of doing business.

This latest news about the Conklin farm is escalating by the hour as people continue to express outrage at the malicious and sadistic acts caught on video. So far, one alleged perpetrator has been arrested and charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty, but Ohio law prevents these charges from being felony counts. Even Rocky Nelson, the Sheriff of Union County called these acts "vile and disgusting." He stated in a Columbus Dispatch story covering the arrest, "If there was a way this could be a felony charge, I would push for that," Unfortunately, Ohio has some of the weakest animal cruelty laws in the nation. Not long ago, an Ohio court acquitted a factory farmer who was captured hanging sick pigs execution-style from a tractor, a verdict that was considered a victory for agribusiness.

If you are disturbed by the sadistic violence exhibited in this video of Conklin Dairy Farm, there is something you can do. Right now, Farm Sanctuary is working with concerned citizens across the state of Ohio to collect signatures to get a sweeping farm animal welfare initiative on the November ballot. If passed, this initiative would end the most egregious farming practices and send a message to agribusiness that whether it's considered "standard practice" or a sadistic act of abuse, cruelty is cruelty and won't be tolerated. Learn how you can get involved now.

Time to Dig Deep for the Animals

2010-05-20T17:44:57Z

Across the U.S., hundreds of millions of farm animals, including calves raised for veal, sows exploited for breeding and hens used for egg production, are confined in crates and cages so tightly that they cannot walk, turn around or stretch their limbs. The animals experience both physical and psychological disorders, and their confinement is so cruel that it is being phased out across Europe. Seven U.S. states have now enacted legislation to reform inhumane factory farming systems, including California, where Farm Sanctuary worked alongside citizens in the Golden State to pass a voter initiative that won by a two to one margin in 2008, outlawing veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages. One year later, the Michigan legislature enacted a similar law. But, unlike agricultural leaders and lawmakers in other states, agribusiness officials in Ohio and their legislative cronies have vehemently opposed basic humane reforms.

Public opinion polls in Ohio demonstrate that Ohioans, like citizens in other states, believe that farm animals deserve to be treated with respect and should not be crowded into cages and crates so tightly that they cannot even turn around or stretch their limbs. Now, given the failure of Ohio's legislature to address these issues, Farm Sanctuary and thousands of citizens across the state are mobilizing, collecting signatures to place an initiative on the statewide ballot to alleviate the suffering of 27 million farm animals who live in veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages in Ohio.

As you read this, Ohio's animals are suffering and volunteers are in the streets, working hard to make a difference. We have collected more than 160,000 signatures, but there is still a long way to go to obtain the 600,000 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. If you live in Ohio, or know anybody who does, please get involved. This effort is absolutely crucial.

If we are victorious in Ohio, it will enhance our ability to create needed changes in other states, as well as in Washington, D.C. It's time to dig deep. The animals are counting on us: www.ohiohumane.org.

Help America's School Lunch Program Make the Grade

2010-04-07T14:56:43Z

Discussions about our health care system reached a fevered pitch recently in Washington, D.C. with Congress addressing a massive health care bill. Disagreements abound on various policy matters, but there is no question that our nation's health has deteriorated and health care costs have increased substantially and are not sustainable. We cannot continue accepting poor health and disease as normal, and depending on pharmaceuticals to treat preventable illnesses.

It is critical to promote healthier plant-based eating habits and to lower the risk of disease in the first place. Politicians and the mainstream media have been slow to address the importance of disease prevention; however, the concept is finally beginning to surface, at least in general terms. Shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the health care bill, an ABC News commentator spoke to a national audience about the need for "fundamental" change and discontinuing our "bad habits," and on CNN, Dr. Andrew Weil highlighted the importance of "disease prevention" and "health promotion." Meanwhile, Michelle Obama has planted an organic garden at the White House and is urging school children to exercise and eat more fruits and vegetables to combat obesity and other lifestyle related health problems.

Congress will begin discussing the federal school lunch program soon, and this provides an opportunity for parents and others concerned about our nation's youth to weigh in and to challenge a system that allows factory farms to profit by selling unhealthy food to children. Each year, the federal government spends more than $1 billion on animal products for programs like the National School Lunch Program. The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act will prevent the federal government from spending any of this taxpayer money on products from animals raised in veal crates, gestation crates or battery cages. In addition, the Healthy School Meals Act would provide financial incentives to school districts that provide their students with plant-based food options and non-dairy beverages. By educating students about the dramatic benefits of adopting a plant-based diet for the animals, the environment and their health, this law would have a tremendous impact. Contact your legislators now and ask them to support the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act AND the Healthy School Meals Act.

Agribusiness will fight to maintain the status quo, but citizens also have a voice in our democracy, and if we speak up, we can make a difference. The future, individually and collectively, is in our hands.