My Visit to Farm Sanctuary

These days, it’s hard to imagine anymore of farms with farm animals in them, enjoying their freedom. Cows chewing on grass under the light and heat of the sun. Pigs sunbathing on a puddle of mud. Goats resting by the trees. Flock of sheep running around. Chickens and turkeys roaming around as they peck the grounds. With the domination of farm factories since the late 19^th century, animal farms are steadily becoming nothing but an illusion. 

As you may or may not know, farm factories are the current norm in how we produce meat here in the United States and internationally. Farm factories are able to supply the high demands for meat and because of them our meat is cheap. Unfortunately, this efficient food production and cheap meat results in farm animals being confined to small places, crammed together. They are mutilated – debeaking on poultry, tail docking on pigs and cows, iron branding. They are denied of sunlight, freedom and taste of natural habitat. They are abused and at the end of the day, they are sent to slaughterhouses to be killed for food.

I used to be a meat lover and never have I imagined I would consider going vegetarian or vegan. That was until I saw what really goes on in factory farms. This realization led me to Farm Sanctuary on May 4^th, 2014 in Acton, California. Founded by activist and bestselling author, Gene Baur, the Farm Sanctuary is devoted to rehabilitating and caring for farm animals that have been rescued from farm factories and neglect.

It was about 12 noon when the gates of the Farm Sanctuary opened. I parked my car on the dirt road and as I was walking to the entrance, I passed by a cute Llama. He/she was friendly as if she was waiting for me to say hi to him/her. Right there and then, I could tell this is a special place for animals. 

We were treated with some really nice, delicious vegan hors d’oeuvres. I snacked on a plate of vegan nachos topped with vegan cheese along with veggie burger and vegan brownie. I sat on a grass by the tree and I was amazed to see just how many people came to visit the Farm Sanctuary that day.

Gene Baur

Gene Baur made an inspiring speech about farm factories and its negative impacts in our health, environment and the farm animals that endure torture, abuse and slaughter. One thing I mainly took away from his speech is that we have to be conscious about what we consume and what we do. It is only through awareness that we start to question the ethics of social issues like factory farming and where we can start making more responsible and humane choices that align with our values and our health. 

The last stop of the day was the interaction with the farm animals. This was of course the highlight of my visit. I saw two pigs right by the mud. One chose to lie down and sunbathe in the puddle while the other chose to mingle with us. I touched one of them and he/she came towards me. There was no fear in his/her eyes. I could feel the sense of trust coming from him/her; seemingly so sure people won’t hurt them. I love their feet because they seem to walk in high heels. 

  
I moved on to the cows next. Farm Sanctuary has different cows and we were educated on how certain ones are mainly used for dairy, for lean beef and for steak. As I stood there and pet them, I couldn’t imagine that they were the actual live form of animals I used to have on my plate. I realized that we have this disconnect with the farm animals that we hardly notice them in our steaks, in our barbecues, in our pork chops and in our bacon.

I got to interact with the goats, sheep, chickens and turkeys as well. Everyone seems nice and at ease with the people around them. As I watch them do their own thing, I couldn’t help to think that animals remind us how to be humans; how to live a life that is in harmony with each other and with our environment. They look like they have a blissful life, which is the far opposite of the abusive environment in farm factories. 

As I walked out of Farm Sanctuary, I had these questions lingering in my mind-- will factory farming end? If everyone will come to see what goes on in factory farming, will that be the end of this current norm in our society? 

Farm factory is a multi-billion dollar business. It thrives because there is a demand for it. But if we bridge that disconnect between humans and farm animals, reveal the dirty secrets of farm factories, educate people about the harmful impacts of factory farming in the environment, animals and our health, and empower them on compassionate food consumption and meat substitutes, I’m optimistic that we can reduce and maybe even halt the demand for meat. Then factory farming will be a thing of the past. And there will be no farm sanctuaries, just animal farms. 

 "A better attitude leads to better actions and a better world..."