Gene Baur is the co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary. He is the star of YTP episode 17, which we recorded in 2016 when BJ and I lived on the road. We were staying in Ithaca, New York, and we'd drive to Watkins Glen, drop Clark off at a dog sitter, and then head to Farm Sanctuary, where we volunteered for seven days. It was a profound experience of transformation and hard labor.

Gene has been relentless in his advocacy of animals for almost four decades. He has visited hundreds of farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses, documenting deplorable conditions. Through his investigative and rescue work, he has educated millions about the plight of modern farm animals.

His message of compassionate living transcends age, race, or class and hits deep into the essence of who we are and begs the question - if we can live well without causing unnecessary harm, why wouldn't we?

From hob-knobbing with Hollywood royalty to debating on national television, countless public addresses, and authoring two books, Gene is showing this world that compassion is a superpower for good and in effect, has inspired many to shift their mindset around animals to friends, not food.

We loved this beautiful conversation and hope you do too! Thank you for tuning in. If you are enjoying the show, if it's assisting you with positive change in your life, please take a moment to leave a review on your preferred listening station. And then head over to Patreon and check out the perks of support; we couldn't do this each week without our patrons.

In this episode, we discuss:

- compassion is a superpower for good

- update on Watkins Glen, NY & Acton, CA locations

- the profound impact of veganic agriculture

- lawns transitioning to gardens

- find common ground to educate

- only 4% of mammals live free in the wild

- we are losing biodiversity

- obstacles to moving to a vegan lifestyle

- Hilda's story

- positive videos to raise awareness and open hearts and minds

- animals are social beings

- long walks in nature to process

- animal advocacy legislation

- future of Farm Sanctuary

Namaste-

Jess