Book Recommendation: Living the Farm Sanctuary Life by Gene Baur
- ejharpist
- Apr 21
- 3 min read
Updated: May 14
Farm Sanctuary is as its name implies, a sanctuary for farm animals who have escaped or been rescued from horrible situations.
April 17th was Sanctuary Day - celebrating animal sanctuaries around the world, and this year marked the 40th anniversary of Farm Sanctuary, so it seemed a good time to share about this wonderful book.
This book shows the beauty of farm sanctuaries. Gene's experiences and stories of specific animals bring such joy to the reader. For example, Jessie the calf jumped out of a truck and thankfully, Farm Sanctuary workers found her on the roadside, injured and in need of help. They were able to rehabilitate her and Jesse lived a long and happy life at the California Farm Sanctuary.
Whenever I see photos of babies at Farm Sanctuary, I am so relieved, because that is one more animal who will never face the cruelty of a factory farming existence.
This book shares ideas about living a vegan lifestyle, stories from the sanctuary experience and recipes. The Farm Sanctuary has a restaurant onsite with all vegan food and the chefs seem amazing; their recipes shared in this book are inspiring. If you live near Watkins Glen, NY or Los Angeles, CA, you can visit Farm Sanctuary. If you don't live nearby, I encourage you to explore their website and maybe fall in love with the amazing animals that are there.
Farm Sanctuary's Guiding Principles
Vision - A world in which humans embrace a vegan ethic and practice compassion and respect for all species.
Mission - To protect farm animals from cruelty, to inspire change in the way society views and treats farm animals and to promote compassionate vegan living.
Values - We engage people where they are on their journey to a cruelty-free lifestyle.
We support only nonviolent and respectful methods to achieve our goals.
Ending factory farming and promoting a plant-based diet is best for animals, human health, and the environment.
Animals exist for their own purposes and are not merely consumable resources.
We support incremental change.
All human and nonhuman animals should be treated with compassion and respect.
Positive human-animal connections and interactions are an effective means of education and transformation. (page 19)
I also love that this book shares quotes from many notable people about the power of a vegan lifestyle and compassion towards all. Here are a few quotes I found in this book to share with you.
"One day the absurdity of the almost universal human belief in the slavery of other animals will be palpable. We shall then have discovered our souls and become worthier of sharing this planet with them." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." - Albert Einstein
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated," - Mahatma Gandhi
Gene Baur's work and story inspires me and hearing, in his words, about Farm Sanctuary gives me hope for these wonderful animal friends. I hope you can read and help me celebrate farm sanctuaries. One of the things I love about this book is that it meets you wherever you are - every step matters, and we hope you are inspired to move towards a more compassionate lifestyle. There are great ideas in this book! A quote from Gene Baur, "Participate. Just do something, even if it's small. One small step can be the beginning of an entire movement." (page 21)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVER NICHOLAS!!!!! the wisdom and kindness you've brought to this world during your ten years of life is so evident through all that you do, and especially through your love of animals! Every time I come to your blog, I learn SO MUCH, and am delighted that you continue to pour so much passion and compassion into educating the rest of us with kindness and patience. I feel better knowing that these beautiful creatures are being given a voice through your work, and the work of people like Gene. The pictures you share in this post are GORGEOUS. They are so vivid, it almost feels like stepping foot into the animal sanctuary in person, which I hope to…
The Farm Sanctuary seems like such a beautiful place. If we could all live by its guiding principles, the world would certainly be a better place. I also loved the inspiring quotes you chose to share. Thank you for spreading goodness through your blog posts, and inspiring others to do the same!
Treating animals and planet as sanctuary is a compassionate lifestyle that's available to everyone! Thank you for the reminder that we can each make a difference. Your post brought to mind a favorite book entitled "Raising Hare". The author writes of her experience raising a wild hare with great respect for its wildness and returning it to the wild. The accommodations she makes within her own life for this sweet being, is heart warming and a reminder that every being is sacred and has its own nature. As humans we can easily forget.