terra summer

Gene Baur, co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, visits students at Terra Summer July 14!

Gene Baur, co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, America’s leading farm animal protection organization, will speak to students at Terra Summer on July 14.

"I was very happy to learn about the Terra Summer program and how it teaches kids to “think through food’,” said Gene. “Our food choices have profound consequences on our health and the health of our entire planet, and I am very grateful that Terra educates students about conscientious food choices. I am very much looking forward to visiting."

Terra Summer is even more grateful for the visit. “We are extremely honored to have Gene,” said Sybil Fix, founder and director of Terra Summer and The Terra Project. “Terra is a vegetarian program and we talk about animal rights a lot. But this is a unique opportunity for the children to hear a firsthand account of the misery and pain that is behind the production of food using animals. We hope children walk away truly sensitized to the lives of these special beings and the pain they suffer.”

Gene has dedicated his life to the rescue and awareness of farm animals and their treatment. Gene grew up in Hollywood, California, and worked in commercials for McDonald's and other fast food restaurants. He adopted a vegan lifestyle in 1985, and today he campaigns to raise awareness about the negative consequences of industrialized factory farming and our cheap food system. Gene holds a master's degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University. After volunteering and working with various environmental and human rights causes, Gene turned his attention to animal agriculture. He has conducted hundreds of visits to farms, stockyards and slaughterhouses to document conditions, and his pictures and videos, exposing factory farming cruelty, have been aired nationally and internationally, educating millions.

Gene has also testified in court and before local, state and federal legislative bodies, and has initiated groundbreaking legal enforcement and legislative action to raise awareness and prevent factory farming abuses. He played a significant role in passing the first U.S. laws to prohibit cruel farming systems - including the Florida ban on gestation crates, the Arizona ban on veal and gestation crates, and the California and Chicago bans on foie gras. His book, entitled "Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food", was published by Simon and Schuster in 2008 and has become a national best seller.

Gene’s visit at Terra, scheduled for 2 p.m., is open to Terra friends and family, past students and families. THE EVENT IS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AT LARGE – we apologize! However, Gene will be speaking to The Asheville Vegetarians at the Firestorm Café and Bookstore on July 13, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. The café is located at 48 Commerce St in Asheville - (828) 255-8115.