August 13, 2008

Book urges people to save their lives and animals by going vegan. (Pet Pulse Photo Courtesy of Gene Baur, Design by Mike Lloyd)

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Gene Baur would love for everyone to become vegans overnight, but being a realist he says he realizes that is not going to happen.

Still, he is trying to change people’s eating habits slowly but surely, in large part through his new book, “Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food.”

“It describes what’s happening to animals on farms,” Baur told Pet Pulse from his 175-acre farm known as Farm Sanctuary, a non-profit organization that protects the rights of farm animals and influences people to stop consuming animal products.

“It describes the many costs associated with our current industrial farming system,” Baur said of his book. “So I wanted to have this as a tool for people to learn about, and hopefully make changes to the way they eat and how they spend their dollars when they go to restaurants and grocery stores.”

Most Americans don’t think about where their food came from, Baur says, or the consequences of their eating choices.

“So I think it begins with a discussion,” he said. “I think it begins with people starting to think.”

A lack of information and education is a big obstacle in that change process, Baur says.

“I think most are going to want to make decisions that are healthy for themselves, that are not cruel to animals and do not destroy the planet,” Baur said. “I think most of us have those same interests. But at this time, most consumers are living in a way that is inconsistent with their own values and their own interests.

“I think it’s more based on ignorance than intentional, wonton hypocrisy.”

Adding fuel to Baur’s argument are two bills currently before the nation’s legislatures.

First, in the Senate is bill S. 549 sponsored by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Jack Reed (D-RI), while House Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) has introduced H.R. 962.

These two proposed bills would phase out the routine feeding of antibiotics to farm animals. The Humane Society of the United States supports the bills as a way to end the common practice on factory farms to feed animals high doses of antibiotics to speed growth and prevent disease.

The HSUS says the need to combat disease stems from livestock being raised in unsanitary, overcrowded and stressful facilities.

HSUS advocates the better treatment of farm animals, which would lead to a safer food supply.

But while the quality and health of the nation’s food supply is debated, Baur acknowledges that eating wrong foods is habit forming.

“Even if those habits could ultimately kill them, which is, in my mind, amazing,” he said.

With obesity an American epidemic and diabetes on the rise, Baur says people should start taking steps toward changing –- one at a time.

“For some people it’s hard to change and there’s a fear of change,” he said. “And that’s one of the things we need to break through. And encourage people to embrace new ideas, to try new kinds of foods, to think in a new way about our relationship with other animals.”

Most people, Baur says, don’t want to engage in animal cruelty, however, changing their ways means overcoming the psychological power food has over many.

“But for some people that might seem daunting, so they could try being vegan one or two days a week,” he said. “And I think they would find that by eating plant-based meals they will challenge themselves to come up with new recipes and become more creative in the kitchen.

“I know that’s what happened with me and with many others who decided to become vegan. It can become an empowering experience.”

Indeed, Baur turned vegan during the early 1980s while hitchhiking around the country. He says he learned more about the waste associated with animal agriculture, as well as the related animal cruelty and various resulting human health problems.

After becoming a vegan in 1985, Baur founded Farm Santuary the following year.

“This industrial animal farming system is bad for everybody,” Baur said. “It’s bad for animals, bad for the earth, bad for consumers. It’s also bad for farmers.

“I actually feel very badly for people that work in slaughter houses, for example, where eight hours a day all they do is cut the throats of animals. I mean, that’s a brutal job. A brutal, violent, bloody job. And I wish nobody had to do it.”

Despite the tall challenges he faces in his mission, Baur says he remains optimistic about his message getting through to enough people.

“I am hopeful that people can change if they get the right message,” he said. “And also if they see that change is manageable, and it’s feasible and it’s doable.”

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