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As Farm Animal Issues Become Increasingly Political, Movement’s Founder Moves to Washington, D.C.

Iconic President and Co-Founder of Farm Sanctuary, Gene Baur, Relocates to Nation’s Capital in Midst of Burgeoning Food Movement

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — January 12, 2010 — After 23 years of leading the farm animal protection movement from the rural New York State national headquarters of Farm Sanctuary, the influential nonprofit’s president, co-founder and best-selling author Gene Baur is packing up his bags (but not the farm) and moving to Washington, D.C. The strategic move comes at a time when humane issues pertaining to farm animals are increasingly being addressed by federal and state legislative bodies as a result of growing public awareness and opposition to the cruel practices used on factory farms, including confinement so intense that millions of animals raised for food in this country cannot walk, lie down or extend their limbs comfortably for the entire duration of their lives.

“We are currently in the midst of a burgeoning food movement that will forever change the way Americans eat and think about food,” said Baur. “Growing awareness of the intense cruelty suffered by billions of animals on factory farms, coupled with the recent release of shocking undercover video footage showing animals too weak or injured to stand being beaten and kicked by factory workers and the widely reported link between animal agriculture and the degradation of the environment have made animal agriculture an issue of national public concern. I couldn’t be more excited to move to our nation’s capital during such a pivotal moment in time.”

As founder of the modern farm animal protection movement, Baur has worked for more than twenty years to expose the cruelties of factory farming and change the way society views and treats farm animals. No stranger to politics, 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, the California ban on veal crates, gestation crates, and battery cages, and the California ban on foie gras — and testified before Congress on the abusive conditions suffered by animals on factory farms. His efforts have been covered by leading news organizations, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Public Radio, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN. His book, entitled Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food, was published by Simon and Schuster in March, 2008 and has become a national best seller.

Baur 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, campaigns to raise awareness about the negative consequences of industrialized factory farming and our cheap food system. 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. He has 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 holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from California State University Northridge and a master's degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University.

Last year, fresh on the heels of First Lady Michelle Obama’s decision to plant a vegetable garden on the White House lawn in an effort to educate the nation about the importance of healthy, sustainable food, a major victory in Farm Sanctuary’s No Downers Campaign came when President Barak Obama banned downed cattle (i.e. cattle too weak or injured to stand) from entering the food supply. While acknowledged as being a step in the right direction, the group remains determined to win legal protections for downed pigs and other incapacitated farm animals.

If you would like to receive a hi-res image or speak with Gene Baur, please contact Meredith Turner at 646-369-6212 or mturner@farmsanctuary.org.

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.