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Best-selling Author Gene Baur to Give Keynote Speech at Taking Action for Animals Conference to Promote the Critically Acclaimed “Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food”

“A stunning indictment of factory farming and the way most Americans obtain their food
 . . . A life-altering read.”
~Booklist (starred review)

ARLINGTON, VA – July 8, 2008 – On Saturday, July 19 at 3:45 p.m., Farm Sanctuary President and Co-founder Gene Baur will give an inspirational keynote speech at the Taking Action for Animals Conference hosted at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va. by the Humane Society of the United States. This speech will be based on Baur’s national best-seller, “Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food,” published in March 2008 by Touchstone (a division of Simon & Schuster). This critically acclaimed book is available wherever books are sold, and will also be available for purchase and signing at this event. For registration and other conference details, please visit www.takingactionforanimals.org.

When Gene Baurbegan visiting stockyards to document conditions, he was appalled by what he found. Amid the stench and filth, animals were deprived of their most basic needs. Those who were injured or sick were destined to be unceremoniously thrown onto the “dead pile,” rather than receive proper care. But when a sheep who had been cast aside and left for dead raised her head and looked at Baur, he was inspired to take immediate action. He rescued the sheep that fateful day, and “Hilda,” as she was soon known, became the first resident of Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization.

“Farm Sanctuary” depicts the plight of the animals who are victims of industrial farming. Farm production today does not depend on the family farmer with a small herd of animals, but instead resembles a large, assembly-line factory. Animals raised for human consumption are not only confined for the entirety of their lives, but also often live without companionship, fresh air, or even adequate food and water.

“Farm Sanctuary” is a thought-provoking examination of the ethical questions involved in the production of beef, poultry, pork, milk, and eggs. It addresses the systematic mistreatment of the 10 billion farm animals who are exploited specifically for food in the United States every year.

Throughout, Baur shares the triumphs and ongoing struggles of more than 20 years on the front lines of the animal protection movement. He also introduces some of the special creatures who have found shelter at Farm Sanctuary—from Maya, a “downed” stockyard calf found too injured to walk (and thus left for dead) to Rudy, Truffles and Terrin, all pigs who were rescued after falling out of trucks on busy interstate highways. 

“Farm Sanctuary” urges readers to extend the reach of human compassion and consume a kinder plate, making a better life for animals and for themselves. Baur has visited more than 30 cities in promotion of this national best-seller. This book and these presentations have touched the lives of many, awakening the public to the realities of factory farms and motivating them to take action on behalf of farm animals. 

One hundred percent of the author’s proceeds will be donated to Farm Sanctuary. For additional details about the book, please visit www.genebaur.org.

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 www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.