Hoedown: 40 Years

Gene Baur has been hailed by TIME Magazine as “the conscience of the food movement.” Since the 1980s, he has traveled extensively, campaigning to raise awareness about the abuses of industrialized factory farming and our exploitative food system. A pioneer in undercover investigations and farm animal rescue, Gene has visited hundreds of farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses, documenting the deplorable conditions. His pictures and videos exposing the cruelty of factory farming have aired nationally and internationally, educating millions about the plight of modern farm animals. His rescue work inspired an international farm sanctuary movement.

Barbara has been a children’s health educator and advocate since her own children entered public school over two decades ago. In 2003, she led a CA coalition to successfully pass the first ever school lunch legislation calling for daily plant-based school lunches and nutrition education that includes a plant-based perspective (ACR 16, CA 2003). Three more states followed suit. In 2008, she founded Healthy Kids, Happy Planet! a non-profit organization with a mission to educate and empower youth to create a healthier, greener and kinder world. Since the founding, her organization has partnered with education and school nutrition professionals to bring environmentally focused and vegan-friendly nutrition education programs to over 25 thousand students (k-12) in the classroom, cafeteria and community.

Ashley Ingram is a Senior Associate Attorney with Earthjustice’s Sustainable Food & Farming Program, where she works with clients and partners on litigation, regulation, and legislation to address the climate, air, and water pollution from our industrial agricultural system.

Zoe Weil is an educator, author, and speaker dedicated to helping build a future where all people, animals, and nature can thrive. As the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), Zoe empowers people to be solutionaries—compassionate changemakers who address systemic challenges with heart and intellect.

Zoe created the first graduate programs in comprehensive Humane Education linking animal protection, human rights, and ecological ethics, offered online through IHE’s affiliation with Antioch University. IHE also offers a Solutionary Micro-credential Course and award-winning teacher resources including its Solutionary Framework, which was named one of the most impactful and scalable innovations in education worldwide. Zoe is a frequent keynote speaker at education and other conferences and has given six TEDx talks including her acclaimed The World Becomes What You Teach. She’s written eight books including her 2024 book The Solutionary Way with a foreword by Jane Goodall; Amazon best seller in the Philosophy and Social Aspects of Education, The World Becomes What We Teach; Nautilus silver medal winner Most Good, Least Harm; Moonbeam gold medal winner Claude and Medea; and Above All, Be Kind.

She is the 2023 recipient of the Spirit of America award and was a recipient of the Unity College Women in Environmental Leadership award. She was also a subject of the Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series and was inducted into the Animal Rights Hall of Fame. She holds master’s degrees from Harvard Divinity School and the University of Pennsylvania and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Valparaiso University.

Lorena Mucke is the Founder and CEO of the Educated Choices Program (ECP), an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing food systems literacy and helping people understand the connections between food, human health, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. Over the past 10 years, she has led ECP’s growth into one of the world’s leading organizations in food impact education, reaching millions of students through evidence-based educational programs used in schools, universities, and communities.

Lorena has presented at conferences, universities, and schools throughout the United States, Bolivia, and Argentina, sharing the role that education plays in creating lasting behavior change and healthier, more sustainable food systems. Under her leadership, ECP has expanded internationally, partnered with global organizations, and developed free educational resources that empower current and future generations to make informed food choices.

Lorena holds a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Texas A&M University and a graduate degree in Ecology and Sustainable Development from Argentina. Having lived in Bolivia, Argentina, and the United States, she brings an international perspective to her work. She lives in the Atlanta area with her family and is passionate about expanding access to high-quality education, fostering thoughtful leadership, and helping build a healthier, more sustainable future.