Gene Baur

Baur was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Hollywood, California, the oldest of six siblings.{{cite book|last=Puskar-Pasewicz|first=Margaret|title=Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism|year=2010|isbn=9780313375569|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-braqoek0AC&q=gene+baur&pg=PA50|access-date=November 13, 2018}} He went to Loyola High School.Interview with Gene Baur - http://reapmediazine.com/index.php/article-list/133-gene-baur-s-farm-santcury-19#.VcULSNko5y4Lochrie, Christy. [http://www.newsreview.com/chico/content?oid=660536 Animal house] Chico News & Review: May 1, 2008 He attended Cal State Northridge where he obtained a bachelor's degree in sociology. He paid for college, in part, by doing background work in television and movies which included commercials for McDonald's and KFC.

To better understand agribusiness and its mindset, Baur obtained a master's degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University.

File:Gene Baur.jpg

In the 1980s, after traveling around the United States and learning about agriculture, Baur began investigations into factory farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses. He believed the conditions he observed were unacceptable, and these experiences helped motivate the creation of Farm Sanctuary, which created the sanctuary movement in North America.{{Cite web|title = Farmed Animal Sanctuaries: The Heart of the Movement?|url = http://journals.lub.lu.se/index.php/pa/article/view/15045/13619|website = journals.lub.lu.se|access-date = February 20, 2016|language = en}}

Farm Sanctuary's first rescued animal was a downed (i.e. unable to stand) sheep who had been discarded on a pile of dead animals behind Lancaster stockyards in Pennsylvania in 1986.{{Cite web|last=Worden|first=Amy|title=Celebrating Hilda's legacy and Farm Sanctuary at 25|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/blogs/pets/Celebrating-Hildas-legacy-and-Farm-Sanctuary-at-25.html|access-date=October 21, 2020|website=inquirer.com|date=May 17, 2011 |language=en-US}} The sheep, who regained her health and lived for more than ten years, was named Hilda. Farm Sanctuary continued to investigate farms, speak out against factory farming, and rescue animals, funding the fledgling organization by selling vegan hotdogs out of a VW van in the parking lots at Grateful Dead concerts.

Baur has expressed concern about the impact factory farming has on the environment, on workers and consumers, and on rural communities. He has visited communities and witnessed the impact of large scale animal agriculture.Baur, Gene. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gene-baur/a-foul-state-of-affairs-t_b_1865985.html A Foul State of Affairs: The Hidden Harm of Factory Farms in North Carolina], HuffPost, September 7, 2012

Baur has testified before local, state and federal legislative bodies and spoken to farming and policy organizations in efforts to reform the industry and improve farm animal welfare. In 2004, Baur gave a talk entitled "Animal Rights and Human Responsibility" at the United States Department of Agriculture headquarters in Washington, D.C., and in 2007, he was called to testify before the U.S. House agriculture subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry about the inhumane conditions common on factory farms.McNeil, Donald. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9C03E3DB1631F931A35752C0A9629C8B63&n=Top%2fNews%2fScience%2fTopics%2f Livestock Where the Cows Come Home]. The New York Times.File:Gene Baur 1.jpg

Baur played a role in passing the first U.S. laws to restrict industrial animal farming systems. In 2002, Baur led a campaign in Florida to pass a ballot initiative banning gestation crates for pigs.Jones, Maggie. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26animal-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Barnyard%20advocate&st=cse The Barnyard Strategist] The New York Times Magazine: October 24, 2008{{cite news|last = Kuehn|first = Bridget M.|title = Campaign to outlaw sow housing in Florida advances|url = https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/021001a.aspx|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160301185640/https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/021001a.aspx|url-status = dead|archive-date = March 1, 2016|newspaper = Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association|date = October 1, 2002}} After the Florida campaign the Florida Elections Commission found that Farm Sanctuary, and Baur personally, had broken campaign finance laws. Farm Sanctuary and Baur consented to pay a fine of $50,000.{{Cite web |url=http://www.fec.state.fl.us/Final%20Orders/2002/209.pdf |title=Florida Elections Commission, Case number FEC 02-093. |access-date=February 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716160746/http://www.fec.state.fl.us/Final%20Orders/2002/209.pdf |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}

In 2006, Baur was involved in getting a ballot measure introduced and passedCrawford, Amanda. [http://cals.arizona.edu/media/archives/18.8.html Hog industry realities color Prop. 204 debate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706173749/http://cals.arizona.edu/media/archives/18.8.html |date=July 6, 2008 }} The Arizona Republic: October 28, 2006 in Arizona which banned gestation crates and veal crates.Lovley, Erika. [https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/11/10/pigs-win-bigger-pens-in-arizona-ballot-fight/ Pigs Win Bigger Pens in Arizona Ballot Fight] The Wall Street Journal: November 10, 2006 Baur and Farm Sanctuary were also sponsors of a California initiative (Proposition 2) to ban veal crates, gestation crates and battery cagesRojas, Aurelio. [http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/1269685.html 2008 Ballot Watch: Proposition 2: Standards for confining farm animals] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808031402/http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/1269685.html |date=August 8, 2009 }} The Sacramento Bee: September 27, 2008 which passed on November 4, 2008, approved with over 63% of the vote.[http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/states/california.html California – Election Results 2008] The New York Times

Baur played a role in a California law that went into effect in 2012, banning the production and sale of foie gras, which is made by force feeding ducks and geese and causing their livers to expand up to ten times their normal size.Milionis, Allison. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060327011020/http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=1559&IssueNum=85 Protests target Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in effort to reform farm animal conditions]}}. LA City Beat: January 20, 2005. He was also involved in passing a 2006 (repealed in 2008) Chicago ordinance banning the sale of foie gras.Paulson, Amanda. [http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1213/p01s04-ussc.html A ban on foie gras? Could this really be Chicago?] CS Monitor: December 13, 2005

In 2012, Baur started competing in marathons and triathlons to demonstrate how plant foods can fuel athletic performance. In July 2013, Baur participated in his first full Ironman Triathlon in Lake Placid, New York.Baur, Gene. [http://blog.farmsanctuary.org/2013/08/postcard-from-the-road-lake-placid-ironman/ Postcard from the Road: Lake Placid Ironman] Farm Sanctuary Blog: August 8, 2013[http://tracking.ironmanlive.com/newathlete.php?rid=1143240022&race=lakeplacid&bib=2544&v=3.0&beta=&1376069400 Race Results] Ironmanlive.com As a vegan runner, Baur was featured in the May 2013 issue of Runner's World magazine.[http://www.runnersworld.com/celebrity-runners/gene-baur?page=single I'm a Runner: Gene Baur] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628071828/http://www.runnersworld.com/celebrity-runners/gene-baur?page=single |date=June 28, 2013 }} Runner's World: May 2013

Baur participated in an Intelligence Squared debate on December 4, 2013, along with Neal D. Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine arguing for the motion "Don't Eat Anything with a Face." Debating against the motion during the Oxford–style debate were Chris Masterjohn of the Weston A. Price Foundation and farmer Joel Salatin. The Baur/Bernard team was declared the winner after the majority of the audience voted in favor of their position.[http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/910-dont-eat-anything-with-a-face&tab=2 Don't Eat Anything with a Face Debate] Intelligence Squared

Baur was also interviewed on Tony Robbins' Blog and was regarded as "The Change Cultivator"{{Cite news|url=https://www.tonyrobbins.com/leadership-impact/the-change-cultivator|title=The change cultivator|date=October 19, 2016|newspaper=tonyrobbins.com|language=en-US|access-date=October 28, 2016}} which featured him as a man on a mission to change cultural norms about the way society views animals and as someone who is influential in promoting a plant-based lifestyle.

Baur's investigative exposés and advocacy activities have been covered by ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Time magazine,Walsh, Bryan. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110401165240/http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2062252,00.html#ixzz1MfdlTwdE The Morality of Mealtime]. Time: March 30, 2011. the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times{{Cite news|title = Where the Cows Come Home; Sanctuary Farm Applauds Ban on Butchering of Sick Animals|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/02/nyregion/where-cows-come-home-sanctuary-farm-applauds-ban-butchering-sick-animals.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = January 2, 2004|access-date = February 20, 2016|issn = 0362-4331|first = Donald G. Jr|last = McNeil}} and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.[https://web.archive.org/web/20150409080342/http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/e6pcc9/exclusive---gene-baur-extended-interview Exclusive Gene Baur Extended Video] The Daily Show. In the early 1990s, Baur debated a meat industry representative on Larry King Live. Baur has been featured in documentaries, including Forks Over Knives[http://www.forksoverknives.com/about/cast-and-crew/ Forks Over Knives Cast and Crew page] and A Cow at My Table.{{Cite web|title = A Cow At My Table|url = http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/a-cow-at-my-table/|website = Top Documentary Films|access-date = February 20, 2016}} He was an associate producer of the 2011 documentary, Vegucated. Also in 2011, Baur appeared on The Martha Stewart Show{{'s}} hour-long episode on veganism.{{Cite news|url=http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/the-martha-stewart-show-goes-vegan/|title=The Martha Stewart Show Goes Vegan!|newspaper=One Green Planet|access-date=October 28, 2016}} In 2016, Baur was selected by Oprah Winfrey as an "inspired leader" honoree of Oprah Winfrey Network's “SuperSoul 100".

In 2002, Baur wrote a chapter for A Primer on Animal Rights: Leading Experts Write about Animal Cruelty and Exploitation, edited by Kim Stallwood.

Baur was cited in the book, The Longest Struggle: From Pythagoras to PETA by Norm Phelps, published in 2007.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrncZO5bmAgC&q=the+longest+struggle+gene+baur&pg=PA336|title=The Longest Struggle: Animal Advocacy from Pythagoras to PETA|last=Phelps|first=Norm|date=January 1, 2007|publisher=Lantern Books|isbn=9781590561065|language=en}}

Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food, was released in March 2008, written by Gene Baur, and published by Simon & Schuster. It appeared on bestseller lists including those of the Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe, and it was named as one of Booklist's Top 10 Sci-Tech Books in 2008.Seaman, Donna. [http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3170993 Top 10 Sci-Tech Books: 2008] Booklist Online: December 1, 2008

In the book, Eating Animals (2009), Baur was interviewed by author, Jonathan Safran Foer, about how he started Farm Sanctuary and his first rescue of downed sheep, Hilda.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qOoqLMLp51kC&q=eating+animals+safran+foer+baur&pg=PT38|title=Eating Animals|last=Foer|first=Jonathan Safran|date=November 2, 2009|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=9780316086646|language=en}}

In 2011, Baur was included as a contributor in Forks Over Knives, a documentary film about plant-based eating and health.{{cite web |title=Gene Baur |url=https://www.forksoverknives.com/contributors/gene-baur/ |website=Forks Over Knives|date=June 18, 2014 }} The film has resulted in a website, companion book and cookbook for healthy eating.

In Voices of the Food Revolution,{{Cite web|url=https://www.buffalolib.org/vufind/Record/1889185/Reviews|title=Summary/Reviews: Voices of the food revolution|website=buffalolib.org|language=en|access-date=February 12, 2017}} a book about healing through food which was published in 2013, Baur was interviewed by author, John Robbins.

Baur also wrote a chapter for Running, Eating, Thinking - A Vegan Anthology (2014), edited by Martin Rowe, which delves into the mindset and dietary choices of vegan athletic runners.{{Cite web|url=https://lanternbooks.presswarehouse.com/Sites/lantern/BookDetail.aspx?productID=409944|title=Running, Eating, Thinking: A Vegan Anthology|website=lanternbooks.com|access-date=February 12, 2017}}

Living the Farm Sanctuary Life: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Mindfully, Living Longer, and Feeling Better Every Day, is Baur's second book, coauthored with Gene Stone (author of Forks Over Knives), and was published in April 2015 and includes 100 vegan recipes selected by chefs and celebrities.Rodale Books. [http://www.rodaleinc.com/products/books/living-farm-sanctuary-life-ultimate-guide-mindful-compassionate-animal-friendly-life Living the Farm Sanctuary Life: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Mindfully, Living Longer, and Feeling Better Every Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119042250/http://www.rodaleinc.com/products/books/living-farm-sanctuary-life-ultimate-guide-mindful-compassionate-animal-friendly-life |date=January 19, 2016 }} Rodale Inc. It is Winner of a Books for a Better Life Award,{{Cite web|url=http://www.scottmanningpr.com/betterlife.html|title=Books for a Better Life Awards program run by Scott Manning.}} appeared on Publishers Weekly's national bestsellers list[http://publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/66324-this-week-s-bestsellers-april-20-2015.html This Week's Bestsellers: April 20, 2015] Publishers Weekly: April 17, 2015 and was named the 2015 book of the year by VegNews magazine.

In 2016, Baur wrote the foreword for the book, Vegan 1 Day: Stories of Living the Good Life by John and Carol Merryfield.

In 1996, the Peace Abbey awarded Baur with its Courage of Conscience Award.{{Cite web|title = List of Award Recipients {{!}} The Peace Abbey FoundationThe Peace Abbey Foundation|url = http://www.peaceabbey.org/list-of-award-recipients/|website = www.peaceabbey.org|access-date = February 20, 2016}} He was inducted into the United States Animal Rights Hall of Fame in 2001.{{cite web |url=http://arconference.org/hall-of-fame.htm |title=U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame |website=Animal Rights National Conference |publisher=Farm Animal Rights Movement |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311015517/http://arconference.org/hall-of-fame.htm |archive-date=March 11, 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=March 17, 2014 }}

Baur received the 2017 Peace Award at the Golden West College's Peace and Equity Conference "for his lifelong dedication to animal welfare, sustainable farming practices, and compassion for all living beings."{{Cite news|url=http://www.goldenwestcollege.edu/peaceconf17/|title=Peace & Equity Conference 2017 - Golden West College|work=Golden West College|access-date=May 20, 2017|language=en-US}}

• Bauston (Baur), Gene (October 1, 1996) Battered Birds, Crated Herds: How We Treat the Animals We Eat. Farm Sanctuary. {{ISBN|978-0965637701}}.
• Baur, Gene. Forward. Peace to All Beings: Veggie Soup for the Chicken's Soul by Judy Carman, (June 1, 2003). Lantern Books. {{ISBN|978-1590560051}}.
• {{cite book |last1= Baur |first1= Gene |author-link1= Gene Baur |title= Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food |date= November 4, 2008 |publisher= Touchstone |isbn= 978-0743291590 |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780743291590 |url-access= registration }}
• {{cite book|last1= Baur |first1= Gene |author-link1= Gene Baur |last2= Stone |first2= Gene |author-link2= Gene Stone |title= Living the Farm Sanctuary Life: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Mindfully, Living Longer, and Feeling Better Every Day |date= April 7, 2015 |publisher= Rodale Books |isbn= 978-1623364892 }}

• List of animal rights advocates
• List of vegans

{{reflist|30em}}

{{commons category|Gene Baur}}

• [https://www.farmsanctuary.org Farm Sanctuary home page]
• [http://farmsanctuary.typepad.com/making_hay/ "Making Hay with Gene Baur" - Gene Baur's blog]
• [https://archive.org/details/sglGreatSpeechesandInterviews_FarmSanctuary Gene Baur talks about his book Farm Sanctuary in mp3] recorded July 25, 2008, in Sacramento, California
• [https://www.facebook.com/GeneBaurofFarmSanctuary/ Gene Baur's Facebook]
• {{IMDb name|2926651}}

{{animal rights|advocates}}

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Category:1962 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century American writers

Category:Activists from California

Category:American animal rights activists

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Category:American anti-vivisectionists

Category:California State University, Northridge alumni

Category:Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni

Category:Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health faculty

Category:People from Hollywood, Los Angeles

Category:Writers from Los Angeles

Category:Loyola High School (Los Angeles) alumni