Gene Baur, co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, will present "Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food."

Highlighting milestones over the past 25 years – including landmark legal advances, shifts in public awareness, changes in the marketplace, and growing coverage of farm animal issues by the mainstream media – Gene’s thoughtful and moving presentations set forth the great progress we have achieved by working together and address what each of us can do to help to create a more compassionate society. Gene grounds his message not on accusations or judgments but on facts and research. He appeals to our better selves and explains how we can, and why we must, align our everyday actions with our own values and interests. 

About Gene Baur

As Farm Sanctuary co-founder and president, Gene Baur has led a nationwide movement dedicated to farm animal protection. During his quarter century on the front lines of the movement, Gene has conducted hundreds of visits to farms, stockyards and slaughterhouses to document conditions. His photos and video footage 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 prevent farm animal abuse. He played an important role in passing the first U.S. laws to prohibit cruel farming methods, including anti-confinement measures in Florida, Arizona and California. 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. 

Gene adopted a vegan lifestyle in 1985. He holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from California State University Northridge and a master's degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University.  Gene’s book, Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food, was published by Touchstone in March 2008 and has become a national best-seller.