Climate change, human rights violations, pandemics, public health crises—at the core of it all is animal agriculture. The new FarmSanctuary.org breaks down how a shift from animal-based to plant-based may be the most impactful social change movement of our time.
It took a global pandemic to pull back the curtain and reveal the vast and interrelated injustices in our society and food system, and now a new digital resource from Farm Sanctuary, the legacy nonprofit founded in 1986 to combat the abuses of animal agriculture, is unpacking exactly how industrialized animal agriculture is ground zero for some of the biggest issues of our time. Whether facing a pandemic or climate change, the new FarmSanctuary.org will give more people access to the information and tools necessary to create a more just and compassionate world—and spark a long overdue national conversation about farm animals.
Why Farm Animals?
“Why farm animals?” is the big question the new FarmSanctuary.org aims to answer and the short answer is presented in stark, sobering relief: Farm animals are the most abused creatures on Earth and the suffering caused by animal agriculture goes well beyond animals. The relaunched and reimagined site provides an in-depth, science-backed dissection of the interrelated ways that animal agriculture hurts the planet, our communities, agricultural workers, and public health, landing the new FarmSanctuary.org squarely in this moment.
Who are they and how did they get here?
For 35 years, Farm Sanctuary has worked to raise awareness of farm animals as sentient—thinking and feeling individuals—and over the years science has confirmed their cognitive and emotional complexities. With exciting velocity the new Farm Sanctuary.org offers one of a kind species pages that offer a deep exploration of the ethology and natural history of farm animals (“cows have emotional storms” is just one of the captivating revelations), historical timelines charting their unnatural lives in our food system, triumphant stories of their survival and the lives they lead at Sanctuary, and bold solutions for ending their suffering.
Unprecedented Accessibility
As an organization dedicated to protecting vulnerable and oppressed individuals, it was important that the new FarmSanctuary.org be accessible to everyone. In addition to offering unprecedented accessibility to farm animals, the site endeavors to conform to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 AA, ensuring that this vital resource is accessible to people with disabilities.
“Hero” Images of Actual Heroes
The design term gets new meaning with hero images that are masterful photographs of actual heroes. The animal residents of Farm Sanctuary’s shelters in New York and California have never looked better, but for all the beauty on display, there are also scars—reminders wrought in flesh of a past that is, as William Faulkner would say, not even past—at least not for the 9 billion still suffering in our unjust food system.
The Power of Sanctuary
Like its actual Sanctuaries, Farm Sanctuary’s digital home is “a space of refuge and tranquility, where life is sacred and trauma is healed.” In recognition that not everyone can visit the Sanctuaries in person, especially during these difficult times, the new FarmSanctuary.org gives visitors a taste of these magical places that have provided peace and transformation for thousands of rescued farm animals. In sharing the survivors’ stories and illustrating their sheer will to live, awe-inspiring resilience, and unending ability to love and forgive, the new FarmSanctuary.org will be a place of human transformation, too.
“We are at an inflection point where systems change is crucial for the planet, our communities, workers in our food system, public health, and the billions of farm animals who endure cruelty on an unimaginable scale,” said Farm Sanctuary CEO Megan Watkins. “As we commemorate 35 years of fighting for farm animals, we wanted to create a definitive resource that tells the true story of animal agriculture, who these animals are, and empowers people everywhere to join us in our pursuit of bold solutions to end this oppressive and unjust system.”
Founded in 1986, Farm Sanctuary fights the disastrous effects of animal agriculture on animals, the environment, social justice, and public health through rescue, education, and advocacy. The organization provides lifelong care for animals rescued from abuse at sanctuary locations in New York and California; fosters just and compassionate vegan living; and advocates legal and policy reforms. To learn more about Farm Sanctuary, visit FarmSanctuary.org.
