Living the Farm Sanctuary Life: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Mindfully, Living Longer, and Feeling Better Every Day

by Gene Baur, Gene Stone

Gene Baur, the cofounder and president of Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, knows that the key to happiness lies in aligning your beliefs with your actions. In this definitive vegan and animal-friendly lifestyle guide, he and Gene Stone, author of Forks Over Knives, explore the deeply transformative experience of visiting the sanctuary and its profound effects on people’s lives. The book covers the basic tenets of Farm Sanctuary life—such as eating in harmony with your values, connecting with nature wherever you are, and reducing stress—and offers readers simple ways to incorporate these principles into their lives.

Living the Farm Sanctuary Life also teaches readers how to cook and eat the Farm Sanctuary way, with 100 extraordinarily delicious recipes selected by some of the organization’s greatest fans—chefs and celebrities such as Chef AJ, Chloe Coscarelli, Emily Deschanel, and Moby.  Coupled with heartwarming stories of the animals that Farm Sanctuary has saved over the years, as well as advice and ideas from some of the organization’s biggest supporters, Living the Farm Sanctuary Life is an inspiring, practical book for readers looking to improve their whole lives and the lives of those around them—both two- and four-legged.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Cookbooks, Vegan, Animals, Health, Environment

320 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

Gene Baur grew up in Hollywood, California and worked in television, film and commercials, including some for McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants. Today, he campaigns to raise awareness about the negative consequences of industrialized factory farming and our cheap food system. He lives in rural New York state and is the co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, America's leading farm animal protection organization. Gene holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from California State University Northridge and a master’s degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University.

After volunteering and working with various environmental and human rights causes, Gene turned his attention to animal agriculture. He has conducted hundreds of visits to farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses to document conditions, and his pictures and videotape, 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 raise awareness and prevent factory farming abuses. He played a significant role in passing the first U.S. laws to prohibit cruel farming systems – including the Florida ban on gestation crates, the Arizona ban on veal and gestation crates, and the California and Chicago bans on foie gras. His efforts have been covered by leading news organizations, including the New York Times, The Larry King Show, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Public Radio, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN. His book, entitled Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food, was published by Simon and Schuster in March, 2008 and has become a National best seller.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living the Farm Sanctuary Life: How to Eat Healthier, Live Longer, and Feel Better Every Day by Bringing Home the Happiest Place on Earth by Gene Baur is a wonderful book with lots of heartwarming photos! The book explains how the farms got started, introduced the reader to some of the residents, explains how a vegan diet helps the climate and earth, and the human body! The last half of the book has lots of delicious recipes! I was hunger when I got that far so they looked even better because each recipe had a photo too. I have been a vegetarian for over 15 years I don't miss "meat"! I have substitutes that I can eat that harms no one!
I got this book from the library.

[Brenden Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very simple book that gently opens your eyes to the cognitive dissonance that I think every meat eater has. Despite the size it's a quick read with lots of great full colour pictures and a whole host of recipes.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an arc copy of this book from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Firstreads for the opportunity!

So you know you are a bit foodie (I kind of hate that terminology) obsessed when you enter giveaways for every cookbook without looking at the details well enough.

"Living the Farm Sanctuary Life: How to Eat Healthier, Live Longer, and Feel Better Every Day by Bringing Home the Happiest Place on Earth"

Yeah, that didn't scream VEGAN to me either. I was thinking more natural/organic/homesteading/REAL farming. If I had read the description in more detail however, I would have known but when I see FARM, I just don't think of vegan. What kind of farmers' don't eat eggs or use cow/goat milk? It's weird. I don't get it (unless you are allergic of course). Vegan diets are just not that healthy with all of the artificial substitutes that are used over natural products (yes, I said that). Anyway, story for another day.

Living the Farm Sanctuary Life has a lot of beautiful pictures of the cutest, cuddliest animals, nice stories and tidbits. The more vegetarian meals and easily adaptable to non-vegan meals looked quite tasty and I will definitely be trying some as soon as the weather warms up.











I guess I should have taken some pics of the less appealing ones, but I read this months ago when I received it and didn't really think about it.

So....
If you are a vegan: this is a beautiful book, you should give it a whirl.
Vegetarian, worth the look for new ideas.
Looking for a food/farming book, maybe not worth the price and effort, in MY opinion. Fun to browse though.



Waiting on the hate mail...

[Shel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully laid out and designed book. Get the hard copy for this one, not the e-book!

[Tisha (IG: Bluestocking629) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you know how to read then please read this book.

It makes no difference if you are already vegan, or if you have somewhat considered veganism, or if you don’t think you will ever go vegan.

It makes no difference if you love all animals or just pets. (there is a difference).

None of that matters. Everyone should read this book!

The first half was informative. Very informative - some of it made me cry. Like ugly cry! Not kidding. It made me happy I was vegan but angry it was not sooner.

The second half was a wide range of recipes: easy lunches, elaborate suppers and delectable desserts, and everything in between.

And the photos! Holy Hannah, they are simply gorgeous! Breathtaking and smile inducing. I will look over this book again just for the photos!

Great read!

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though it starts off decidedly...twee, I really liked reading about the Farm Sanctuary story--how it got started and why, and all the stories of various animals and how they came to live there and of the various human lives those animals have touched and changed. It's a quick read, mainly about why eating a plant-based diet is a good thing--Baur touches on a lot of different issues with factory farming and our food system, including the massive amounts of land, energy, and water factory farming requires, the extremely poor quality of life for the animals, the health problems that come with the typical meat-and-dairy-heavy diet, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and poisoning of water from factory farm run-off...

I've been thinking about going from vegetarian back to vegan for awhile now, and basically this might have just pushed me over the edge. It's hard to read about all these issues and not do something to protest against them. I'm seriously becoming hippier and hippier in my old age.

Anyway, the second half of the book consists of vegan recipes, but I actually found this section pretty unhelpful, since a lot of the recipes take a good bit of time to prepare, and contain ingredients I don't really like to use, such as seitan and tempeh and tofu bacon and fake chicken. There are definitely a few I'm interested in attempting at some point though.

And I totally want to visit the Farm Sanctuary in LA someday...

[Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit, this probably got a higher rating because I got this book after hearing Gene speak at my local Vegfest in 2016. He's an inspiring presenter and I finally made the leap from long-time almost-vegan to full vegan after that day. I don't fan-girl over many, but Gene? I stood in line to have him sign my book. :-) Not not does he live what he speaks, but he's so full of compassion, it's contagious. He just makes people around him want to be better.

For whom would this book be a good fit? The animal lover in your life. A new vegan. A vegetarian. Someone just thinking about trying to go veg. But really? Anyone. The first section of the book is about the sanctuary, reasons to go vegan, the environmental impact of farmed animals, what we can do to leave a lighter footprint on the earth. For those who've been vegan awhile, you've likely heard/read a lot of this info before, but I think it makes a good entry point for those not already in the know. The rest of the book is about setting up your vegan kitchen and then lots and lots of recipes. Flipping through, I've already marked half a dozen recipes to try.

If you ever get a chance to hear Gene Baur speak, go. You won't regret it.

[Jane Butane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book. I particularly enjoyed the stories of some of the individual rescued animals!

[Tonya Plank · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Witty Kitty's Book Blog:

We loved this book! It’s a nice, big, glossy coffee table book by the founder of the Farm Sanctuary in Woodstock, NY, Gene Baur. It’s a combination of little vignettes illustrating what it’s like to live at the sanctuary, where your friends consist of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats, sheep, and ducks, stories about some of the animals and how they came to live there, lovely photos of the animal residents and the people who come to visit, facts about the health benefits - both mental and physical - of eating a plant-based diet, and really wonderful vegan recipes! Witty Kitty can’t wait to try some of these - particularly the Wild Mushroom and Spinach Roulade, the Osso Vita (using parsley root instead of deer bone), and the Lobster Mushroom Tostada Tower. Not to even mention the desserts: Salted Caramel Chocolate Bliss Bites, need I say more!

The book also gives you tidbits on how to find some good cheese and dairy replacements. Witty kitty loves cheese, so knowing some quality artisan cheese companies are out there - like Kite Hill, Dr-Cow, and Miyoko’s Kitchen - is very helpful! They also give you some good sources of protein, such as beans, and tempeh, which WK has heard a lot about and must try.

But the best thing about this book is the happy little stories about some of the animals who live there, such as Opie, the calf who was born on a freezing NY morning in a dairy farm still wet from birth, who nearly died. The dairy farmer was just going to let him die when he was found by a member of Farm Sanctuary, who, despite the veterinarian’s warnings that he wouldn’t live, took him in anyway. After keeping 24-hour watch on him, his body temperature improved and Opie began eating well, mooing happily, and frolicking with the other cows. He grew to be a gentle giant, weighing nearly 3000 pounds, and a favorite of cows and human visitors alike, living for 18 years.

Another story features a hog farmer who became fond of a runt he managed to nurse to good health. His friendship with the little pig grew so that, after ten years, he could no longer bring himself to continue to raise pigs for slaughter. He ended up becoming a vegetarian.

And those are only a couple of the stories. There’s also a section on how to dress stylishly and vegan! Sweet, informative, fun book with lots of colorful pics!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I enjoy so much about reading is the taking us to the next level in our lives here on earth. Gene Baur enlightens us by living fully and sharing what it means to live knowingly, with awareness of the other living animals on our planet. This book has made me more aware of the choices I make in my eating and how those choices affect other living beings life and death. For example just by giving up chicken I would save 31 chickens a year! I am by no means a vegetarian or vegan, but have adopted the “Meat Free Mondays” a few months back and am consciously eating less meat.
In my opinion there is no judgement in this book, only awareness. The photos are beautiful, this may be a book I add to my personal library.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farm Sanctuary & Gene Baur are so inspirational for a more healthy, compassionate, and balanced life. The 1st 1/2 of the book briefly chronicles the story of how Farm Sanctuary was started and the "5 Tenets of Farm Sanctuary Living." The 2nd 1/2 of the book contains amazing vegan recipes - worth buying for this alone! This book is a quick and worthwhile read, filled with inspirational quotes, stories, and beautiful photos. This book might just inspire you to go vegan if you're not already! And for longtime vegans, a great reminder of why you choose to eat and live the way you do. Highly recommended!

[Rift Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, though it's preaching to the choir, here. I am not a Farm Sanctuary member, but I like to support vegan books, especially when they're not just cookbooks. The last 60% of the book includes recipes which I skimmed over. I don't cook, but it looked like there was good variety, in types of foods and in prep effort (some recipes taking 10 or 20 mins, some taking hours). The thing I loved about this book were the photos! Happy Animals! I wish I had the opportunity to photograph farmed animals more often.

[Kimberlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book ten stars, I would!

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book promotes a vegan lifestyle and includes recipes. There are 3 Farm Sanctuaries that care for animals that have previously lived on factory farms. I want to visit!

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life changing book

This book shows how meat based diets are harmful to you, your soul and the environment. This makes you know you can charge the World

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read on why to go vegan from an animal rights perspective, very moderate and all encompassing yet tells the hard truth. A must read!

[Kate Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for vegan recipes and ideas.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I read it, but I’m still not entirely sure who this book is for! I clearly misinterpreted the title – I thought this book about the “Farm Sanctuary Life” by the founder of Farm Sanctuary would be a story of how the organization came to be, their values and stuff about the farm today. It was that, but it also spent a lot of time on the facts and arguments that might convince a person to go vegan/vegetarian in the first place. Plenty of info (but not too much, or too icky) on factory farming, moral/environmental/health arguments for a vegan diet, facts and figures, etc. I was like, yeah, I know all that stuff, that’s why I support Farm Sanctuary and picked up this book in the first place. Maybe I’m wrong, but I figured the primary crowd reading a book about Farm Sanctuary would be people who already know and love Farm Sanctuary!

I did like the brief overview of how they started and grew as an organization. That’s what I was looking for, maybe with more stories from people involved from the beginning, not just Gene Baur. I really liked all the pop-out sections with stories about specific people, animals, volunteers, etc. They already have a lot of stories like that on their website, but I like to read about the specific animals they rescue and how their lives improve.

Oh, and then 2/3 of the book is recipes and cooking?! Also not what I was looking for. We have plenty of vegan cookbooks, and I only checked this out from the library, so not really time to dive in and try a bunch of stuff. And I tend to prefer cookbooks with a specific focus like Ethiopian recipes or all soups – not this mishmash style of 100 random recipes from all the author’s buddies.

Oh well. So I enjoyed parts of the front 1/3, but mostly all info I’ve read before either in other vegan books or on Farm Sanctuary’s website. Still probably good to be reminded/horrified every couple years at how factory farming is destroying our planet! Not that I’ve had a piece of meat in 7 years anyway, and been primarily vegetarian for more than half my life at this point(!), but never bad to re-up my information.

[Aubrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for people who...

... feel compassion for others, human and non-human.
... want to make a positive difference in the world.
... worry about the environmental state of the planet, the future of their families.
... wish to live a healthy life that allows them to not just survive but thrive.

Heck, this book is simply, for everyone.

I want to buy multiple copies of this book and hand it out to everyone I know and don't know.

When I think of people I admire most, people I call heroes, I don't think of 'celebrities.' I think of people like Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and Mr. Gene Bauer. People who have not just changed my life but have saved lives by educating, advocating and being a helping hand to others and the world. They are the real heroes.

In this book, Gene presents everything so eloquently and kindly as to why a plant-based diet is essentially the solution to all major problems of the world and the individual. He doesn't judge or criticize those who still eat animals. He comes solely from a place of compassion and passion. And that is why I feel this particular book is one to be read by everyone.

Plus it's beautifully done. The photography is lovely, the randomly inserted stories are sweet and sure to spark a tear, the facts well laid out and the following recipes in the second half of the book look divine!

Below are the recipes I've tried thus far and loved (I"ll update this review every time I try one):

- Jambalaya - Soooo good. I made my own cajun seasoning by finding a recipe online and mixing the herbs I had. It was the perfect flavor and I can see many options with this jambalaya to try it in different ways, using the same base. This will surely be a staple in our diet.

*Read it. Read it again. Pass it around. Donated it. And start with you. Remember, you can make a difference ... in your life, in the lives of others, in the world, in everything.

[Ostap Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gene Baur is a saint for having started Farm Sanctuary in 1986, and this book is a celebration of its principles - the compassionate treatment of animals, living thoughtfully in the world, and being healthier as a result. The photos are endearing, and some of the personal stories, such as ‘The Panoply of Beings is Infinite’, by Bob Comis, a former pig farmer, are honest and poignant. The recipes are a little on the gourmet side (I think to prove a point, that vegan food need not be boring or tasteless), and some of the advice on adopting a vegan lifestyle is a little basic, but on the other hand, it does raise awareness, and the heart is definitely in the right place here.

[David Neto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply written, yet highly impacting words. Beautiful not because of its literary significance but for its message of love, respect of both animals and humans, and the importance of embracing a conscious diet. The information is all out there, in this book, and in countless others, and documentaries and web pages. We do with it want we want, but it seems its becoming, in my opinion, harder to ignore, each day that goes by. The book ends with 100 pages of inventive and mouth watering vegan recipes.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so interested to read about this sanctuary. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting past the sanctimony; let's be honest - I didn't get past the sanctimony. A supposed save-the-earth-and-animals-and-yourself message touted the use of almond milk (check out the effects of almond farming on the water table) and encouraged eating fake meats. Have you read about those processed ingredients? This book seems nothing now but an attention-getting, PR tool.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by this book. I’m already eating a plant based diet for health and environmental reasons. I am also convinced that factory farms are morally horrifying and completely unnecessary. But this book challenged me to connect with farm animals on a personal level, and to my surprise I did. The stories of the individual animals are the most effective part of the book. Otherwise, for a seasoned vegan, the information provided is old news.

[Sarah]

As someone who’s been vegan 15+ years, I just can’t get into any book that feels more like an intro to veganism. I’m glad they exist but I don’t need anything to help keep me on my path.

A lot of the recipes look good but also look like more work than I’m interested in right now. That is to say they’re a little more refined and I don’t think my kid would eat them, and I’m not going to do that much work for something only I will eat.

[Jennifer Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books usually do not make me cry, but this one did. I loved that this book talked about all the reasons one should become vegan, peppered with stories about the animals that came to the sanctuary. The last part of the book was filled with some amazing vegan recipes. It was a book I highly recommend if you are looking for reasons you should adopt a plant-based diet.

[Ellen Jarrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the information about Farm Sanctuary's orgins and the beautiful photos of rescued animals. This was the first non-fiction/informational books I read that school year. The recipes also looked good, although I didn't make any. This is a good informational book for vegans who enjoy learning about personal back stories of rescued animals and the orgins of the first farm sanctuary.

[S.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been a vegetarian since the 90s and a strict vegan for a while, so I always appreciate books like this. My main issue is with the recipes, which are way too fussy for beginners. Almost all of them require specialty ingredients that most people probably don't have lying around. I cook all the time, but I doubt even I'd make more than one or two of these. Sometimes simpler is better.

[Jeanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book and I found it browsing the shelves of my local library. So glad the library is open again even if a mask is required in early 2021. So many lovely pictures in the book allowing a virtual trip to the farm. Many great recipes but few that are sugar, oil, and salt free.
How not to eat animals and also not to wear them but to connect with nature and animals,

[Aja Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

even though i am pretty much vegan, i did not agree with everything in this book, but it was fun to learn more about the farm sanctuary and the mix of recipes was collected from a wide range of chefs, authors, and restaurants so was nicely diverse and hardly any fake meat to be found.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

We visited our first Farm Animal rescue this past fall while in the ADK and this book jumped off the shelf at me by title alone. It was very informative and had great stories of rescued animals interspersed and bonus recipes for cruelty free meals. Gave me some food for thought.