Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) is an international nonprofit organization working to promote a
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
lifestyle and
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
through public education and grass roots outreach.
["Holocaust survivor heads animal rights group Alex Hershaft throws himself into cause"](_blank)
''Baltimore Sun''. Retrieved 2014-2-2. It operates ten national and international programs from its headquarters in
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...
.
FARM has the abolitionist vision of a world where animals are free from all forms of human exploitation, including, food and clothing, research and testing, entertainment and hunting. FARM's mission is to spare the largest number of animals from being bred, abused, and slaughtered for food, as this accounts for 98% of all animal abuse and slaughter.
FARM was co-founded by Dr.
Alex Hershaft
Alex Hershaft is an American Animal rights movement, animal rights activist, Holocaust survivors, Holocaust survivor, and co-founder and president of the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), the nation's oldest (1976) organization devoted exclusi ...
in 1976 as the Vegetarian Information Service to distribute information on the benefits of a
vegetarian diet Vegetarian diet may refer to:
*Vegetarianism
*Vegetarian cuisine
*Plant-based diet (i.e., not necessarily stemming from vegetarian beliefs)
*Veganism
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in die ...
. In 1981, it became the Farm Animal Reform Movement by embracing
veganism
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
and the right of animals not to be used for food. In 2011, it adopted the
DBA of Farm Animal Rights Movement to emphasize its commitment to ending the use of animals for food, rather than merely reforming their treatment.
History
In August 1975, Dr. Alex Hershaft
["The Brains Behind the Great American Meatout"](_blank)
''VegNews''. Retrieved 2014-2-2. became involved in the vegetarian movement after attending the World Vegetarian Congress in Orono, ME, and meeting
Jay Dinshah.
In 1976, Hershaft founded the Vegetarian Information Service (VIS) to distribute information on the benefits of a vegetarian diet. That same year, he participated in the hearings before the
Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs The United States Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs was a select committee of the United States Senate between 1968 and 1977. It was sometimes referred to as the McGovern committee, after its only chairman, Senator George McGov ...
, which led to the publication of
Dietary Goals for the United States, and eventually to the periodic publication of the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) provide nutritional advice for Americans who are healthy or who are at risk for chronic disease but do not currently have chronic disease. The Guidelines are published every five years by the US Department ...
. Subsequently, VIS testified before Congress in favor of the 1978 National Consumer Nutrition Information Act and the
Federal Meat Inspection Act
The Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 (FMIA) is an American law that makes it illegal to adulterate or misbrand meat and meat products being sold as food, and ensures that meat and meat products are slaughtered and processed under strictly r ...
of 1978.
Accordingly, in the summer of 1981, Hershaft organized Action For Life, a national conference in
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...
, that effectively launched the U.S.
animal rights movement
The animal rights (AR) movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, ...
. Participants included such animal rights pioneers as
Cleveland Amory
Cleveland Amory (September 2, 1917 – October 14, 1998) was an American author, reporter, television critic, commentator and animal rights activist. He originally was known for writing a series of popular books poking fun at the pretensions an ...
,
Ingrid Newkirk
Ingrid Elizabeth Newkirk (née Ward; born June 11, 1949) is a British-American animal activist and the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world's largest animal rights organization. She is the author of several ...
,
Alex Pacheco,
Peter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher, currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He specialises in applied ethics and approaches ethical issues from a secular, ...
,
Henry Spira
Henry Spira (19 June 1927 – 12 September 1998) was an American activist for socialism and animal rights, who is regarded by some as one of the most effective animal advocates of the 20th century.Singer, in Spira and Singer 2006, pp. 214–215.
...
,
Gretchen Wyler
Gretchen Wyler (born Gretchen Patricia Wienecke; February 16, 1932 – May 27, 2007) was an American actress and dancer. She was also an animal rights advocate and founder of the Genesis Awards for animal protection.
Biography
Early lif ...
, as well as radio host
Thom Hartmann
Thomas Carl Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, former psychotherapist, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Pro ...
. These conferences continued for seven more years in San Francisco (1982), Montclair, NJ (1983), Los Angeles (1985), Chicago (1986), Cambridge, Massachusetts (1987), and Washington (1984 and 1991).
Immediately following the 1981 conference, Hershaft co-founded the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) to promote a vegan lifestyle and animal rights. FARM's early programs were Gentle Thanksgiving (1976), Action for Life conferences (1981–1991), Compassion Campaign (1982–1992), Veal Ban Campaign (1982–1986), World Farm Animals Day (1983), Great American Meatout (1985), Letters from FARM (1996), the second series of annual national animal rights conferences (1997), Consumers for Healthy Options in Children's Education (CHOICE) (1999–2009), Sabina Fund (1999), and Vegan Earth Day (2001).
As of 2020, Eric C. Lindstrom is the executive director of FARM.
World Day for Farmed Animals
World Day for Farmed Animals (WDFA) was launched in 1983 (as World Farm Animals Day) to expose the abuses of
animal farming
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, startin ...
and to memorialize the billions of cows, pigs, and other innocent, sentient animals slaughtered for food throughout the world. The date selected was October 2, the birthday of
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
, world's foremost advocate of nonviolence.
The occasion is observed each year with
slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility.
Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...
protests and other dramatic events by hundreds of activists in the U.S. and two dozen other countries.
World Day for Farmed Animals has been covered in the media including ''The Washington Post'', ''Delaware Online'', and ''New York Daily News''.
Great American MeatOut
Playing off the "Great American Smokeout", the Great American MeatOut was launched in 1985 to protest a U.S. Senate resolution proclaiming National Meat Week.
It has since grown into one of the world's largest annual grass roots diet education campaigns. The date of March 20 marks the first day of spring, symbolizing renewal and life-changing opportunity.
The occasion is observed each year by hundreds of activists in the U.S. and two dozen other countries with food samplings, leafleting, information tables, and other educational events. Visitors are asked to pledge that they will kick the meat habit on March 20 (first day of spring). Special MeatOut proclamations have been issued by 40 governors and 47 mayors of large American cities.
In 2021, MeatOut was met with intense opposition by ranchers across the West when Colorado Governor Polis proclaimed MeatOut Day across the state. In 2022, MeatOut Day was proclaimed in:
# Dallas, Texas
# Houston, Texas
# Charlotte, North Carolina
# Durham, North Carolina
# Columbus, Georgia
# Louisville, Kentucky
# Cincinnati, Ohio
# Madison, Wisconsin
# Riverside, California
# Fort Wayne, Indiana
And for the first time, MeatOut Day was proclaimed in New York City by Mayor
Eric Adams
Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022.
Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York C ...
.
The MeatOut campaign has received media coverage including ''Time'', ''Huffington Post'', ''Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times''.
10 Billion Lives
FARM's 10 Billion Lives campaign pays people $1 to watch a four-minute video that begins by noting the viewer's respect for the unique personality of the family pet and the parallel with farmed animals. It continues with graphic
factory farm
Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known by its opponents as factory farming and macro-farms, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while ...
and
slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility.
Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...
footage and closes by empowering the viewer to change the horrors he/she just witnessed by pledging a number of
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
days per week. The video is screened at rock concerts and college campuses by a specially designed truck and mobile kiosks.
Each viewer receives a series of eight weekly introductions to
veganism
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
, then a weekly Meatout Mondays newsletter containing a recipe, product or book review, health news, and human interest story. This reflects FARM's concept of "sustained vegan advocacy", which posits that the initial contact must be followed by weekly support to prevent regression.
Animal rights conferences
FARM's 1981 first-ever
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
conference laid the foundation for the U.S.
animal rights movement
The animal rights (AR) movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, ...
. Seven additional annual conferences followed in 1982 (San Francisco), 1983 (Montclair, NJ), 1984 (Washington, DC), 1985 (Los Angeles), 1986 (Chicago), 1987 (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and 1991 (Washington, DC). Between 1987 and 1996, the annual conferences were taken over by the National Alliance for Animals.
In 1997, FARM resumed management of the animal rights movement's annual conferences, alternating locations between
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
, DC, and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. A typical conference involves a thousand attendees, 90 presenters from 60 organizations, a hundred sessions, 90 exhibits, and several new video documentaries.
Beginning in 2000, conference presenters have been inducting to a U.S.
Animal Rights Hall of Fame
The Animal Rights National Conference is an annual conference in the United States. Started in 1981 under a different name, since 2000 it has been organized by Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM).
History
In the 1970s, Alex Hershaft started not ...
national leaders, authors, or other key agents of change who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of animal rights in the U.S. for at least ten years.
Legacy
Aside from the specific accomplishments of its own 14 programs (including the three defunct ones), FARM has had a number of impacts on the U.S. Animal Rights Movement, in particular, and U.S. dietary and social justice advocacy, in general:
* FARM's 1981 Action for Life conference provided the springboard for formation of the U.S. animal rights movement. FARM's current annual conferences still offer the only national networking opportunity for movement leaders and activists.
* FARM has been largely responsible for turning the U.S. animal rights movement mission from vivisection to animal farming, which accounts for 98% of all animal abuse and killing. FARM's Veal Ban Campaign and World Farm Animals Day were the first farmed animal advocacy programs in the U.S.
* FARM's 10 Billion Lives, Live Vegan, and Meatout Mondays programs have promoted vegan advocacy by recognizing that new vegans need sustained support to keep from reverting to consumption of animal products.
* FARM's Great American Meatout was a forerunner to similar annual grassroots diet education campaigns by the
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...
,
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...
, and
Center for Science in the Public Interest
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group that advocates for safer and healthier foods.
History and funding
CSPI is a consumer advocacy organization. Its f ...
, as well as the 2003 revival of the
Meatless Monday
Meatless Monday is an international campaign that encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays to improve their Health effects of meat consumption, health and the Environmental effects of meat production, health of the planet.
Meatless Monday is ...
campaign by the
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...
and the 2009 Meat-Free Monday campaign by
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
.
* FARM's Congressional testimonies, participation in numerous national
party platform
A political party platform (US English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British & often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principle goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order ...
hearing and conventions, and national polls of candidates for public office brought the concept of
veganism
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
and
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
to key U.S. legislators, executives, and journalists.
* Equal Justice Alliance is bringing the concept of freedom of advocacy for
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
and other social justice issues to the highest levels of U.S. legal community.
A number of animal rights movement leaders got their start at FARM, including
Gene Baur
Gene Baur (born July 24, 1962), formerly known as Gene Bauston, is an author and activist in the animal rights and food movement. He’s been called the "conscience of the food movement" by ''Time'' magazine, and opposes factory farming and advo ...
, Peter Link (organizer of the 1990 March for Animal Rights),
[Norm Phelps. ''The Longest Struggle''. Lantern Books, 2007; pp. 249-250.] Mike Markarian (Exec. VP,
The Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...
), Jack Norris (co-founder of
Vegan Outreach
Vegan Outreach is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1993. Originally known as Animal Liberation Action (ALA), the group was founded by Matt Ball and Jack Norris in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1993.
History
As members of the animal rights c ...
),
Alex Pacheco, and
Paul Shapiro.
Prominent supporters of FARM's campaigns have included screen and television celebrities
Ed Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...
,
Bob Barker
Robert William Barker (born December 12, 1923) is an American retired television game show host. He is known for hosting CBS's ''The Price Is Right'' from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American televis ...
,
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include ''Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), ''The Queen'' ...
,
Doris Day
Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...
,
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...
,
Bill Maher
William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar la ...
,
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...
,
Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further prom ...
, and
Jane Velez Mitchell, as well as social reformers
Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...
,
Thom Hartmann
Thomas Carl Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, former psychotherapist, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Pro ...
,
Michael Jacobson,
Frances Moore Lappe
Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the ...
,
Heather Mills
Heather Anne Mills (born 12 January 1968) is an English former model, businesswoman and activist.
Mills first came to public attention in 1993 when she was a model and was involved in a traffic collision with a police motorcycle in London. T ...
, and
Jeremy Rifkin
Jeremy Rifkin (born January 26, 1945) is an American economic and social theorist, writer, public speaker, political advisor, and activist. Rifkin is the author of 23 books about the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, ...
.
Animal Charity Evaluators review
Animal charity evaluator
Animal Charity Evaluators
Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE), formerly known as Effective Animal Activism (EAA), is a US-based charity evaluator and effective altruism-focused nonprofit founded in 2012. ACE evaluates animal charities and compares the effectiveness of their ...
has named FARM as a Standout Charity in their May 2014 and December 2014 reviews.
The December 2014 review states that FARM's openness to change based on new evidence, their stable leadership and organizational structure, and their transparency are all reasons for their selection as a Standout Charity.
See also
*
List of animal rights groups
This list of animal rights groups consists of groups in the animal rights movement. Such animal rights groups work towards their ideals, which include the viewpoint that animals should have equivalent rights to humans, such as not being "used" in ...
References
External links
*
World Day for Farmed AnimalsGreat American MeatoutLive VeganCompassionate HolidaysVegan Videos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farm Animal Rights Movement
1976 establishments in the United States
Animal welfare organizations based in the United States
Animal rights organizations
Organizations established in 1976