Brushing the cows is a popular job when visitors are invited to stop by The Gentle Barn on Sundays, from 10 am to 2 pm. That's my friend Danny on the right, me on the left, loving our work.
I never thought I’d be the kind of vegan to bully others into this lifestyle. But when my boyfriend came to L.A. for a visit last month, I couldn’t seem to help myself.
To his credit, Patrick eats mostly vegan when he’s with me. (In fact, he cooks most of the meals.) But that lamb he threw on the grill one night was just too much for me to handle.
“How can you eat that knowing how these animals are treated?” And I wasn’t just talking about baby sheep, but cows, pigs and chickens too.
I still don’t know his answer. As I recall, my question was met with silence.
I’m not sharing this to further guilt Patrick into going vegan — just the opposite, in fact. I’m sharing this to highlight the significance of our visit to The Gentle Barn while he was here.
Patrick and I talk all the time about buying land some day where we can care for rescued animals, so we were really looking forward to our visit to The Gentle Barn, a sanctuary for rescued farm animals in Santa Clarita, California. We went with my friend Danny who also talks about buying land for rescued animals some day.
That's Patrick, my boyfriend. Whatever he's saying, the cow doesn't look convinced.
Aside from the obvious joy of seeing cows, pigs and chickens allowed to just be in their natural state, we had the pleasure of meeting Ellie Laks, the founder of The Gentle Barn. What started as a backyard endeavor back in 1999 has grown to the 6-acre property they have today for more than 120 animals.
When I met Ellie, I’d already spoken to a volunteer who said most everyone who works at The Gentle Barn is vegan or vegetarian. I assumed the same of Ellie but asked anyway. After she confirmed it, she asked if I was vegan too and we got to talking.
Since I hadn’t seen any evidence of it, I asked if The Gentle Barn includes veganism in any of its educational materials or presentations. And that’s when Ellie shared with me a philosophy I once practiced myself.
Pushing the vegan lifestyle on people only pushes them away. But introducing them to food animals — like they do at The Gentle Barn – lets people draw their own conclusions. Once you’ve hugged a cow, you might think twice where that faceless package of beef in the grocery store really comes from.
And that's Patrick prepping a vegan meal for grilling on the firepit he built for the patio. Carnivorous ways aside, he's a keeper.
I’ve been vegan a number of years now, priding myself on setting an example as opposed to preaching it as ”the right thing to do.” Surely seeing me live a happy, healthy vegan lifestyle without the consumption of animals will have some sort of influence on someone, someday. I guess I’ve gotten impatient though. And a little set in my ways. It’s not enough anymore to keep the meat off the wood cutting board and out of the iron skillet. On his visit here, I couldn’t stand Patrick having meat in the kitchen at all. (Though to be fair, I do cook chicken for my animals. However, that’s according to my strict, OCD standards, and I still have a hard time with it.)
Not one to let things go without some sort of resolution, I brought up the meat thing again once Patrick was back home. And that’s when he said something that proves The Gentle Barn’s approach is working:
“Last time I went to buy chicken, I thought about those chickens we met on the farm.”
Yes, he bought the chicken anyway, but the connection is strengthened between his food and the living, breathing, feeling qualities of its source.
"Last time I went to buy chicken, I thought about those chickens we met on the farm." ~Patrick, my sometimes vegan boyfriend
Will I learn to live with it if Patrick never goes vegan? Yes. Will I give up hope? No way, and with good reason. I was 20 years old when I was first exposed to the truth about factory farming. It took 10 years for my actions to follow my conscience.
I’m not holding my breath for Patrick though (a Southern boy set in his own meat-and-potatoes ways), and am fully prepared to take the necessary precautions. While the key to success of some relationships may be separate bathroooms, we’ve already decided the key to ours may be separate kitchens.
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Tags: animal sanctuary, chickens, cows, lamb, pigs, sheep, The Gentle Barn, Vegan, Veganism
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This is inspiring and precious! A joyous day indeed!
Aw, Danny. Thank you! It was such a lovely time. We must go back for the snow day in December!
[...] restaurant owners, and volunteering at farm sanctuaries and other animal rescues. (Fingers crossed The Gentle Barn makes her list in [...]