Sweet Farm: A New Kind of Sanctuary, Part 2 of 2

Not only does the charity rescue farm and other exploited animals, but it also has a biodiverse, veganic produce farm that welcomes people to come and pick vegetables through its community-supported agriculture program. Furthermore, Sweet Farm supports food and technology firms that are finding innovative ways to make our food supply more equitable and peaceful. “Technology at Sweet Farm is an incredibly important part of executing our mission of creating a more compassionate and sustainable world. We feel that technology is such an important part of doing two things. One is increasing the rate of [vegan] adoption, so, food technology that makes the change seamless and easy for people, so plant-based proteins and plant-based dairy alternatives. Among agriculture technology, we work with companies in the sustainability sector that are helping doing things like closing the human waste loop, which at the same time removes pharmaceuticals and antibiotics from the system so it doesn't leach into the water system and it produces a high nitrogen input source for growing fruits and vegetables.”

It’s time to meet the most important residents of Sweet Farm: the animals! The animals have primarily been rescued from exploitative situations like animal factories, petting zoos, and breeding operations. “They're such sweethearts. They are able to help educate people about pigs in the food system and why they really deserve respect, and why people should go plant-based and bring more compassion into their daily choices by opting to eat plants instead of animals. Pigs have intelligence that's on the order of a three to four-year-old human. They just can't vocalize their thoughts into words that we can understand as humans. So, it's really great for people to meet them, look into their eyes and understand why these issues are important and why they should start making changes through their daily choices.”

Before we left, we wanted to ask Dr. Nate Salpeter if he had any more thoughts on sustainable living. “On the agriculture side of things, we definitely promote people eating seasonally. If you're eating seasonally to your location, then again, it reduces your radius around which that food is sourced. Something that I think is important for people to remember is the notion of veganism. It's about constant evaluation, self-evaluation and re-evaluation of what is the information coming in and how can I continually improve?”