Many Silicon Valley transplants leave their hacker houses or shoe-box apartments in the morning and climb aboard shuttle buses to work. Anna Sweet, a Facebook employee, and her husband Nate Salpeter, a nuclear energy engineer, commute from their farm.
The prospect of juggling careers in tech and farming didn’t faze the husband-wife team when they opened Sweet Farm, an animal sanctuary and non-profit organisation, in 2016. The farm promotes the humane treatment of animals by providing a loving home for livestock saved from meat markets. Sweet and Salpeter also work to educate visitors about the many places from which their food comes and encourage them to lead more livestock-friendly lifestyles.
We visited the Half Moon Bay, California, sanctuary to see what life is like there.
Sweet, who grew up on a horse farm in upstate New York, knew little about these animal species when they opened the farm. They have been calling on Sweet's dad and other farmers for help.
The couple has felt embraced by the local farming community, who they say has been more than happy to share knowledge about different animals. Today, Sweet and Salpeter can tell you which eggs came from which hens based on their subtle colour differences and spots.
Many people find Sweet Farm via Facebook. Their page has over 40,000 followers.
They called Sweet Farm to find him a loving home. Gizmo now spends his days munching on grass and clover and romping around green pastures with his best friend, Sturgis, a geriatric horse.
Sweet Farm's mission isn't to convert visitors into vegans, but rather to educate people on the small steps they can take to lead a more humane lifestyle.
Sweet and Salpeter encourage visitors to take up Meatless Mondays, eat smaller portions of meat, and ask their grocers where they can find pasture-raised animal and dairy products.
Twelve and half acres isn't 'enough land to rescue even a small fraction of the animals in need,' Sweet says. That's why the couple has turned their focus to education.
Sweet and Salpeter hope to add pigs to the roster this year, but don't expect to take in too many more animals. They plan to start up an adoption program that will allow the couple to place animals in need with families and other farms that can provide a home.
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