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Bay Explorers

My vision is to inspire families of all backgrounds to explore, be present, and have fun with their children in the Bay Area.

Animal Place Farm Sanctuary


This past weekend we took a road trip with my best friends to Animal Place in Grass Valley. Animal Place is a farm sanctuary that rescues animals that were going to be slaughtered or are rescued from other bad situations. The farm houses the animals so they can live out their natural lives happy and free. Animal Place promotes veganism as a means to end animal suffering, save the planet, and take care of your body.

Being an avid vegan myself I really wanted to take my 7 year old daughter here to meet the animals up close and personal. I was hoping this would fully convert her as she is roughly 85% vegan now, lol. I am raising our baby vegan but it is hard for kids once they start eating meat and dairy to give it up completely- but she's getting there!

Weeks before our trip my daughter started fundraising a donation jar to take with us to the farm to help the animals. Satya painted pictures of farm animals and sold them to her family to raise money for the farm. By the time we took in the donation jar she had raised close to $100 to give to the farm. They were very excited to get the donation and we were all very proud of her efforts.

First stop on the tour was the museum of horror, they showed us the cages, crates, and stalls that factory farm animals have to endure for their lives until they are brutally murdered for our dinner plates. This was a sad stop but very informative and I was happy my daughter could see the cruelty up close and hear the sad stories of what the animals have to endure.

Many people say dairy is the hardest to give up but the dairy industry is one of the cruelest industries. To give milk cows have to give birth (just like every mammal) they don't just stand there producing milk all day. So farmers artificially inseminate the cows over and over again. Every time the cow gives birth, they take the baby away when it is just hours old. The baby and mom cry for each other- it is said to be the the saddest sound ever! Then the baby is kept in a crate where they can't move so they can be killed for veal. The mom is heartbroken and the milk she gives is used for our consumption. We are the only mammal that drinks another mammals milk- if it's not your mom, it's not your milk!

But on to happier notes! After the museum we got to go see some happy live cows that were grazing in the grassy sunlit pastures. We got to pet Mortimer the cow who was a gentle giant. Next we walked by the sheep pasture. This one sheep was super friendly and stood by the fence while we petted it's soft head and even stood by for a sheep selfie. The goats moved in herds and one billy goat gruff in particular came over for pets.

The pigs were so cute and big! They told us that pigs are not meant to be that big but that humans breed them to be overweight to get more poundage for their buck. So some of the pigs have a hard time walking and get knee problems. We gave the pigs lots of belly rubs. The funnest part was feeding Wilbur the 700 pound pig! He loves apples and sweet potatoes. It was incredible to see him stuffing down his diet. He was so huge compared to my baby!

We then ventured in to the chicken/ turkey barn and fed them lots of grapes. Did you know mother hens talk to their baby chicks while they are in the egg, and the babies talk back? If the egg hatches while the momma hen is out looking for food the baby can find it's momma through voice recognition- so sweet! My oldest daughter got very solemn around the chickens- I think it was a case of guilty conscience.

After the tour was over we sat and ate our vegan picnic on the shaded tables by the front of the farm. It was a great trip!

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