Jordan and Matt are the founders of Farm Animal Refuge. We aren’t a couple, but we are best friends. We have lived together almost ten years. Ironically, we met both working in the food industry. There we bore witness to the waste of animal products day in and day out. Matt was even a chef before it became too hard to have to cook meat.
Before we started this amazing adventure we were just two passionate plant-based individuals looking to make a difference. However, like so many vegans navigating their way, we were not quite sure where to start. We wanted to be involved in the movement but we just didn’t know how.
Our journey began with taking steps to enlighten family and friends around us and open their eyes to the widely overlooked cruelties of the meat industry. I asked that my family accompany me to Gentle Barn as my birthday present and surely enough, every one of them left vegan. Places like Gentle Barn and now ourselves, take an approach to animal activism by showing people who normally would never have met a cow, pig, or chicken in their lives, just how pet-like farm animals actually are to at the very least, make them question what is on their dinner plate. This prompted a conversation between Matt and myself regarding the importance of more people to be able to meet farm animals and experience their personalities. There are definitely not farm rescues in every city; there was not even one in our home town, and at that point we knew we needed to change that to truly make a difference.
After extensive late night planning and serious conversations, we decided there is no time better than now, packed up the U-Haul, and opened the doors of Farm Animal Refuge. The purpose of our rescue is to provide not only the people of San Diego, but people all over the world, the opportunity to meet these precious babies and discover their incredible and diverse personalities as well as similarities to cats and dogs. Whether they are visiting our rescue or following us on social media, our animals are able to display their nothing short of adorable and unique personalities.
