Will Tuttle Speaks About Animal Place

Will Tuttle, Ph.D, author of The World Peace Diet, visited Animal Place and shared his thoughts with us.

The spirit of Animal Place is compassion in action. Pigs here are finally free to wander, root, and relax on acres of beautiful land, and hens to dust bathe and socialize happily. Organic gardens, fields, and forests are woven thoughtfully with well-constructed new barns and fencing so that there is ample space for the cows, goats, rabbits, turkeys, and other animals who have been rescued from the violence of meat, dairy, and egg production.

This is a place of education also: both learning and unlearning. Seeing the unique and vivid personalities of the animals who are respected and treated as subjects rather than as objects, we can unlearn the delusions that contribute to our violence, and begin to understand our proper relationship with the Earth and her creatures, and with each other. Animal Place is a wondrous place for children—petting a little goat, rubbing a pig’s belly, and feeding the chickens and turkeys connects us all with the child within who naturally sees with eyes of inclusion.

Through the hard work and vision of founder Kim Sturla and the dedicated staff, and the generosity and foresight of thousands of contributors and volunteers, Animal Place has been able to move from over-cramped facilities in Vacaville to a magnificent 600 acres of water-rich land in Grass Valley in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Large enough for a wildlife sanctuary and a sanctuary for rescued farmed animals, there will also be educational programs to help people deepen their connection with their innate compassion and wisdom.

Visiting Animal Place is visiting the future: a future where we will all be more sensitive and aware of the interconnectedness of all life, and live a deeper understanding that life is a celebration, not a competition.

Animal Place is a community in the best sense – a place of cooperation and caring, of idealism and practicality—a vision of the best in humanity, and of the beautiful world we can create together as we awaken from the trance of exclusion and the illusion that might makes right. Animal Place is a place where we, as a culture, are growing exciting and positive new dreams together.