Mark Heimann
Before I met my wife, Lara, nine years ago, I had never even met a vegetarian. I am now vegan, and married, with two kids, 4 cats, and 3 chickens…meeting the right people makes all the difference! Over the years Lara has encouraged me to pursue a way of life more in keeping with my budding ethical beliefs. Five years ago, we became involved with Farm Sanctuary’s effort to have New Jersey establish mandated “humane” standards for farm animals. We joined Gene Bauston, founder of Farm Sanctuary, at meetings with the heads of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and watched him patiently, yet futilely, explain the importance of these standards. I realized that my temperament was not well-suited for politics and knew that I would need an alternative means to “make a difference.”
Once our first child, Olivia, was born, that path was quickly illuminated. Humane Education seemed like the perfect way to juxtapose my love for animals and children. At the time, I didn’t know how I would use the information that I would learn from the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), but felt that, at the very least, it would make me a better and more knowledgeable parent. As I progressed through the program, I never pressured myself to find what door the program would open. I was confident, however, that my new-found knowledge would lead me in a new direction. Now that I am nearing the end of the program, I am excited about the countless possibilities that lay before me.
I am spending part of this summer in Latvia teaching underprivileged children English through Humane Education. After graduating from IHE, I will be teaching Humane Education part-time at my children’s school, writing a children’s book about one of our cats, and creating a Humane Education Center for families and schools to visit. IHE has helped me not only realize my potential as a teacher, father, and husband, but also figure out how best to utilize that potential. Zoe Weil and the rest of the IHE staff, like my wife, are definitely the “right people” and have made a huge difference in my life.
August 30, 2008 - 8:30 am to August 31, 2008 - 4:00 pm | Location: Farm Sanctuary
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