With fire season already underway in Central Oregon,  planning for FIRE SAFETY & EVACUTION at Harmony Farm Sanctuary has begun. We need to be prepared! Fires are a sanctuary operators worst nightmare.

Aside from regular preventative measures taken for fire safety for each structure at the sanctuary, a strategy for evacuating 130 animal residents with a safe place to bring them is of utmost importance!

We started by inviting the PET EVACUATION TEAM to our sanctuary to help us create our plan. They inspected every nook and cranny of the sanctuary and gave us lots of advice and recommendations! We plan on following through on these recommendations.

Fire safety planning will include the purchase of 6 fire extinguishers, multiple 100 FT hoses, a generator, crates to transport smaller rescued animals, a car port to house our hay and many hours of staff training.

Evacuation planning will include the purchase of a horse trailer to move our larger rescued animals such as cows and horses and asking countless volunteers with trailers to be on standby to help.

We CANNOT be too prepared. 2020 was a devastating fire season in Oregon with over 1 million acres burned, almost double the 10 year average of 557,000 acres. And drought this year is fueling potential for an above-average fire season.

The fire safety and evacuation items will cost approximately $15,000. Please help us by making a donation to our fire preparedness fund! 

This is Pig Floyd!

 Pig Floyd is the reason HFS was started! Purchased as a pet, the founding family soon realized how intelligent these animals really are. And a very important lesson that there is really no such thing as a MINI pig! After a short period of time they discerned that the amount of food recommended by the breeder was unfair and essentially starving him. He is now over 150 lbs. , well over the weight promised by his breeder. Although his purchase from a breeder is regretted he is truly what inspired their passion for pigs and ultimately a sanctuary for farmed animals. Pig Floyd is now 8 years old and has known nothing but love and treats. 

This is Vincent Van Goat & Juniper!

Vincent & Juniper arrived at HFS in the spring of 2016. They were born on a farm in central Oregon. Their mother died during birth, leaving them with no source of milk. They were found alone and shivering during a nasty spring storm. The owner of the farm had too many bottle fed babies and decided to release them to HFS. And we are so happy they did! They will now live out their lives in peace and harmony. As siblings, Vincent looks out for Juniper and makes sure his sister gets plenty to eat and a nice place to nap! They are super friendly and love head scratches. 

Vegan diets are known to help people lose weight. They also offer an array of additional health benefits. For starters a vegan diet will help you maintain a healthy heart and offer you protection against Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.

If you switch to a vegan diet from a typical Western diet, you'll eliminate meat and animal products. You'll focus on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds.

These foods, in turn, contribute to a higher daily intake of certain beneficial nutrients such as fiber, antioxidants and plant compounds like vitamin A, C and E.

Many studies now show that vegans tend to be thinner and have lower body mass indexes than non-vegans. Interestingly, people on vegan diets tend to lose more weight than those on a calorie restricted diet.

Vegans tend to have lower blood sugar levels, higher insulin sensitivity and up to a 50% - 78% lower risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.

According to the World Health Organization, about 1/3 of all cancers can be prevented by factors within your control, including diet.

For instance, eating legumes regularly reduces your risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. Vegans eat considerably more legumes, fruits and vegetables than non-vegans which may explain why a recent review of 96 studies found that vegans benefit from a 15% lower risk of developing or dying from cancer.

This is because vegan diets are devoid of smoked or processed meats and meats cooked at high temperature which are thought to promote certain types of cancer. Eating a vegan diet is also linked to a lower risk of heart disease.

Several randomized studies illustrate that vegan diets are much more effective at reducing blood sugar, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels than non-vegan diets. This may be particularly beneficial to heart health since reducing high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels reduces the risk of heart disease by as much as 46%.

Compared to the general population, vegans also tend to consume more whole grains and nuts, both of which are good for your heart.

In summary, vegan diets provide an array of health benefits and it can only benefit you to increase the amount of nutrient-rich, whole plant foods in your diet.