Animal Rights

Renee and Tommy Sonnen of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary on Converting Cattle Ranchers to Plant-Based Farming

Renee King-Sonnen and her husband Tommy, a multi-generational Texas cattle rancher, share how a rescued calf named Rowdy Girl sparked a family transformation from cattle ranching to founding Rowdy Girl Sanctuary and the Rancher Advocacy Program, helping ranchers nationwide transition to plant-based farming.

SoFlo Vegans Podcast

Episode 26 · Jan 16, 2020 · 63 min

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Topics Covered

How bottle-feeding a rescued calf, Rowdy Girl, began Renee's emotional awakening to the individuality and suffering of cattle
The dramatic standoff over Tommy's herd that led Renee to buy her husband's cattle rather than see them sent to auction
Tommy's path from lifelong rancher to full-time vegan, including the influence of Cowspiracy's Kip Andersen
The founding and mission of the Rancher Advocacy Program (RAP), which helps cattle and poultry farmers transition to sustainable, plant-based businesses like mushroom farming
Case studies: a former Arkansas chicken and cattle farm converting to a mushroom farm, and a sixth-generation Texas cattle ranch pivoting to vegan weddings and holistic land use
The urgent need for a 'new sanctuary model' as mass numbers of farm animals exit the system, including land grants and rewilding
Plans for the 2020 RAP Summit in Austin, Texas, and Rowdy Girl's veganic farm and education center

About the Guest

Renee King-Sonnen is the founder of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary and the Rancher Advocacy Program (RAP), which helps cattle ranchers and poultry farmers transition from animal agriculture to sustainable plant-based businesses. Her husband, Tommy Sonnen, is a multi-generational Texas cattle rancher turned vegan co-founder of the sanctuary, located in Angleton, Texas.