by Leah Garcés
Beacon Press
8/26/2025, paperback
SKU: 9780807022108
The story of factory farmers, rescued farm animals, and rural communities standing up to big corporations and constructing their own new world that will change the way we eat
In Transfarmation, president and CEO of Mercy For Animals Leah Garcés explains how food and farming policies have failed over decades and offers insights into the wave of change coming from a new crop of farmers and communities who are constructing a humane and sustainable farming system. Factory animal farming faces an abundance of issues--from environmental concerns and animal cruelty, to exploited farmers and poor working conditions--and more and more farmers are searching for a way out and for a new start.
Using insights from interviews and fieldwork, Garcés shares the perspectives of three groups:
- Farmers--such as the Halley farm, where a family crushed by chicken factory farming builds a new way by transitioning their farm to growing hemp and rescuing dogs.
- Animals--like Norma, an industrial dairy cow who was sentenced to death after injuring a worker in an effort to protect her calf.
- Farm communities--including stories like how the hog industry in North Carolina preys on historically Black communities by contaminating the air and water for decades with hog pollution.
Garcés demonstrates the reasons why we must end factory farming and calls on readers to imagine a future world where Transfarmation is complete and we have transitioned to a just food and farming system.
Reviews:
"Impassioned treatise . . . Garcés makes clear how animals and humans suffer under the status quo, and she offers practical suggestions for reform, including bolstering animal welfare protections and improving labor standards for farmers. This strikes a chord." -- Publishers Weekly
"By giving birds, pigs, and cattle proper names, Garcés heightens readers' sympathies for abused creatures while making a good case for alternative farming methods." -- Booklist
"This highly recommended title is for readers concerned about current agricultural policies and practices and the future of the nation's food production." -- Library Journal
About the Author:
Leah Garcés is the CEO and president of Mercy For Animals and author of Grilled: Turning Adversaries into Allies to Change the Chicken Industry. With decades of leadership experience in the animal protection movement, she has partnered with corporations, communities, and governments around the world on a mission to build a better food system . Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune, among many other media outlets. She lives in Georgia, with her husband, three kids, and cat.