Bruce Friedrich

Bruce Friedrich (born August 7, 1969) is Senior Policy Director for Farm Sanctuary.[1]

Friedrich serves on the advisory board of the Christian Vegetarian Association and is a founding member of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians. He has appeared on NBC's Today Show, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and Court TV. He was inducted into the United States Animal Rights Hall of Fame in 2004.[2]

Friedrich is vegan and lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Dr. Alka Chandna.[3]

Early life

Friedrich graduated from Norman High School (Norman, Oklahoma) in 1987.[4]

He served as president of the Cleveland County Young Democrats during his last two years of high school and campaigned for the late Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) during his first year of college.

He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Iowa's Grinnell College with majors in English and economics and a minor in religious studies. Before joining People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in 1996, he spent six years working in a shelter for homeless families and a soup kitchen in Washington, D.C.[5]

For two years, Friedrich was a teacher at the Baltimore Freedom Academy.[6]

On May 22, 2011, Friedrich was threatened with arrest by a Baltimore police officer when he was ordered to leave the Inner Harbor after handing out leaflets promoting vegetarianism.[6] That incident was part of a years-long dispute between free speech advocates and commercial interests in the Inner Harbor area. On June 1, 2011, The Baltimore Sun newspaper printed an editorial concluding that "Speaking out at the harbor should be a part of civic life, not a reason to be handcuffed."[7]

Work with PETA

Friedrich wrote and made an audio recording of "Veganism in a Nutshell," a popular synopsis of the reasons some choose to go vegan. He appeared as a candidate on the 2004 Showtime reality series American Candidate.

As Director of Vegan Campaigns, Friedrich was responsible for producing Meet Your Meat, a video about factory farming narrated by Alec Baldwin.

Friedrich is a frequent lecturer and debater on college campuses, including Harvard University,[8] Yale University,[9] Princeton University,[10] Cornell University,[11] The University of Chicago,[12] and dozens of other colleges and universities across the country.

In a 2010 essay, Friedrich explained his view of God's direction in working on behalf of animals:[5]

"As a result of my prayer over [Andrew] Linzey's work and conversations with my spiritual director at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, my focus turned to animal protection, where it's stayed for the last 15 years. Since that time, I've occasionally been asked why I focus my efforts on protecting animals, rather than humans. So, as this Advent season begins, I decided to offer some thoughts on why I view working on behalf of animals -- and especially farmed animals -- as God's work."

Work with Farm Sanctuary

As Senior Policy Director, Friedrich leads Farm Sanctuary’s policy and litigation efforts and has introduced the world to who farm animals are as individuals through the Someone, Not Something project.[13] His articles on farm animal issues appear regularly in The Huffington Post,[14] and Bruce has penned opinion pieces for USA Today,[15] the Los Angeles Times,[16] New York Daily News,[17] and many other publications.

Works

Writing

Multimedia

References

  1. ↑ The Huffington Post. "Bruce Friedrich". Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  2. ↑ "U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame". Animal Rights National Conference. Farm Animal Rights Movement. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  3. ↑ "Does God Support Factory Farms?".
  4. ↑ Tyree, James S. (2010-09-15). "PETA vice president brings message home to Norman". The Oklahoman. the Norman High School class of 1987 member
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Heffern, Rich. "Bruce Friedrich: Advent and factory farms". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hermann, Peter (27 May 2011). "Baltimore police tell teacher to stop leafleting at Inner Harbor". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Exercising First Amendment rights in the Inner Harbor". Baltimore Sun. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  8. ↑ Alex Mclease, "PETA Debate: On Tolstoy and Bonsai Trees," The Harvard Crimson 15 September 2009
  9. ↑ Everett Rosenfeld, "PETA VP On Hand for Meaty Debate," Yale Daily News 4 April 2010
  10. ↑ Rachel Jackson, "Singer Wins Vegetarian Debate, 75-35," The Daily Princetonian 1 October 2010.
  11. ↑ Tajwar Mazhar, "Cornell Forensics Society Debates Meat With PETA," The Cornell Daily Sun 1 November 2010.
  12. ↑ The Chicago Debate Society, News, University of Chicago 2011.
  13. ↑ "Someone, Not Something: Farm Animal Behavior, Emotion, and Intelligence". Farm Sanctuary.
  14. ↑ Friedrich, Bruce. "Bruce Friedrich". The Huffington Post.
  15. ↑ Friedrich, Bruce. "From petri dish to backyard grill: Column". USA Today.
  16. ↑ Friedrich, Bruce (2014-02-10). "Which should come first, healthier chickens or cheaper eggs?". Los Angeles Times.
  17. ↑ Friedrich, Bruce. "Articles by Bruce Friedrich". Daily News (New York).
  18. ↑ American Candidate TV Show

External links