This Saturday, farmers, ranchers, scientists, agriculture experts, business leaders, activists, and technologists are gathering virtually to tackle a critical question of the times:

What can farmers do, on their land, to thrive without using animals?

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted flaws within the existing animal agriculture framework, from outbreaks in slaughterhouses that have infected hundreds of workers, to processing backups and farmers being told to “depopulate” the animals they have raised.

The second Rancher Advocacy Program (RAP) summit, a collaboration between Texas-based Rowdy Girl Sanctuary and the Jane UnChained news network, invites leading thinkers across multiple fields to consider what it will take to transition to lucrative, plant-based alternatives.

The event will take place Saturday, Feb. 6, at 10 a.m. Pacific Time via Zoom.

Among the featured speakers:

Brett Christoffel of All Y’alls Foods
Geoff Whaling of the National Hemp Association
Lee Recht of Aleph Farms, a cell-based meat company
Claire Smith of Beyond Animal
John Lewis, the Badass Vegan
Geraldine Starke of Refarm’d
Laura Reese of Agriculture Fairness Allianc
Peter Albrecht of Villands Vånga Veganträdgård, a vegan farm
Rowdy Girl’s Renee King-Sonnen
JaneUnChained journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell and
The Wildes, a farming family transitioning to a non-animal model

Topics for exploration include the challenges facing farmers who want to make the transition to plant-based productions — from community and family pressure, to tradition and existing contracts with meat corporations — to the types of alternatives that are out there and how farmers can effectively fund their new ventures.

Those interested in attending will need to register in advance for the virtual event, which will be hosted on Zoom by King-Sonnen and Velez-Mitchell.

The event also will be livestreamed from the Facebook pages of JaneUnchained and the Rancher Advocacy Program.

Leading sponsors of the event include Miyoko’s Creamery, VegFund, Free from Harm, V-Dog, JaneUnChained News Network, Mercy for Animals, It’s Jerky Y’All, A Well-Fed World, Aleph Farms, andShine and Soaps for a Cause.