On October 22, 2024, Keith Peterson, Professor of Philosophy, led his humanities lab class “PL244: Vegan Studies: Animals, Politics, Environment, and Health” on an immersive field trip to the Peace Ridge Animal Sanctuary. Students Ella Carlson ’25, Joe Grassi ’25, and Presley Privitera ’25 were all deeply moved by the experience.
The class, sponsored by the Humanities in Action fund, introduces students to veganism as both a philosophy and a social movement. Since the 1970s, philosophers have challenged the ethics of animal captivity and exploitation, engaging in debates around animal rights and environmentalism. In recent years, veganism has evolved into an intersectional movement focused on liberation for both nonhumans and humans. Through this humanities lab, Profesor Peterson teaches his students to study core principles of animal liberation, environmentalism, and ethical responsibility, along with the skills for adopting a vegan lifestyle.
In a conversation with Peterson about the class, he shared that an essential component of the class is going on field trips to connect class discussions with real-world experiences. He selects outings that represent the ethical, political, environmental, and health aspects of veganism. “Each trip links back to our class themes,” Peterson explained. “The animals part belongs to the Peace Ridge Sanctuary, the environment part belongs to the veganic agriculture – which includes a trip to another farm, the health part is associated with taking the students to the grocery store and cooking a vegan meal together, and politics is covered in the classroom.” He says that these field trips have enriched the students’ understanding and offered them a new perspective on veganism’s real-world implications.
For Privitera, the visit to Peace Ridge was eye-opening, “The Peace Ridge Sanctuary was so cool to me, I’m from the suburbs of Bostons, I’ve never really interacted with farm animals or been on a farm. Being able to touch and see them as more than farm animals left a lasting impact on me. I love the way they spoke about each animal and shared their name and personality”.
Peace Ridge Animal Sanctuary, located in Brooks, Maine, rescues farmed animals, equines, special-needs dogs, and other animals who can’t find homes elsewhere. Each animal is treated as an individual, a rare experience for farmed animals. The students were led on tour on the sanctuary’s High Meadow Farm, which is their flagship shelter facility, and home to 400 plus animals. From goats, to dairy cows, from alpacas to donkeys and a piglet named “Portia”, the students were able to interact with these animals on a personal level.
For Grassi, the visit hit close to home—literally. He was excited to show his classmates the area that he grew up in, which was coincidentally only a few miles away from the sanctuary. Since childhood, he has long reflected on the ethics of animal farming. “I grew up in rural Maine on a farm. We grow mostly vegetables and some animals, and we eat those animals. It’s definitely something I’ve grown up thinking about, and talking with my family about. It’s a big challenge for me and how I live, and thinking about how I want to provide for myself and my family.” Grassi’s sense of place and connection to the area was especially impactful for him when visiting the sanctuary. “It’s all very much home to me, it was really cool to see this organization that’s in my backyard. It was wonderful to take that in and see this pocket of such amazing people doing such amazing work”.
Privitera echoed the impact of seeing animals in a new light. “Animals in the media are just seen as a thing, or an instrument for humans to consume. And being able to see them at Peace Ridge was such a change of pace and brought everything we’d talked about in class to light. It was an awesome experience!”
The class meets for three hours once a week, a time that allows for deeper, more meaningful discussions. Peterson said that the content has to be topics or research that fits all the categories listed in the course title, and has to be philosophically interesting. Carlson and Grassi shared that having a longer class helps them to feel more comfortable around their classmates, and dive deeper in content. Carlson remarked that she often shares these thoughts with her friends over a meal in the dining hall, which is exactly the outward reaching effect that Peterson intended for when designing the course. He hopes that these experiences will resonate with students long after the class ends, expecting the payoff of the course to be later on, after his students leave Colby, and acknowledges that making significant lifestyle changes in college can be challenging — especially in a structured campus environment, where the dining hall options can be limited. “I understand that it’s difficult for anybody, let alone a student, in a fairly constrained environment where they don’t get to choose what they eat,” Peterson said. But while they’re here, taking the class, he’s told them that “learning about this stuff now is going to help make it easier for you later if you decide to make the switch to the Vegan lifestyle.”
Written by CAH Program Coordinator, Portia Hardy.
