Changemaker Spotlight: The Transfarmation Project
Photograph courtesy of Transfarmation
In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis calls for a “culture of encounter” to address today’s social and ecological challenges - one based on “meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges, [and] planning a project that includes everyone.” This example of dialogue, bridge-building, and collaboration is at the heart of our first changemaker spotlight. We recently connected with the Transfarmation™ team to learn more about their transformative work to build a more just, sustainable food system.
An Unlikely Alliance, A Monumental Opportunity
Photograph courtesy of Transfarmation
Founded in 2019, Transfarmation emerged from an unlikely alliance between Leah Garcés, the former president of Mercy For Animals, and Craig Watts, a former contract chicken farmer who courageously spoke out about his experience in industrial agriculture and has become a powerful advocate for others. Through their relationship, Leah came to understand the challenges many farmers face and saw a monumental opportunity to collaborate and create lasting change, working together side-by-side. And, with that, Transfarmation was born.
Transfarmation is a farmer-led movement that supports farmers who want to exit factory farming by addressing financial and structural barriers, developing alternative economic models, and fostering solidarity across movements. The organization works with factory farmers across the United States who are transitioning away from animal agriculture to instead growing mushrooms or other crops, while helping them regain autonomy over their land and livelihoods.
From Dairy to Mushrooms: Reinventing a Farm
One example is Paula and Paul Hamilton, former dairy farmers in southern Indiana. The Transfarmation team shared that they were forced out of production in 2022 when their buyer deemed their farm too small. While attending Farm Aid, Paula discovered mushrooms as a potential new crop that could help them keep their farm alive.
Photograph courtesy of Transfarmation
With support from Transfarmation’s Research and Innovation grant, the Hamiltons converted their former dairy parlor into a mushroom-growing operation. Within three months, they were producing at a scale that allowed them to sell at local farmers’ markets. By their second market season, they surpassed their previous year’s sales.
The Transfarmation team shared how the Hamiltons approached their transition with creativity and resilience. Paul used his welding skills to repurpose elements of the former dairy farm for mushroom production, while Paula drew on her nursing background to create a sterile environment and develop their own growing substrate. Oats once grown to feed cows are now turned into substrate for their mushrooms. At the farmers’ market, Paula educates customers about their farm’s transformation, sharing before-and-after photos and telling the full story of how they are involved in every step of production.
A Throughline of Hope
Stories like the Hamiltons’ reflect a common theme Transfarmation hears from farmers: hope. They shared that many farmers come to the organization after facing sudden contract terminations or mounting debt, and their support offers a path to renewed independence and possibility.
The Transfarmation team notes that individuals and communities can support these efforts by purchasing plant-based foods locally - through farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture programs, and local businesses. Even small shifts can have a meaningful impact. Research cited in the Nebraska Farm and Food Economy Report found that if Nebraskans spent just $5 per week on food from local farms, it would generate $512 million in new farm income statewide.
Through farm transitions, storytelling, policy advocacy, and collaboration, Transfarmation is helping create a food system where farmers, animals, and the environment are treated with the care and dignity they deserve.
Photograph courtesy of Transfarmation
Inspired? Take Action with Your Parish or Faith Community!
Follow Transfarmation on Facebook and Instagram. Read Leah Garcés’ book Transfarmation: The Movement to Free Us from Factory Farming with your book club to learn more about factory farming’s impacts on animals, humans, and the environment, and to find hope in the growing, collaborative movement for change.