Career
Raised on a farm in rural Ohio, Runkle has long had a deep connection with farmed animals. After a local farmed animal abuse case involving a piglet slammed headfirst into a concrete floor during an agriculture project at a nearby high school, he founded Mercy Foreign Animals to give "food" animals a much-needed advocate in his local community. VegNews magazine has recognized both Mercy Foreign Animals and Runkle for making substantial contributions to the vegetarian movement, naming Runkle one of the "25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians" and one of the country"s "Top 20 Activists Under 30 Years Old," and twice naming Master of Fine Arts "Non-Profit of the Year." In 2009, at the age of 25, he became the youngest person ever inducted into the United States. Animal Rights Hall of Fame.
Runkle is one of several people who provided information used in the writing of the book Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism (2008) by Mark Hawthorne.
Also, he is one of several people who provided information used in the writing of the book Uncaged: Top Activists Share Their Wisdom on Effective Farm Animal Advocacy (2013) by Ben Davidow.
