Heifer project?

[Alli]

http://www.heifer.org/


I'm not exactly what they do. They give animals to hungry families, but it doesn't look like the families actually eat them... What do you guys think of this? I don't like it.

[peace]

Yes, that is what they do. You can shop in their cutesy catalog full of pictures of animals, children, and celebrities--and choose the species of animal you would like to send to her death.

You can arrange to have all sorts of animals shipped around the world to be butchered--from cows to guinea pigs. But don't worry, the catalog does its best to assauge your guilt. Words like "kill", "slaughter", or even "meat" are never used. Instead, you can buy a pig to "supply essential protien"! Doesn't that sound better? Plus, there are all these nice pics of children cuddling with baby lambs and pigs. It'd like you're sending a child a new pet.

[Sevenseas]

It's ****ed up.

[Vegi Chik]

It's ****ed up.

You took the words right out of my mouth. What ever happened to people eating vegetables? Yuck. I was reading the banner at the top and thinking "disgusting..."

[Vegi Chik]

OMG. I just read the "gift catalouge" page.
Effing ew.

[Poppy]

:no:

[Katt Fink]

Uh oh... I remember buying something (a food product, I think) with their insignia somewhere on the packaging. I can't remember for the life of me what it was. For some reason, I remember it to be something seemingly vegan and beneficial to animals, but apparently not. I just remember seeing it on there and thinking "wtf is the Heifer project?" and never looking it up... Wow, I hope I can find out whatever that product(s) was so I can remember never to buy it again! I looked around on the website to see if I could find a list of companies that sported the logo on their products, but I'm in a hurry...

ETA: I found this (http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.687721/), but it's definitely none of those are what I was thinking of...

[animallover7249]

Ew! Why would anyone pay to have an animal sent to their death? Killing to "end hunger"...


Just ew..and ya..very ****ed up...

[Ludi]

They aren't allowed to eat the ones they are given, they have to keep those and breed them, and there may be some "rules" about what they can do with the offspring. But yes, meat animals will eventually get eaten. I used to think this was an ok charity, but now that I know more about the resources needed to raise animals, and how in many cases it's more efficient and makes more sense to use those resources to raise vegetables, which can provide for a complete diet in the smallest possible space. So for poor people who don't have much land, it would make more sense to teach them Biointensive gardening, and give them vegetable seeds.

[jeezycreezy]

I think it sucks.

[sorrowthepig]

They fund micro-animal agribusiness operations with living capital. That's about it.

[Poppy]

Why would you want to send any animals to impoverished places? Would they get enough to eat? Would they have vet care if needed? I can't see any point in it at all.

[Alli]

Yeah, my teacher suggested we send money to this charity for Thanksgiving. So I went online to find out more about it, and er yep. No money from me.

[Mskedi]

I've always had respect for the project. I don't personally eat meat, but if meat and meat products are going to keep people from starving, then the people win.

[Dirty Martini]

Yeah, my teacher suggested we send money to this charity for Thanksgiving. So I went online to find out more about it, and er yep. No money from me.

So you support human hunger & starvation then.

The animals they give provide nourishment to starving people, primarily children. The eggs & milk the animals provide give/sustain life. As someone already said, the families aren't allowed to kill the animals they're given, as that would defeat the purpose.

[Sevenseas]

So you support human hunger & starvation then.If that's your criterion for "supporting human hunger", then for every cent you aren't giving to charity you are supporting hunger. And since everyone is supporting hunger, then accusing a particular person of it is irrelevant.

What's weird about this is that most if not all people (and that includes you) refuse to give money to charity because they want that new cd player or want to dine at an expensive restaurant or whatever, but yet you're probably not saying anything to them - in fact, you'd probably accuse someone pointing that out of moralizing or being judgmental - whereas someone who has an altruistic reason for not giving money gets a lecture about it.


As someone already said, the families aren't allowed to kill the animals they're given, as that would defeat the purpose.That someone also said that "meat animals will be eaten".

[Dirty Martini]

I couldn't find anywhere on the site that said that - where does it say that?

[Sevenseas]

I don't know what it says on the site, I referred to Ludi's post like you did.

[Dirty Martini]

Actually, yesterday I spent a bunch of time reading about the Heifer project on the internet.

And my statement about supporting starvation was rhetorical - though I suppose it didn't appear that way.

[Alli]

So you support human hunger & starvation then.

The animals they give provide nourishment to starving people, primarily children. The eggs & milk the animals provide give/sustain life. As someone already said, the families aren't allowed to kill the animals they're given, as that would defeat the purpose.

I don't support human hunger and starvation. That's one of the reasons I'm vegan, actually, to end it. I just think there are more productive ways of doing it, and maybe it's different than how I interpret it. However, if what I think of it is true (that they are given animals to breed and the young are killed and become food) I have qualms against it. If the animals are just given to the families for milk/eggs/wool/etc. then I don't see a problem, though.

[jeezycreezy]

How is it better to have an animal convert vegetation into protein than it would be to teach people how to farm, install irrigation systems, give people seeds, tools etc.

I'm just asking.

I'll be the first to admit I am shamefully ignorant of the intricacies involved in feeding starving people.

I'm just thinking that I would be more on board with that sort of aide than I would be with logging on to http://www.heifer.org/ and double-clicking my mouse to send an animal to be leeched off of by starving people. :-/

[Ludi]

If the people are starving then it probably means they have already badly depleted their land, and would only make it worse with animals. It's quite difficult to raise animals on range without depleting it, the best way is "cut and feed" in which the farmer cuts the feed for the animal and brings it to them, instead of letting the animal out to graze. It takes many times the amount of land to raise feed for animals than it does to rasie vegetables for humans. The only real advantage to animals is that they can take grass or shrubbery and turn it into edible products for humans, but the advantage is lost if the person has to feed the animal grain, or has to use valuable calories and energy collecting feed for the animal. Animals have ruined much land in poor regions, where people starve, through overgrazing.

[Vegi Chik]

^^Presicely. (sp?)

[janie]

If that's your criterion for "supporting human hunger", then for every cent you aren't giving to charity you are supporting hunger. And since everyone is supporting hunger, then accusing a particular person of it is irrelevant.

What's weird about this is that most if not all people (and that includes you) refuse to give money to charity because they want that new cd player or want to dine at an expensive restaurant or whatever, but yet you're probably not saying anything to them - in fact, you'd probably accuse someone pointing that out of moralizing or being judgmental - whereas someone who has an altruistic reason for not giving money gets a lecture about it.



:yes:

[peace]

No one keeps pigs, rabbits, or guinea pigs for milk and eggs. Heifer gives away plenty of "meat animals"--these species have no other "purpose" when presented as a food source.

These animals and their children will be butchered sooner or later. The babies will be killed right off, and what will happen to the parents when they can't produce babies anymore? It won't be a cozy retirement.

So either way, giving to Heifer is sending an animal to the butcher block.