A Burlap Bag and Six Yellow Chicks
One Christmas a few years ago a dear friend bought me a burlap bag and a flock of chicks from Heifer International. I didn’t have to carry six furry, cheeping little birds home in that bag – rather, I had a small card noting that these chicks had been given in my honor, to a family who could use them to establish a livelihood for themselves.
Thankfully fed from the harvest of another growing season, we launch into the holidays. I’m already hearing “Silver Bells” and watching wreaths gather snow. Presents will be appearing, all wrapped and be-ribboned, under trees in not so long.
For a civilization once based on agriculture (and, arguably, still very much so, though somewhat less clearly), it makes sense to move from the season of hard work and (hopefully) plenty into a season of celebration and giving. A season for sharing that plenty.
The Gift of Giving
We’re all still reeling and struggling from the recession, of course. “Plenty” may have to be reinterpreted a little this year. Though I’ve noticed that Black Friday has not quite disappeared from our calendars. Which indicates we still do, in fact, have money to spend.
I grew up in a typical middle-class family. Sometimes money is tight, but we generally have what we need in addition to a good deal of what we simply want. It gets tricky buying gifts for people who are quite happy and comfortable. Since my siblings and I are all young adults in those stages of moving about for education and career, it’s actually inconvenient to accumulate too many things. This may or may not be the case for many of you, but the point is that now is a good time to think about how we give, and what kind of giving might mean the most.
My friend’s gift from Heifer International came along, for me, at the perfect time – right when I was discovering sustainable agriculture and becoming deeply passionate about the hunger and inequality related to worldwide agriculture. I spent hours online. I started dreaming about what I could do.
Heifer International
Heifer International works with communities to “pass along the gift.” This means that when I “buy” a goat for my mother this year, a family will in turn receive a pregnant goat; they, in turn, will pass along the first of that animal’s offspring to another family in their community. And so the giving continues.
I find Heifer’s approach commendable in so many ways: they work to empower communities to establish and maintain local, agriculture-based economies; they seek to raise up leaders within those communities rather than simply plunk in outsiders; they provide education and facilitate cooperation; and they encourage practices that are restorative and sustainable in regards to society, economy, and the earth.
I could go on for a long time about this organization, but their website can fill you in more perfectly. Heifer also has three educational farms/centers in the U.S. – I had the privilege of visiting the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, AR while I was in graduate school, and I still think it’s the best service trip I’ve gone on. What a thoughtful, physical, joyful experience! Groups can go there to learn and volunteer; individuals can sign up to serve for several months to a year; women can participate in lambing retreats; you can even plan a vacation with Heifer to visit some of their projects around the world.
We all give in many different ways for many different reasons. That’s perhaps as it should be. I’m just surprised at the number of people, even within my agriculture/foodie crowd, who haven’t heard of Heifer International. The partnerships being created, and the work being done, are so in line with what so many of us believe. So here’s the note to let you know! And an opportunity to help make plenty abound.
Heifer International (HI) is an organization that claims to work against world hunger by donating animals to families in developing countries. Its catalog deceptively portrays beautiful children holding cute animals in seemingly humane circumstances. The marketing brochure for HI does not show the animals being transported, their living and slaughter conditions, or the erosion, pollution and water use caused by the introduction of these animals and their offspring.
By definition, animals raised for food are exploited in a variety of ways. The animals shipped to developing countries are often subject to; water and food shortages, cruel procedures without painkillers, lack of veterinary care resulting in extended suffering as a result of illness or injury.
A large percentage of the families receiving animals from HI are struggling to provide for themselves and cannot ensure adequate living conditions, nutrition, and medical care for animals they have been given. HI provides some initial veterinary training to individuals and the initial vaccines. But, long term care for these animals and their offspring is up to the individuals.
To make matters worse, animal agriculture causes much more harm to the environment than plant-based agriculture. The fragile land in many of the regions HI is sending the animals cannot support animal agriculture. Although they say they encourage cut and carry feeding of the animals to avoid erosion, the reality is often quite different.
The consumption of animal products has been shown in reputable studies to contribute significantly to life-threatening diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and a variety of cancers. Regions that have adopted a diet with more animal products see an increase in these diseases. The remote communities supposedly served by HI have no way of dealing with the health consequences of joining the high-cholesterol world.
While it may seem humane and sustainable to provide just one or two dairy cows here or there, the long term consequences are an increased desire for animal products in local cultures leading to an increase in production. These communities may be able to absorb the additional water use of one or two cows, what happens when there are hundreds or thousands of dairy cows, each consuming 27 to 50 gallons of fresh water and producing tons of excrement? The heavy cost to animals, the environment and local economies is not figured into HI’s business practices.
Hi JC,
I work for Heifer International, and I want to thank you for your well-thought response. I feel your concerns reflect some common misconceptions about our organization, and I’d like to offer some information about our practices and model for sustainable development.
Heifer International focuses on small farms using appropriate technologies and livestock which feed on resources that are not grown for human consumption. Training in the care and appropriate use of animals, as well as helping to develop community organizations that support those values are a fundamental part of our work and one of the 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development.
We support environmentally-sustainable or beneficial animal management practices that produce safe, humane conditions for the animals. These animals are the Project Participant’s life blood. They want to raise them in the best manner possible and often develop close bonds with them.
Heifer does a resource analysis before any project is started, monitors the projects to make sure they are successful, follows Heifer’s model for sustainability, and always works to preserve the environment. Renewable resources are high on the list of priorities. We say we are trying to “end world hunger and care for the earth,” and we mean it.
A great example of how careful attention to ecological sustainability is necessary to the well being of our project partners can be found in the Philippines. On the easily eroded hillsides in the Philippines, there is only one way to move a family away from destructive farming methods to the soil-conserving, water-conserving terrace method: give them an animal and training to go with it. Animals provide value in several parts of the ecosystem. They add worth to the farm by providing meat, milk, manure and work productivity, and they keep up with inflation. Animals such as water buffalo can help farmers build the terraces needed for improved farming methods, and their manure can fertilize the crops. The animals also provide a necessary financial safety net as farmers transition into terraced farming since initially their crop production will decrease. After three to four years, however, production usually exceeds previous best yields because the soil is better even though less land is under cultivation. The farmers also report a savings in real money by having to use less chemical fertilizer. Adding one key element in the ecosystem impacts the whole and supports environmental sustainability.
Offering seeds for planting, developing irrigation projects, digging water wells (ensuring safe water for drinking and irrigation), providing fruit and nut trees, providing vegetable plots and/or training people to grow vegetables-are all key components of our projects, which maximize the limited resources of farmers subsisting on smaller plots of land. We emphasize dairy cows, dairy goats, egg-producing, poultry, wool, angora rabbits, etc., which provide much more than just meat.
We share the concern for animal welfare, animal health and animal well-being and have many vegetarian employees and supporters. Livestock development can move people from living hand-to-mouth, give them a future, stop the practices of destroying forests and ruining the land and lower the rates of starvation and death due to easily preventable diseases.
We use holistic methods – water, gender equality, renewing the environment, etc. – to help families lift themselves up from poverty and hunger to a better life.
Thanks to you both for your carefully-articulated comments. Animal agriculture is, of course, a sensitive issue. While we may not all agree on whether or not animals should be raised for food, we can agree that animal well-being is a key factor in our attempts to have a more ethical agricultural system.
Reality suggests that we are not about to become a vegetarian or vegan world anytime soon. (If we did, we’d actually have a lot less domesticated animals in existence, as most are not equipped to survive on their own anymore, and few if any of us can afford to keep them as pets.) As long as we as a species are going to be omnivores, we will do well support practices that offer farm animals comfortable and good lives. And Heifer does so – admirably well.