Vegetarians & Vegans Support Group

Vegetarianism is the practice of not consuming the flesh of any animal . Veganism excludes all animal products from diet and in some definitions from attire also. Vegetarians have varied motivations including religious, cultural, ethical, aesthetic, environmental, social, economic, health, political, and personal concerns. Join many others in sharing your experiences to...

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animals for poor people

deleted_user
deleted_user
My vegetarian (actually, she is pescatarian, as am i, but she likes to call herself a vegetarian) friend recently got this catalog in the mail called something along the lines of "the most important catalog ever." The items in the catalog are different animals that you can buy for impoverished families in various places around the world. My friend decided to start raising money ($250) to send a water buffalo to a family in the Philipines. The company sends a pregnant female so that the family can drink and sell her milk (a lot of the kids are malnourished) and they can sell her offspring. She is also used for fertilizer and to plow fields. My friend told me that she read that the family can plow roughly 4 times as much land with a water buffalo as without one. Neither the water buffalo nor its children are generally intended to be killed for food (or any other purpose). She was asking people for donations and asked a different vegetarian (lacto-ovo) friend of mine to donate and she said she didn't approve of the program because the water buffalo would be forced against its will to plow fields.

I was wondering how many vegetarians here would be opposed to this type of operation.

So, my question is, who here would donate to this cause, and why or why not?

Thanks for any feedback.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I've donated to similar programmes through World Vision Australia. For me it's about HUMANITY and improving the quality of life of massively underprivileged communities/people that have not had the luck that I did to be born in Australia. I like those initiatives, and will continue to contribute to them.
deleted_user
deleted_user
As an after thought, does your lacto-ovo friend eat organic, free range dairy products or does she eat cage hen eggs. I'm pretty sure dairy cows don't get asked for permission before they give their milk :-) ! hehehe
deleted_user
deleted_user
i would as long as the buffalo would be treated right, but i don't like the testing of things on animals or circuses.
but i have no money so here is my donation. *good luck*
deleted_user
deleted_user
I would not donate to that program. I send money to stop animal testing, to stop animals in circuses etc
deleted_user
deleted_user
The catalog was probably for The Heifer Project which is a very reputable charity, as far as I know. I've donated to the organization before, but only for animals that wouldn't be eaten, such as llamas. When the recipients are given their gift animals, they are taught how to properly care for them and use them to better their communities.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I would not donate money to any organization that deals with animals unless I could confirm 100% that vegetarian/vegan principles are practiced. Even wonderful people who do much for humanity may have very different beliefs on what is "humane" when it comes to animals. I have no experience with the Heifer Project, but can suggest further reading that may make someone reconsider donations: 1) Here is a link for an article opposed to the organization http://www.satyamag.com/feb01/rosenberger.html, 2) another article in opposition: http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/heifer-ffecp.html, and 3) a blog post: http://www.compassionatecooks.com/blog/labels/give.html.
I recommend donating to charities that help humanity without the use of animals. Today I received a catalog for an organization called the Seva Foundation (www.seva.org). You can restore the sight to a blind person for $50 or provide tools and supplies for a community garden on a Native American reservation for $35. Dr. Dean Ornish, a famous doctor and vegetarian, supports this organization. I am not familiar with Seva Foundation, but I look for things like that before sending money.
deleted_user
deleted_user
It looks like my links are not working in my previous post. My apologies - I'm not sure why. If you just do a Google search for heifer project and vegetarian, you will find some articles in opposition to the organization.
deleted_user
deleted_user
As a poor person in this country, I would love to have the money to donate to this. Helping a family feed it's children, thats a good thing.
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