(This blog post was originally published in December of 2010.)
Buying charitable gifts for people is a great way to celebrate the true spirit of the holidays, but not all charitable gifts are equal.
Over the last few years, we’ve been hearing a lot about animal donation programs such as those offered by Oxfam in Heifer International. Last year, we published a blog post about this issue: Goat for Gold, not a good idea.
Kamlabai Gudhe with her high-eating, low yielding cow that cost Rs. 17,500 of which she paid Rs. 5,500. (Picture by P Sainath).
Since the holidays are upon us again, I wanted to post a quick update–an account of these programs from the perspective of the people who “benefit” from them. From Kamlabai Gudhe, a farmer who lives in Lonsawala, Wardha:
“I said we don’t want this. We have never kept cattle and don’t know how to. Give one of us a job, any work. Instead, my son is full time in service of this cow. Were he not tied down by it, he would earn Rs.50 a day [i.e., about $1] as a labourer. This brute eats more than all us in this house put together. And we don’t get more than four litres of milk in a day from it.”
Read more at There’s No Such Thing as a Free Cow.
Remember, there are plenty of charities that feed the hungry without hurting animals. For example:
- Food for Life
- The Fruit Tree Planting Project
- Vegfam
- Animal Aid (Don’t Send a Goat, Plant a Tree)