When Was the Last Time You Gave Someone a Water Buffalo?

I ended this year's Head Butler Holiday Gift Guide with four charities I admire.

One was the Heifer Fund, which takes donations and buys farm animals for the rural poor around the world. And to get attention to the eccentricity of the holiday guide, I put "When was the last time you gave anyone a water buffalo?" in the subject line of my newsletter.

A few hours later, one of my readers wrote to say that wasn't a rhetorical question.

His brother --- Robert Thompson, an American violinist living near the Chinese-Tibetan border --- had done just this.

The story: Robert had read a blog post by Philip Greenspun, arguing that the gift of a water buffalo through a charity just might be "the worst Christmas present ever." Why? Because you don't really buy a buffalo -- your donation goes into a common fund.

Robert Thompson decided to see what would happen if you actually gave a water buffalo to a farmer who desperately needed help in his fields.

Greenspun offered some money. And, on January 6, 2007, Thompson made an eight-minute film of the purchase and presentation.

The farmer is so poor. His family is so sad. As for the gift, there's a lot I could say about individual magnificence and the power of direct, local action --- but this film doesn't need any editorial support.

Just watch.

And then, if you're like me, share it with everyone you know.

Comments

[Vegswimr]

Heifer International's catalog deceptively portrays animals in seemingly humane circumstances, when in fact, most animals used for food production in developing countries live in deplorable conditions with little sustenance, often adding suffering and poverty rather than reducing it. The last thing these folks need is another mouth to feed!

Unfortunately, the previously animal-friendly hunger-relief charity Oxfam International now has also decided that there is money to be made by following in the footsteps of HI. Oxfam is manipulating people's compassion and generosity by sending them gift catalogs depicting cute chickens, cows, and goats who can be "donated" to impoverished people.

It makes much more sense to supply the hungry with healthy vegetarian foods. Meat consumption not only causes animals to suffer, but also is linked to world hunger. According to the Population Reference Bureau, “if everyone in the world adopted a vegetarian diet and no food were wasted, current [food] production would theoretically feed 10 billion people, more than the projected population for the year 2050.”

Animal farms use mountains of grain. Nearly 40 percent of the world’s total and more than 70 percent of U.S. production is fed to livestock, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. If all that grain were consumed directly by humans, it would nourish more than five times the current U.S. population. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by 10 percent, it would save 12 million tons of grain per year, which would be sufficient to feed all people who die of hunger-related diseases worldwide.

These uncharitable organizations force animals (often who are not native to the country and die anyway) into lives of degradation and animals upon poor people who are already scraping to provide food for their families.

[darker]

That's right. Never mind that energy-sucking water cooler you were planning to give. Giving a water buffalo is the green thing to do. Common sense rules!

[4smartpeas]

I was very touched by the video you link to. However, I was dismayed by your implication that Heifer International is not a trustworthy organization. Heifer International provides help to many around the world in a way that lifts them out of poverty.
Heifer International meets 20 out of 20 standards set by give.org and is highlighted in Bill Clinton's new book on giving.
Heifer International is a great way to help those in need.

http://www.heifer.org/
http://www.give.org/