heifer international scandal
(b) livestock gifts will do more good than harm (ie, better than the status quo). "[30], In 1986, President Ronald Reagan recognized Heifer with the Volunteer Action Award and in 1990 President George H.W. Want to stay updated on GiveWell's research? Based on the income statement for financial year 2017, Charity Navigator showed Heifer's non-program expenses (for administration, fundraising, and liabilities) as accounting for 23.8%, and program expenses for 76.2% of its total expenses. Unless HI is simply borrowing the name of an expert in the field and forging results, they have in fact been objectively studied longterm by at least one professional evaluator and emerged with flying colors. The Foodbank of Southern California.
(See here for a summary of the evidence.). Thanks for the comments, all. According to Heifer Internationals most recent 990 public tax form, they spent $22,359,441 on fundraising alone in one year. Train The Trainer Cna Instructor Course In Alabama, Positive Displacement Pump Vs Centrifugal Pump. Financially and otherwise, thank you for supporting our shared mission and helping us help others. Specifically, the reasons below provide details about these concerns. [16][21][22][23][24] Eventually Metzger guided Heifer to work in developing nations instead of war-torn regions.[16]. They show strong evidence of understanding the socio-cultural effects of providing livestock and non-biological gifts in an area, and work to balance these gifts as appropriate to the means of the personso yes chickens or goats for people who dont have room for a cow. Since people can quite easily sell livestock, we believe it has similar potential for misuse to cash. This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 22:48. Pro-meat biases mean that sustainable plant crops that actually provide better nutrition and more income are often overlooked. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Twitter, In 2018, a PETA and Sentient observer traveled to Rajasthan, India, to see how animals were cared for in areas where the Heifer International goat-gifting program [18][19][20] In 1938, West was ladling out milk to hungry refugee children and wrote later that he thought, "These children don't need a cup [of milk], they need a cow. James E.D., we may be discussing this topic more in a future post, but briefly , Hey I find UNICEF advertising a lot on websites. Many goats in the area end up at slaughterhouses. Animals do not magically produce milk and meat or just live off the land by grazing (details below). If adding animals from one animal-giving group helped fuel a cultural shift and factory farming with it, the consequences are even more dire than most critics realize. Animals eat far more than they produce. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. The result is widespread digestive ills such as stomach pain, gas, bloating, cramps, diarrhea, and even vomiting. Charitable Solicitation Disclosure Statements. For example, our top-rated charity (VillageReach) doesnt appear (based on its Form 990) to pay anyone more than $65,000/yr. Teffis high in protein, with an excellent amino acid profile, is high in fiber and calcium, (1 cup of teff provides more calcium than a cup of milk), and is a rich source of boron, copper, phosphorus, zinc, and iron. The underlying concept is to aid communities as a whole in becoming more economically viable and socially cooperative. I disagree. As of 2018, Charity Navigator scored Heifer International as a 3-star (out of four) charity with 84.71 points out of 100. Even taken at face value, we dont find the Rwanda evaluation particularly informative: we would expect that giving families large assets in the form of animals would lead to moderate improvements in food security.
The slaughterers dont stun them before killing themeven though the law requires it. Free from Harm is dedicated to helping end animal exploitation through public education and grassroots action. This girl and cow photo is from the Heifer International website. They give plants, efficient/safe/heathier stoves, bees, chickens, and rabbits (which can be kept in hutches, and fed on cheap, easily obtained, or leftover vegetable matter). 
For example, Heifer International is largely considered responsible for kick-off of industrialized dairy in Japan after World War II. 
Heifer Internationals work in Japan is widely viewed as the start of their modern factory-style dairy industry. (In most cases our assessment is based on significant back-and-forth with the charities themselves, though in some cases we are going off their website.). This seems entirely natural behaviour by organisations like Heifer as long as they believe that: 
Most mammals (including humans) become lactose intolerant after weaning. the more powerful people in a community may end up dominating (monopolizing?) The animals often face long-distance transport in a mostly unregulated slaughter trade to places where they will be butchered. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. The pictures on the organizations website make it seem as if the animals become treasured members of human families, but as a PETA and Sentient eyewitness investigation shows, this depiction can be very misleading. Ferrari became president and CEO after Jo Luck's retirement. Ensures that those most in need are given priority in receiving animals and training. At slaughterhouses and roadside butcher shops, animals stand on blood-drenched floors covered with entrails watching and waiting in fear as others are killed directly in front of them. The organization was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Heifer International Headquarters Little Rock, AR In all of my travels around the world, the important decisions were made where people sat in a circle, facing each other as equals Dan West, founder Heifer International Scientists and environmental organizations around the world urge a shift toward plant-based foods as one of the most impactful actions we can take to reduce climate destruction and improve our health.
Additionally, you express concerns about Heifers livestock model and its impact. Copyright | Free From Harm | All Rights Reserved. You can create lasting change by donating your spare change. [16] Jo Luck is a former member of Bill Clinton's Arkansas gubernatorial cabinet. Among the features of the international charitys headquarters are large, energy-efficient plate glass windows . These lessons are about more than livestock as well. [35], In 2010, Heifer International President Jo Luck was named a co-laureate of the World Food Prize with David Beckmann of Bread for the World. Given an adequate amount of land, it is easy to make more cows (start with one cow, add a bull, and soon you will have more cows/bulls). Many started to accumulate livestock and other assets, and soon could better afford medical expenses and keep their children in school longer and more consistently (particularly girls). In 2012, the foundation followed up with an additional $8.2 million.[25][26][27]. If you believe that the Western Michigan University evaluation represents good outward-facing evidence of Heifers impact, I encourage you to make it publicly available. Training and education include formal sessions as well as informal farm visits and demonstrations. Likewise, donors should focus on a charitys evidence of impact, rather than micromanaging their spending on executive pay or office supplies. Only by reviewing a complete study, which is never perfect, can one understand the methodology and its implications and limitations. From these catalogs, well-meaning donors choose which animal they would like to send as their gift-donation. Ultimately, most of their animal friends will suffer painful deaths due to disease, deprivation, or slaughter. Having mentioned doctors, perhaps I should disclose I also sponsor at least one operation a year for a cleft palate, through the Smile Train. Weve written before about the idea of cash transfers. I sent detailed comments on the evaluation back to Heifer representatives. Heifer Project International. As a result, the idea that Nike doesnt turn you into LeBron James is widely recognized. Evaluators witnessed improvements around the world. A few years ago, there were some. This not only raises the health and income of the family, and perhaps permits a child to go to school; it also teaches the children early that work is the way to a better life, and it is within their reach. If they are bought locally, then maybe the program will instead drive the market price up which will make it harder for other people to buy meat and to invest in livestock. And for ruminants and other animals thatconsume grass and insects, its important to realize that even grass and insects are a limited resource. If the world is flat, that opens up many possibilities for doing things differently. Better to look for the most impactful organizations and assume that they know more than you do about how to allocate expenses and what an appropriate salary is. Full set of blog posts on The Carter Center. Seventy percent of all Ethiopias cattle are raised pastorally in the highlands of their country, where less than 100 pounds of meat and a few gallons of milk are produced per acre of land used. WebHeifer International sells goats and other animals online as gifts to marginalized communities. 
Webb'SUMMER 2022The Heifer International MagazineThe Spark of Change08The Powerful Link Between Farmers and a Better Future //16Theres Room for Everyone: Heifers Ranch Manager on Women in Farming// 20No More Praying for RainPLUSBuilding Community, Building Success HEIFER.ORG' 
Fistula and cleft palate charities are far more effective when the just hire local doctors. 
Plus chickens, rabbets, etc. As Bill suggested double checking information is a very good idea. U.S. only. It seems particularly hard to find information about the past impact of gifts of livestock programs (such as those promoted by Heifer International). Heifer International performs the day-to-day work of implementing projects and programs by providing appropriate livestock, training and related services to small-scale farmers and communities worldwide. Heifer International fundraises to provide the annual budget which provides for the immediate needs of the organization and mission. Twitter, Heifer International boasts that their projects produced 3.6 million gallons of milk in one year in Uganda, and developed a national dairy program in Tanzania. Or gifts of methane-derivative stoves (plus training) along with methane reclamation facilities (plus training). As Holden points out, the full text of the University of Michigan evaluation is not public; Holden was able to read the Africa section, but only after a signing a nondisclosure agreement with Heifer International regarding its contents. 
There was an implication of prostitution in a cash transfer not present with livestock. Paying a lot for a great leader even a third of your budget could be justified if it results in efficient programs or effective fundraising. A follow-up study using a randomized control trial design with long-term tracking would enrich our understanding of how animal donations affect dietary diversity, child and adult nutritional outcomes, and longer-term development results in developing countries, as well as the pathways through which such impacts are realized. As explained in the earlier section, any donation can be used where needed most. This includes Heifer Internationals massive fundraising budget. Consuming milk from other animals is also associated with allergies, asthma, and a host of autoimmune disorders. In the early 1970s, Heifer consolidated its U.S. distribution network by buying several large farms, including a 1,200-acre ranch in Perryville, Arkansas, as livestock holding facilities. However, there is a crucial piece of information missing: how it allocates its budget between programs (in particular, how much it spends on its stronger and better-documented vs. more questionable programs). These vets were uniformly enthusiastic about Heifer Intl., and about the projects. I feel that raising questions like the ones we raise above is more productive. A previous joint investigation by PETA and Sentient in Rajasthan, Indiawhere live-animal donations are made to marginalized communities through Heifer Internationalrevealed that goats are held in severely crowded pens or tied up so tightly that they could barely move. Instead of using their food, water, topsoil, and massive amounts of land and energy to raise livestock, Ethiopia, for instance, could grow teff, an ancient and quite nutritious grain grown in that country for the past 20,000 to 30,000 years. My sister works as a doctor at a clinic in Kenya. About Birds and Beavers: Return of Native Species Signals Ecological Resilience at Heifer Ranch. The same reasoning applies to Heifers activities. HI not only received extremely strong evaluation reviews from Western Michigan Universitys Evaluation Center, Michael Scriven (a leading researcher in evaluating social programs) who wrote the evaluation says that [t]hese evaluations have helped develop a toolkit we will use to help build evaluation capacity in the field so that we can continue to monitor and measure Heifers contribution to impact, and to demonstrate to volunteers, staff and donors the value of the work. (I havent been able to find a copy of his 2009 monograph on their five year study of HI, The External Evaluation of Heifer Internationals Efforts in twenty countries, A Five Year overview, but I would be surprised if the results werent somehow incorporated in his 2009 book Evaluating Social Programs and Problems. Thanks to a group of donors, every dollar you give right now will be matched by two more to help three times as many families. The key question we have is whether animal donations compare favorably with other forms of asset transfers in terms of cost-effectiveness, and the Rwanda evaluation is generally silent on that question (though it notes that Given that animal donations are expensive Heifer (personal communication) reports that the average full cost of a pregnant cow, delivered to the Rwandan beneficiary households we study, is roughly $3000 solid evidence of impact is arguably long overdue.). Would you expect a doctor to recommend a cancer drug based on reading an abstract? Rather than focusing on executive pay, which is more likely to create self-righteousness than anything else, it is more productive to focus on impact and cost-effectiveness. I understand that they make a good ad campaign, possibly because they draw peoples attention to the possibility of using a one-time gift to permanently escape from poverty (even though a cash gift can just as easily lead to a story like this, and could also lead to a lot of other positive stories that we simply havent considered). Such resources can be in critically short supply in places such as Africa (a major recipient of animal-giving charities). Two key points: Giving out livestock brings the same problems and challenges as giving out cash. Animal Law 101: What Is Necessary Animal 12 Reasons You May Never Want To Eat Turkeys Again, 10 Facts About Koch Foods and Joseph Grendys. These hunger relief projects provide both immediate assistance and long-term community solutions that feed families without harming animals. Its a scary thought, but it seems possible to me that these programs exist entirely because of how they can be marketed to donors, instead of for any reasons relating to maximizing good accomplished. These cookies do not store any personal information. Ive been looking into Heifer International, and as of Oct 2012 I can comment on the concerns raised above as follows: 1.) Given the extremely high transport costs in Africa generally, Im guessing that the effect is to raise prices in one region (perhaps in cities) and to lower them elsewhere. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons, written before about the idea of cash transfers. Having another mouth to feed can significantly add to a familys burden, and the animals frequently suffer from neglect, malnutrition, dehydration, lack of veterinary care, and lack of shelter from temperature extremes. Ian, While dairy is a source of calories, the resources used to produce it may be better spent on alternatives that provide a higher quality and quantity of calories, protein and calcium. $18.52. (Similar problems as in the above bullet point could arise if they dont. Seagoing cowboys volunteered to accompany the animals to their overseas destinations. Heifer does this by providing appropriate livestock, training and related services to small Although both these claims are contestable, I think they could well have some instinctive appeal for some donor organisations. The volunteer vets, like foreign doctors performing surgery on cleft palates, may also be able to pass on knowledge of medicine, treatments, techniques and tools that are more up-to-date than the locals have access to. Heifer International is a great place to work because the people are passionate about the mission of ending hunger and poverty in a sustainable way. Yet, organizations such as Heifer International promote inherently water-intensive animal farming, even in areas identified as water-scarce. Vegetarians and vegans beware: bee and tree gift-donations can support any animal program, fundraising, or overhead. Im impressed by the intelligent, respectful and thoughtful conversation found here. The objections raised to involvement of foreign vets/doctors or to a direct donation of livestock, plants or stoves do not seem valid to me.