Humane Giving: Why Christians Should Reconsider Supporting Heifer Project International

and a List of Cruelty-free Alternatives

Heifer Project International (HPI) is a charity popular with many churches, especially around Christmas because it offers a feel-good opportunity for well-intentioned people to give unique holidays gifts that they assume will bring hope and good fortune to those in developing countries. HPI, while not a religious organization per se, heavily markets to Christians resulting in annual revenues of $108 million. They and other groups with similar missions, such as Send a Cow and Christian Aid (the latter are indeed Christian organizations), send farm animals to third world countries with donations collected from Sunday schools and other fundraisers. Indigenous peoples consume the animals’ meat and milk, and use their skins, wool and manure. Each family given an animal, often pregnant when “awarded”, is supposed to share the baby when born with another family in the village thus continuing the cycle of “giving”.

What HPI doesn’t reveal is that they can’t guarantee adequate veterinary care, or that the families receiving the animals get adequate education in how to care for them. We should not alleviate the suffering of one group of God’s beloved creations by inflicting harm on another group. Shipping young animals to fates unknown in foreign lands with dollars collected from a house of worship should never be part of the answer. This is a slave trade, pure and simple. And it’s being done in Christ’s name. How he must weep…

On the whole, promotion of plant-based diets worldwide is the goal for which to aim. The grain and vegetables that feed farm animals are far more nutritious, cost-effective and environmentally responsible when fed directly to humans. Changing from the current system where livestock provides livelihoods in poor countries with few other options will require an international effort of bright minds focused on creative solutions that address unique cultures, climates and creatures. The complex economic, social, health and environmental issues involved will challenge policy makers for some time to come and will require true vision from world leaders. However, Christians cannot in good conscience contribute to a system that is slowly killing our planet and our brothers and sisters around the globe.

Alternatives to HPI abound. Every church that currently supports Heifer Project International and similar charities in any way is encouraged to review the list below and prayerfully reconsider their involvement with them in favor of a more humane recipient of their congregation’s mission/outreach contribution.

This article cogently summarizes the various arguments concerning HPI with references supplied as does a podcast from Compassionate Cooks entitled “Don’t Buy a Cow” (this has a long intro so stick with it)

Cruelty-Free Alternatives to Heifer Project International:

The American Fondouk is a project of the Massachusetts SPCA. The Fondouk, located in Fez, Morocco is a full-service veterinary hospital that provides care for the draft and pack animals upon whose livelihood the people of North Africa depend. These hard working “beasts of burden” include donkeys and mules, like the one that carried Christ into Jerusalem.

Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land is a sanctuary in Israel, run by a former British Airways flight attendant, that rescues donkeys, who, sadly, are often horribly beaten and mercilessly abused. They deserve so much better.

Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary is a no-kill cat shelter set among ancient ruins right in the middle of busy Rome. In the historic place where St. Paul was once imprisoned and where the Vatican is located, home of cat-loving Pope Benedict, people still abandon animals with disregard even though, on the books, Italy has progressive animal rights laws. A frustrating situation indeed for the small team of devoted volunteers who conducts a responsible program of neutering, feeding and providing veterinary care for about 250 cats on the generosity of donations, while allowing the felines the dignity of living out their lives unfettered.

Lifewater International is a Christian development organization working to provide safe water, sanitation and hygiene education to communities around the world through training and partnerships with local organizations.

Solar Light for Africa is a Christian organization founded by a retired Episcopal bishop whose mission is to transform lives and empower the people of East Africa by providing light and energy using the natural power of the sun. Their goal is to educate the public on the advantages of renewable energy for the benefit of impoverished communities throughout the world.

Food for Life Global is the largest vegetarian/vegan disaster food relief organization in the world.

VegFam is a UK-based charity which helps people by providing funds for self-supporting, sustainable food projects and the provision of safe drinking water. They fund ethically sound plant-food projects, which do not exploit animals or the environment: seeds and tools for vegetable growing, fruit and nut tree planting, irrigation and water wells. Also, they perform emergency feeding in times of crisis.

Fruit Tree Planting Foundation is a nonprofit charity dedicated to planting edible, fruitful trees and plants to benefit the environment and all its inhabitants by planting a collective total of 18 billion fruit trees across the world (approximately 3 for every person alive) and encouraging their growth under organic standards. FTPF provides support, resources, and guidance for those interested in planting fruit trees and spearheads a variety of planting programs. These programs are aimed at enriching the environment, providing nutritious food sources for wild and rescued animals, and improving human health by bringing delicious, fresh, locally grown raw fruits and vegetables of the highest quality into the lives of all people.

Organization for the Rehabilitation of the Environment has developed and operated fruit tree grafting and crop improvement programs in rural southern Haiti since 1985, an area dependent on agriculture for its livelihood. ORE is a small grassroots organization established to protect the environment increase local farmers' income, increase nutrition, and provide agricultural education to farmers.

Plenty International is an international development agency that grew out of the intentional community called The Farm, formed in the 1970s in Tennessee. Plenty’s projects include Gulf coast recovery in Louisiana and Mississippi; summer camps for urban youth in Tennessee; food security programs for native Americans South Dakota and in Central America; Organic school gardens, environmental education, renewable energy, and micro lending in rural villages in Belize; and poverty and sanitation projects in India and Liberia.

Housed in a former fire station, The Women’s Bean Project strives to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty and helps women discover their talents and develop skills by offering job readiness training opportunities. Their products include soups, chili, baking mixes, salsa mixes, spice rubs, jelly beans, gift baskets, and much more.

Feed My Starving Children is a Christian organization whose goal is to provide nutritious meals to hungry children around the globe. The food mixture packets they produce, which reconstitute with only boiling water, consist of rice, extruded soy nuggets, vegetarian chicken flavoring, dehydrated vegetables, vitamins and minerals. A single bag of food—which provides meals for six children—costs around $1 to produce, and 94 percent of all donations to FMSC goes directly toward the food program.

"Jesus and Lamb" artist: Katherine Brown