HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
> Ann Macrae's comments Re: Chickens to Afghanistan > > Dear friends, > > My friend Ann Macrae wrote this follow-up letter to Darrell Jackson of > Heifer International re. their plan to send baby chicks to Afghanistan. In > it, I think she makes some great points about much better ways to help > people over there. > > Peacefully yours, > Nancy Hey > > From: "Ann Macrae" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Darrell Jackson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > CC: "Nancy A. Hey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Anna" [EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Chickens to Afghanistan > Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 22:12:40 +1200 > > Dear Darrell > > Thank you for your courteous reply to my original email supporting Nancy A > Hey's objections to posting live chickens to Afghanistan. I forwarded it to > Ms Hey and no doubt by now you have received her response. To her comments > may I add the following: > > Yesterday the local newspaper (Manawatu Evening Standard, 16 Mar 2001) > reported the World Health Organisation says influenza in north-east > Afghanistan has so far killed 60 children. As well, a scurvy outbreak in 15 > villages in central Afghanistan has so far killed 40 people. This suggests > Afghan people are literally dying from lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, > especially food with high Vitamin C content. > > The war-caused chaos in Afghanistan mean we can be sure these deaths from > dietary deficiency are if anything under-reported. > > It's still winter in Afghanistan, especially in mountain villages. > Snow-covered land is unsuited for even mature poultry to free-range for > insects etc, let alone orphaned chickens a few days old. They therefore > would be competing with humans for scarce end-of-winter grain supplies. > Clearly the chicks will miss out. Clearly also (even from a non-vegetarian > viewpoint) hungry humans won't get much nutriment from days-old baby chicks. > > Instead of mailing baby chickens to Afghanistan, why not mail sproutable > beans with sprouting kits? Advantages over chickens: > - they have high Vitamin C content to eradicate scurvy and improve > resistence to influenza > - they don't deprive humans of food resources > - they are a cheaper winter food for poor people to cultivate, requiring > only water which at a pinch can be made from heated snow > - they are more quickly harvested all year than poultry foods > - they are acceptable to all religions and cultures > - mailing bean sprout kits would cause no controversy among animal > welfare supporters and bring no bad publicity to Heifer International. > > Thank you for giving this suggestion your consideration. > > Sincerely > > Ann Macrae > - > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Darrell Jackson > To: Ann Macrae > Sent: Saturday, March 09, 2002 4:40 AM > Subject: Re: Chickens to Afghanistan > > Dear Ann, > > Thank you for expressing your views regarding oxygen.com's > invitation to send chicks to Afghanistan through Heifer International. > > Heifer uses appropriate technologies and livestock that feed > on resources that are not available for consumption by humans. > Training in the care and appropriate use of the animals, as well as > helping to develop community organizations that support those values, are a > fundamental part of our work. > > We do resource analyses before we start any project. We monitor the > projects to make sure they are successful and follow Heifer's model > for sustainability, and always keep preserving the environment and > renewing resources high on of the list of priorities. We say we're trying to > "end world hunger, save the earth," and we mean it. > > Seeds for planting, irrigation projects, digging water wells (or > ensuring safe water for drinking and irrigation), providing fruit and nut > trees, providing vegetable plots and/or training people to grow vegetables - > these are all key components of our projects. This maximizes the scarce > resources of farmers subsisting on tiny plots of land. > > We share your concern for animal welfare, animal health and animal > rights and have many vegetarian employees and supporters. But when people > are living hand-to-mouth and livestock development will give them a future, > we answer their urgent requests for help whenever possible. This stops the > practices of destroying forests and ruining the land, and lowers the rates > of starvation and death due to easily preventable diseases. > > Warm Regards, > > Darrell Jackson > Heifer International > Online Donor Services > > At 03:57 PM 3/8/02 +1300, you wrote: > > Ms Sarah Chaikin > Communications Oxygen Media; & > Ms Jo Luck > Heifer International > > Dear Ms Chaikin & Ms Luck > > I wish to support Ms Nancy Hey's email of 6 Mar to you re sending > baby chickens to Afghanistan. As Ms Hey points out, this isn't a humane or > efficient way of helping people in desperate need. > > Sincerely > > Ann Macrae > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Jeff & Anna Fuller > To: Ann Macrae > Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 1:39 PM > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Maynard S. Clark > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 5:01 AM > com> wrote: > Subject: Letter to Oxygen Media and Heifer International re. the > sending of baby chicks t > Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 17:46:08 -0500 > > Letter to Oxygen Media and Heifer International re. the sending of > baby chicks to Afghanistan > > >From : "Nancy A. Hey" > To : [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject : Sending baby chicks to Afghanistan > Date : Wed, 06 Mar 2002 17:38:00 -0500 > > From: > > Nancy Hey > Bethesda, MD > > Date: March 6th, 2002 > > To: > > Oxygen Media: > Ms. Sarah Chaikin, Communications > Oxygen Media > 75 9th Avenue, 7th Floor > New York, NY 10011 > 212-651-5093 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Feedback to: http://www.oxygen.com/basics/about/contact_us.html > Feedback to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Heifer International > Ms. Jo Luck, President > Heifer International > PO Box 8058 > Little Rock, AR 7! 2203 > 1-800-422-0474 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Website: heifer.org > > Dear Ms. Sarah Chaikin, and Ms. Jo Luck: > > At this time when the United States Government is causing immense > suffering to people and other living beings in Afghanistan with terrible > weapons like "daisy cutter" and concussion bombs, I found it shocking to > learn of the joint project between Oxygen Media and Heifer International to > get people to donate money to send live baby chicks to Afghanistan. This is > not the way to help starving and suffering people in Afghanistan, and will > only cause these poor defenseless birds to suffer needlessly as well. > > Firstly, I would like to know why it is that Oprah Winfrey is > seemingly championing the cause of alleviating hunger in Afghanistan at this > time, when I've never heard her say a word in opposition to the US bombing > campaign over there, which has killed up to 3,500 Afghan civilians, and has > seriously disrupted the delivery of food aid to the people there. It seems > to me that if she were really concerned about the suffering of people there, > she would be willing to take a stand against this blatant imperialist > aggression by the United States Government. > > The suffering of innocent civilians and animals in Afghanistan by > war and famine should not be compounded by the suffering that will be > caused to the baby chicks that you propose to send over there. I believe > these chicks will indeed suffer, for the following reasons: > > Baby chicks and other young animals are shipped overseas as > airmail or cargo. In addition to the long hours or days of flight, these > animals may be in planes at various terminals for hours without food or > water. Countless animals arrive sick and dead. What will the impoverished > Afghans do with all the sick and dead animals? Northwest Airlines reports > that up to 30% of chicks arrive dead in domestic flights. What about > international flights? The only reason chicks "are easy to tr! ansport" is > that they are small, inhumanely packed in boxes, airmailed at the cheapest > rate, and shipped in huge numbers. > > You state that "poultry will help because the birds are so > adaptable to the environment, supply an excellent source of nutrition > through their eggs" "nutrition through their eggs" means battery caged hen > operations. This is one of the U.S.'s primary global exports to poor > countries, however, it is also one of the most inhumane, because it entails > crowding chickens in tiny, dirty cages, where they don't even have enough > room to turn around, peck at each other because of the stress of their > confinement, and usually have to stand in their own excrement. > > Since Afghanistan is currently in the middle of a multi-year > drought and famine, Afghans don't have enough food and water for themselves, > let alone animals to care for. Animals who are already in Afghanistan are > sick and dying for lack of veterinary care and treatment. There is a > desperate need for more veterinary services, not more animals to tend and > feed. > > I believe that your project is compounding the suffering in > Afghanistan by adding animal misery and abuse to the suffering caused by > U.S. bombs, landmines, and famine. > > Rather, I would suggest that people who truly want to help the > people of Afghanistan should do the following: > > 1. Support famine relief organizations that provide direct aid, > such as providing rice, oil, and peas for immediate consumption. > > 2. Support anti-war organizations that work to oppose the US > bombing of Afghanistan, and to expose the devastating effects of the > Pentagon's weapons of mass destruction, such as "daisy cutter" and > concussion bombs on civilians and the environment. > > I ask you to please consider cancelling your baby chick project, > and supporting these alternatives instead. > > Sincerely, > Nancy Hey > > --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
