Guest guest Posted November 26, 2002 Report Share Posted November 26, 2002 OK, I know that I am going to get spammed for this but... I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic a few years ago. I lived in a VERY rural, remote area without roads, electricity, running water (i.e., plumbing) and all the other wonderful things people associate with extreme poverty. Included in this poverty was a lack of education, my good neighbor argued with me about man walking on the moon and that the earth really was flat... Part of this education was the reality of what poverty means for a human body. They ate mainly rice with a few beans, not enough for a balance protien, lots of plantains and fruit from the trees in the forest that they lived in. I ate it too and quickly grew tired of all the avocados during the peak season... Most folks had parasites and knew that they had them... they did nothing for them. They would only get them again and all the talking in the world would not convince anyone to put bleach, which they used with glee when washing clothes in the river, into their drinking water. Parasites also came from walking barefoot in the mud, but for anyone who has tried to walk in flip flops in clay mud up hill, you'll understand why they didn't bother. Malnutrition causes the belly to bloat, the hair to turn yellow, babies to miscarry... The leading cause of death of small children is diareaha caused by parasites. My two neighbor kids both nearly died of that while I was there... not much anyone could do... Meat, well, it was a rarity. Chicken was the favorite as it was the least likely to go bad before it was all sold or eaten. Big animals, like cows and pigs, were not only harder to keep up in the mountains, but they went bad faster as there was much more of them in one animal and no refridgeration. A single chicken would feed 4-5 families of 8... it was not used as a protien source, it was used as a rare treat and as flavoring for the increadibly mind numbing repetitiveness of beans. The animals they did raise, they usually sold, except for the chickens, which they either ate or used for eggs. The money would go to helping them buy the rice and oil and kerosene and the bleach and shoes and the rare doctor visit. Yes, they could sell fruit gathered in the forest, and they did. They lived in a chocolate forest and sold the fruit of this in town. It doesnt' go bad and brings a decent price and is easy to ship out of the hills on a mule. Avacadoes and oranges and other stuff... well, if it is 120 degrees outside, the fruit mashes easily... how much do you think makes it to market? Cows and pigs, however, are a bit easier. You can raise one on a hillside next to your house pretty easily feeding it the leftovers from the field and grass that they chopped with machetes down in the lowlands. When the animal was big enough, it walked out of the hills on its own and made it to market healthy and ready to sell. They could make MONEY. Not to buy a new DVD player with or the latest tennis shoes... they used that money to LIVE. One day, my wonderful neighbors, who lived a whole 4 feet away from me in a little shack, they came over and asked me if I was interested in eating fresh coconuts. I LOVE coconuts, fresh and green off the tree... and they knew it was my favorite food in the world. So, I said yes. I had just eaten my lunch of pasta, they probably knew that too, but I love coconuts. So, we were sitting there by our houses, eating the coconuts the Lucio had opened with his machette, when it dawned on me... these were a treat for me, but they were all my dear friends had to eat at all for lunch. So, while I respect your ethics and your desire to live by what you believe while trying to do something good buy helping to provide animals to people who do truely need them... But please understand that for many people in this world, to kill or not kill an animal to eat simply is not an option. The option is to live or not to live, or to watch your child die, or be mentally handicapped from malnutrition or lack of medicine... Please give, but please let them make the decision on how to use your generous gift. Sorry if I am on a rant, but these folks that are so poor are more than numbers on TV in some distant land, they were and always will be my neighbors, people I love and cherish and consider my family.... Genie Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 26, 2002 Report Share Posted November 26, 2002 Genie, What a wonderful and insightful story. Two thumbs up for you and your compassion to be able to see this and your strength to convey it. I agree completely with you. If one is a vegetarian for compassion reasons, then how can you jusify and nation starving to death when meat is there only option. I think one who has the wise heart has the abitlity and knowledge to be able to find the middle way as well as the time to know when to stand by an ethic. Its enteresting when you said.. <<But please understand that for many people in this world, to kill or not kill an animal to eat simply is not an option. The option is to live or not to live, or to watch your child die, or be mentally handicapped from malnutrition or lack of medicine... Please give, but please let them make the decision on how to use your generous gift.>> because one of the quotes on the information I got from Heifer was from a man that lives in a tribe that received water buffalo and he said " If I die, my family will be sad and mourn my death. If my buffalo dies...my family will starve. " The more I read about this Heifer project the more impressed I am with their ethics and work. Really interesting. Very profound, With kindness, Beth genie bottle <geniesflower wrote: OK, I know that I am going to get spammed for this but... I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic a few years ago. I lived in a VERY rural, remote area without roads, electricity, running water (i.e., plumbing) and all the other wonderful things people associate with extreme poverty. Included in this poverty was a lack of education, my good neighbor argued with me about man walking on the moon and that the earth really was flat... Part of this education was the reality of what poverty means for a human body. They ate mainly rice with a few beans, not enough for a balance protien, lots of plantains and fruit from the trees in the forest that they lived in. I ate it too and quickly grew tired of all the avocados during the peak season... Most folks had parasites and knew that they had them... they did nothing for them. They would only get them again and all the talking in the world would not convince anyone to put bleach, which they used with glee when washing clothes in the river, into their drinking water. Parasites also came from walking barefoot in the mud, but for anyone who has tried to walk in flip flops in clay mud up hill, you'll understand why they didn't bother. Malnutrition causes the belly to bloat, the hair to turn yellow, babies to miscarry... The leading cause of death of small children is diareaha caused by parasites. My two neighbor kids both nearly died of that while I was there... not much anyone could do... Meat, well, it was a rarity. Chicken was the favorite as it was the least likely to go bad before it was all sold or eaten. Big animals, like cows and pigs, were not only harder to keep up in the mountains, but they went bad faster as there was much more of them in one animal and no refridgeration. A single chicken would feed 4-5 families of 8... it was not used as a protien source, it was used as a rare treat and as flavoring for the increadibly mind numbing repetitiveness of beans. The animals they did raise, they usually sold, except for the chickens, which they either ate or used for eggs. The money would go to helping them buy the rice and oil and kerosene and the bleach and shoes and the rare doctor visit. Yes, they could sell fruit gathered in the forest, and they did. They lived in a chocolate forest and sold the fruit of this in town. It doesnt' go bad and brings a decent price and is easy to ship out of the hills on a mule. Avacadoes and oranges and other stuff... well, if it is 120 degrees outside, the fruit mashes easily... how much do you think makes it to market? Cows and pigs, however, are a bit easier. You can raise one on a hillside next to your house pretty easily feeding it the leftovers from the field and grass that they chopped with machetes down in the lowlands. When the animal was big enough, it walked out of the hills on its own and made it to market healthy and ready to sell. They could make MONEY. Not to buy a new DVD player with or the latest tennis shoes... they used that money to LIVE. One day, my wonderful neighbors, who lived a whole 4 feet away from me in a little shack, they came over and asked me if I was interested in eating fresh coconuts. I LOVE coconuts, fresh and green off the tree... and they knew it was my favorite food in the world. So, I said yes. I had just eaten my lunch of pasta, they probably knew that too, but I love coconuts. So, we were sitting there by our houses, eating the coconuts the Lucio had opened with his machette, when it dawned on me... these were a treat for me, but they were all my dear friends had to eat at all for lunch. So, while I respect your ethics and your desire to live by what you believe while trying to do something good buy helping to provide animals to people who do truely need them... But please understand that for many people in this world, to kill or not kill an animal to eat simply is not an option. The option is to live or not to live, or to watch your child die, or be mentally handicapped from malnutrition or lack of medicine... Please give, but please let them make the decision on how to use your generous gift. Sorry if I am on a rant, but these folks that are so poor are more than numbers on TV in some distant land, they were and always will be my neighbors, people I love and cherish and consider my family.... Genie Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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