What do you think of the dying children "argument"?

Question

Veggers, don't you love omnis who ask what we've done to save the starving children of the world? As if being compassionate towards animals makes us anti-people, or being pro-black means you're anti-white. I'm just wondering what any of those who've posed this question have done to alleviate suffering, human or animal, that entitles them to ask it.

Answer 1

I dont feel sad for the starving children of the world. If the kids would get off their lazy asses and get a job then they wouldnt be starving now would they

Answer 2

what i find offensive about that argument is that it assumes that vegetarians and vegans ONLY care about animals and not about people.  from what i have found veg*ns tend to be very compassionate in all areas of their lives.....for example:

i am studying nursing because i want to reduce suffering

others on this forum are medical students for the same reason

most veg websites/stores stock mostly fair trade items

even aside from those things, many veg*ns spend plenty of time and money on volunteer organizations that help fellow human beings.  i personally support the special olympics, CASA (court appointed special advocates), as well as several other organizations.  it may not be "starving children", but i think i'm certainly doing my part.

when someone uses this argument on me i lose a lot of respect for them.....it is an offensive generalization that is no better than any other stereotype.  i love how people can be so quick to make generalizations about vegetarians and vegans, but if we make a sweeping statement about meat eaters we get instantly told that we are militant and preachy.  ugh.

EDIT:  Londonner23....you don't see us talking about people in our posts because this forum is about our DIET.  many of the users of this forum frequent other areas of the site as well to discuss "people issues", and others like myself use this site solely to talk about vegetarianism and talk about other matters in real life.  i only use y!a to talk about vegetarianism because no one in real life is going to call me a freak for talking about my philanthropic interests, but many have judged me for my diet.  silly, isn't it?

Answer 3

I myself haven't posed the question but have both suffered through the "starving children in third world countries argument" as well as the "vegetables have feelings too".

I wonder if the people who have said the latter to me stepped back and realised just how idiotic they made themselves look. As if that comment draws any light on my "incriminating" actions towards vegetables, coming from a hypocrytical double "murderer" of meat AND plants!

I think if i roll my eyes one time they will simply fall out of my head.

And for the record i am sponsering a child and her name is Nadedge. I always particiapte in charity fundraisers and went the whole no food, furniture or comfort shebang for the forty hour famine and managed to raise over 200 dollars in the process. So THERE! lol

Answer 4

It's very similar to argue that rape victims should stop whining when people are getting murdered all over the world.

No one has the balls to use such an argument.

Answer 5

is animal suffering even an issue? how many insects have veggers destroyed in order to harvest their food? these insects and bugs are part of the ecosystem and eventually feed the animals you seek to save, but if you are eating their food supply, you are causing them harm.

Answer 6

I have no clue.

Answer 7

I think it's a way for people to diminish the importance of being veg and helping animals. In the words of Peter Singer:  "When nonvegetarians say that 'human problems come first,' I cannot help wondering what exactly it is that they are doing for human beings that compels them to continue to support the wasteful, ruthless exploitation of farmed animals."

When people ask about the starving children, you can point out the connection between meat consumption and world hunger: http://www.goveg.com/worldhunger.asp

Answer 8

maybe if you take a moment and stop talking about animals and start talking about people for a change, nobody would bring it up. one of you said you also have compassion for animals so the vegan or vegetarian agenda should be about both. but none of you talk about peole just animals. so people point out what is missing. put your money where your mouth is. it i is not a false assumption given the fact that it is never on your agenda or any of your posts.

as for my own personal contribution I will use the vegetarian mantra: I don't hurt people so I don't contribute to the suffereing of humans and I probably save 100 people a year from being hurt or abused or murdered.

Answer 9

Any easy answer to that ridiculous "argument" is that if we quit cycling the worlds food supply through livestock, which yields severely diminished returns, there would be plenty of food for the dying children.

Answer 10

There are hundered of thousands of organizations and millions of people working for human rights causes and other human based causes and just a few thousand organizations working on the behalf for animals, and even far less working on behalf of farm animals.  Look at all the celebrities, they all are working to save poverty stricken children and vaccinate them. Whatever...I believe that more need to be done to help the animals because billions of dollars are being funneled into Africa and other countries to help the "starving" children, yet they are still all starving...where is the money going??? You know how far a dollar goes in 3rd world countries??? They should be very well off by now if all the money donated to causes like that were doing what they are supposed to be doing, that is trying to make thier own country a 3rd world buy giving all their money to other countryies to try and change the world.  

I am all about the animals, s***w the stupid people, they have made it a long time like this and it wasnt till we showed them how they "should" be living that they turn compassion into greed.  People as a species will prevail, no matter what is given to them.  China officals state that whales are the "cockroaches of the world"  well....I think that humans are.  Yes I guess you caould say I am racist to my own species. Sometimes I am ashamed to be human.  

ramble ramble ramble....I could go on forever. But you asked a really great question.

Just my 7 cents.

Answer 11

Heheh, I'm "omni", as in "omnipotent".

Answer 12

Yeah, the people who ask this are deep thinkers, for sure.  ;)  You can always tell them that Africa (and other parts of the world, including the American West) would not have such problems with desertification had they not overgrazed the lands with animals.  That is a definite cause of millions starving.

You can tell them that 80% of the grain grown in the U.S. goes to feed livestock.  If we weren't so glutenous and keeping our meat and dairy animals fat, we could feed the world with what we grow.

Billions of our tax dollars go to subsidize the meat and dairy industry.  Without the government keep them afloat, we could use that money to feed the world.

You can always ask them, What are YOU doing to help starving children?

Answer 13

If you understand this simple formula that 10kg grains fed to produce 1kg of beef, you would understand the "Law of Large Numbers".

The world today was far determined by ancient thinkers & philosophers. Archaeology tells us that the ancestors came from the east bringing with them the seeds of our present day civilisation, and as we acquired knowledge it spread and grew and many great philosophers spoke out in behalf of an emerging world shattering concept that we will now call Vegetarian Ethics.

Reaching back to around 2,500 years Pythagoras, later vegetarians like Seneca, and a multitude of other wisely Pythagoruscompassionate humans advocated that the change to a compassionate vegetarian existence is the ideal way of life, one that would lead to the well being of a harmonious and reasoning human race in the FUTURE. But it was later became unpopular among later generations and religions.. root cause of all evils, as you see today.

VEGETARIANIS WORKS TOWARDS THE ROOT

... directly and indirectly.