Sometimes you see a headline and just have to stop and read the story. Like today, on The Verge: "Bolivia rejects 'offensive' chicken donation from Bill Gates" They reported billionaire Gates is donating 100,000 chickens to impoverished countries as part of an initiative he calls "Coop Dreams," a partnership with charity Heifer International. "The gift of 100,000 chickens is to be distributed among countries with high poverty levels: mostly nations in sub-Saharan Africa, but also including Bolivia, reports Reuters." The article quotes Gates as saying: "It’s pretty clear to me that just about anyone who’s living in extreme poverty is better off if they have chickens," wrote Gates in a blog post. "In fact, if I were in their shoes, that’s what I would do — I would raise chickens." He says that the animals are easy and inexpensive to raise, empower women ("because chickens are small and stay close to home"), and can help feed children in poor families." But hold on. According to the story, the South American nation already produces 197 million chickens annually, and has the capacity to export 36 million. A government official told reporters that Gates should "inform himself that us Bolivians have a lot of production and do not need any gifted chicks in order to live, we have dignity." I guess Gates will have to peddle his chickens somewhere else. Comments are closed.
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May 2024
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