# Food for a Starving World **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 1999, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552 "1999-12-13T19:23:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 1999, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/21 "1999-12-15T20:49:00Z")
Saki, after having just read your profile, I’m not sure that I wasn’t just talking into thin air in my above reply. How sad that you think stating your interests as “whaling and seal clubbing” are in any way humorous. I sure as HECK hope you weren’t serious. I’m going to skip that for now though, and pray that I can get through to you somehow. Here are some additional sites that I suggest you look into, on which you can find facts about various charity organizations. ## [ul][li][The National Charities Information Bureau](http://www.ncib.org/)[/li][li][charitywatch.org / The American Institute of Philanthropy](http://www.charitywatch.org/)[/li][li][The Better Business Bureau’s Philanthropic Advisory Service](http://www.bbb.org/about/pas.html)[/ul][/li] “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 1999, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/22 "1999-12-16T09:35:00Z")
This site has also been mentioned in USA Today, if that adds any credibility. Sorry, don’t have a link. It was in the old-fashioned paper version that I read it. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 1999, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/23 "1999-12-16T13:06:00Z")
- - - Board members won’t give away extra money because you asked them to. - - - Giving away someone else’s money is not charity. - - - People don’t starve because they have no food; they starve because they are _not allowed to have food_. - MC ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 1999, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/24 "1999-12-16T16:17:00Z")
[quote] - - - Board members won’t give away extra money because you asked them to. - - - Giving away someone else’s money is not charity. - - - People don’t starve because they have no food; they starve because they are not allowed to have food. - MC How old are you MC? Do you have ANY idea how the world works? Have you ever _once_ pulled your head out of your ass and looked around? 1. Board members of corporations, institutions, foundations, etc. _regularly_ give money away because they’re asked to. Have you never heard of a charitable donation **tax write-off**?! 2. **Charitable foundations** such as Salvation Army, Second Harvest, Habitat for Humanity, the United Way (I could go on for DAYS) **ALL** give away someone else’s money or supplies bought with someone else’s money - money donated to them by simple folks like (I was going to say “you and me”, but obviously the only thing you’ve ever donated to is yourself) me. 3. I don’t even know how to respond this incredibly stupid statement. My GOD you’re an idiot. Please stop posting until you can say something that has the remotest semblance to reality. Thank you. * * * **StoryTyler** _I am too in shape! :::muttering::: Round is a shape._ [C’mon up and see me sometime.](http://sites.netscape.net/storytyler/homepage) ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 1999, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/25 "1999-12-16T20:59:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Board members won’t give away extra money because you asked them to. They are **NOT** “giving away extra money” at all. There is this thing called “advertising” that businesses engage in to encourage people to buy their products/use their services. Most businesses set aside a certain amount of money called an “advertising budget” to pay for advertising. After you click on the little button that says “Make a donation.” you get sent to a page that has little ads for all the sponsors. THAT is what the sponsors are paying for. If they were not paying the Hunger Site to show their ads, they WOULD NOT lower their prices, but would spend that money to have someone else show their ads. Get it? * * * Your Official Cat Goddess since 10/20/99. “I get along well with everybody.” --I.M.F. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 1999, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/26 "1999-12-17T22:20:00Z")
The Hunger Site is really exploding. They’ve got 16 sponsers today, and that means **four cups of food** goes to a hungry person somewhere every time you click that little button. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 1999, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/27 "1999-12-17T22:30:00Z")
YAY! One more opportunity for little old selfish, lazy, middle-income me to put more money into a charity’s president’s pocket! * * * **StoryTyler** _I am too in shape! :::muttering::: Round is a shape._ [C’mon up and see me sometime.](http://sites.netscape.net/storytyler/homepage) ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 1999, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/28 "1999-12-17T22:59:00Z")
Count me and a friend at work as two more selfish, lazy, middle-income folk who are thrilled to have just clicked another 1/1,000,000th of a cent into the pocket of a U.N. employee. [sarcasm]Those gosh darned employees. How dare they draw a salary to put a roof over their family’s heads and food on _their_ table when there are starving people in the world and soup kitchens they could be getting their hands dirty in instead of working to make this a better world. The fact that 8 cups of food just went into the mouths of starving babies is completely irrelevant. We should be ashamed of ourselves for taking the easy way out and “giving away” someone else’s money. [/sarcasm] * * * “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 1999, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/29 "1999-12-18T14:09:00Z")
- - - Why are starving people starving? Which people? - MC ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 1999, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/30 "1999-12-18T14:43:00Z")
I clicked on the site! I clicked on the site! ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 1999, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/31 "1999-12-18T16:58:00Z")
> [@](#): > > -snip-3. I don’t even know how to respond this incredibly stupid statement.-snip- StoryTyler - - - Well, let me help. - - - I’m not being hostile; I’m just pointing out that if you don’t know why a person is starving and/or poor, throwing food or money their way isn’t automatically going to accomplish anything good and may even make conditions worse. And all you have to do is answer a few simple questions. - - Question #1: Are you (StoryTyler) starving? - MC ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 1999, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/32 "1999-12-18T17:49:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m just pointing out that if you don’t know why a person is starving > and/or poor, throwing food or money their way isn’t automatically going to accomplish anything good --MC You know, except keeping them alive… I’m not going to answer your questions MC. It’s abundantly clear you’re unable to grasp the concept, so discussing it any further is pointless. But thanks for putting the thread back at the top of the page. **HEY YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE!** Click this link twice a day (from home and from work)! [www.thehungersite.com](http://www.thehungersite.com) * * * **StoryTyler** _Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there._ [C’mon up and see me sometime.](http://sites.netscape.net/storytyler/homepage) ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 1999, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/33 "1999-12-19T06:01:00Z")
- - - Keeping them alive until what? - - - - I have what I consider to be a reasonably good grasp of the concept; mine could be wrong. That’s why I’m asking. Are you starving? (Y/N) - MC ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 1999, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/34 "1999-12-19T06:10:00Z")
I usually ignore things like the hungersite because if something seems to good to be true, it usually is. But just to spite MC and Sake, I’m going to click on it. So there. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 1999, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/35 "1999-12-19T06:21:00Z")
Dear MC, I would like to offer you the following bit of advice: \ **DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE MAKING STUPID STATEMENTS!** \ If you’re so concerned about people not answering questions, why didn’t you bother to answer mine to you above? I’ll ask you again. **Have you been to The Hunger Site and read their page?** You really needn’t answer. I can _tell_ by your ignorance that you have not. And since you are clearly too lazy to do so, I’ve copied an exerpt from there for you… > [@](#): > > United Nations World Food Program (WFP)… is the frontline UN organization fighting hunger and the world’s largest food aid organization, working in 80 countries. WFP provides food to save lives in emergencies. It also provides food **for development projects** , aimed at **enabling people to feed themselves**. These **projects** include **“food for education,”** where children who **attend school** are rewarded with food for themselves and often for their families as well. Other projects include **“food for work,”** where people help to **build infrastructure (roads, wells, small businesses) in their own communities** in exchange for food. WFP works hard to make every dollar, every grain of food reach the hungry, keeping its administrative overhead to less than 9%. WFP has some 5,000 extremely dedicated staff workers throughout the world. Sadly, twelve were killed in 1998 while providing food to the hungry. (all emphasis mine) Now that you know that the UNWFP isn’t simply “throwing food or money their way,” and that they are not “mak[ing] conditions worse,” would you like to admit that you’re wrong? Thank you for the opportunity to educate you. Now **go visit [The Hunger Site](http://www.thehungersite.com)** and help feed a starving child! Have a nice day. Most Sincerely, Shayna (And if for some reason you still don’t “get it,” then I would hereby like to change the spelling of “have a nice day” to **BITE ME!** ) * * * “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 1999, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/36 "1999-12-19T06:26:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I usually ignore things like the hungersite because if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Ah, but it IS true, if you can believe NPR, Snopes, and USA Today… > [@](#): > > But just to spite MC and Sake, I’m going to click on it. 🙂 Now you’re talking. Hitting two turkeys with one click (and feeding starving people in the bargain). Such a deal! * * * **StoryTyler** _Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there._ [C’mon up and see me sometime.](http://sites.netscape.net/storytyler/homepage) ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 1999, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/37 "1999-12-18T19:13:00Z")
- - - (sigh) Whatever the United Nations accomplishes, or even attempts has been the subject of much debate. My own opinion is that the UN isn’t so much malevolent as it is incompetent, but I could be wrong about that. I know that the UN dumps lots of food and money on lots of countries full of poor, starving people. Mostly on same people, again and again, year after year, because the actual _cause_ of poverty and subsequent starvation, is never addressed. And indeed, according to the UN’s rules, can’t be addressed. - - A suitable measure of the UN Food Program’s success would be countries that have needed UN Food Program assistance _once - and never again_, and that had no other possible way to feed their people. I don’t know of any that fit these criteria. Got any success stories, any examples I can check up on? - MC ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 1999, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/38 "1999-12-18T19:24:00Z")
> [@](#): > > (And if for some reason you still don’t “get it,” then I would hereby > like to change the spelling of “have a nice day” to **BITE ME!** ) --Shayna Heh! Shayna gets it! 😉 * * * **StoryTyler** _Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there._ [C’mon up and see me sometime.](http://sites.netscape.net/storytyler/homepage) ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 1999, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/39 "1999-12-18T19:26:00Z")
An afterthought: > [@](#): > > Other projects include “food for work,” where people help to build infrastructure (roads, wells, small businesses) in their own communities in exchange for food. - - - Shayna, why is a UN food program building roads, wells and small businesses? - I’m not against people doing these things, mind you, I just want to know why a food program is doing it. It sounds kind of like having the city librarian come to your house to make sure it’s up to sewer and electrical code. - MC ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 1999, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552/40 "1999-12-18T20:09:00Z")
Let’s see if I’ve got this straight. [ul][li]Without checking the facts, you wrongly accuse the UNWFP of not knowing _why_ people are starving and of simply throwing food or money their (starving people’s) way.[/li][li]I dispute this claim with facts. I show you that they do understand why people are starving, and they _aren’t_ only throwing money at the problem. They’re helping EDUCATE people and BUILDING COMMUNITIES, not to mention providing food in EMERGENCIES.[/li][li]You disregard this information as unimportant because they haven’t actually had the good fortune of erradicating hunger anywhere **yet** (if that’s even an accurate assumption on your part - we don’t know).[/li][li]You further imply that their efforts are futile since they have to continue to feed hungry people in impoverished nations year after year. (Gee, I think a better solution is to just let them starve to death. Why not - that’d just mean more food for you and me, right?)[/li][li]After having admonished them for _not_ addressing issues that would be necessary to affect long-term change, once you learn that they _are_, you then come back and tell me that they have no business doing that (“It sounds kind of like having the city librarian come to your house to make sure it’s up to sewer and electrical code.”)[/li][li]I’m certain that even after I’ve pointed out here how you’ve contradicted yourself, you still won’t “get it.” Therefore, I’m done banging my head against this brick wall, and you can[/ul][/li] \BITE ME\ Perhaps if _you’re_ starving, that’ll help sustain you until your next meal. * * * “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-a-starving-world/12552.md?page=3)