Should we give give bread to birds? Should we give snickers to homeless?

[Arthogaan]

I recently bought a lot of chocolate bars and left 2 of them each day in the "social fridge" where homeless come to get some food remains that people left them.
I told about it to a friend, and she judged it as irresponsible because it is not healthy for them. And it made me contemplate the issue.

What do you think, what action is moral in those two situations and why:
1. Should you give snickers full of trans fats to hungry homeless person?
2. Should you give old bread to birds even though it is harmfull for them in a long-term?

 

[LastThursday]

I'm going to go meta by saying that anything you do will disturb the "natural" balance of things - no action can sometimes be the best action. However, homeless people require help and compassion and wildlife may also need to be helped at times.

I would say that birds need to be fed something close to what they would eat in the wild. They are less flexible in what they can feed on, and giving bread to birds could make them unhealthy or ill. Seeds and maybe even insects would be a better source of food (but probably more expensive for you).

If giving a Snickers bar is going to save a homeless person's life, then it is ethical to give it them. But since you have the option of giving a homeless person something more nutritious and less harmful you should take the option (even if it's a bit more expensive).

In both cases, with your awareness that you're disturbing the natural balance of things, you should take the course of action that is the least harmful. That means being aware of what birds and people actually need, and not blindly doing things out of a sense of compassion.