::raises hand:: I'm vegan. The whole no animal products in my clothes, make up, food, beverages galore. I do it for health reasons. Ok, some animal rights, but I'll cook food for other people that I can't eat myself.
*nods* A great deal of that I understand, though I am curious on the health benefits from not wearing animal products in clothing or make-up form. To the best of my knowledge, leather is perfectly healthy to wear for instance. The production of it may not be healthy for workers and there is a solid argument on the animal rights front, but I am currently unaware of direct health risks.
No, that would be where some of my animal rights come in. I also have big environmental impact issues. It's healthy enough to wear, but personally, the thought of wearing someone else's skin, is less than appealing.
*nods* Fair enough. I tend to go with the principle that there is dramatically more cows/sheep killed for food then leather produced from them meaning that they are a byproduct rather then a cause for the environmental impact. Dead plant reproductive organs, animal skin or solidified oil-slicks are all pretty lousy options when you get down to it.
OK, I understand that... kind of. For instance, I have a leather jacket that's about twelve years old, and shows no signs of breaking down in the next twelve, either. Though the lining is slowly eroding, the leather itself is soft and surprisingly warm.
Had I bought a different jacket, probably much less sturdy than mine, much thicker to equal the warmth of mine, and even one not directly made from animal products, how big of an impact would it have on the environment from all the different manufacturing processes it went through? When it's kaput, what will all those synthetic materials do? Will they even break down once it's thrown out? How many of those jackets would I have had to go through to equal the utility I've gotten from one cow-skin jacket?
I'm not fully informed on synthetic fabrics. I tend to wear natural fabrics. ::shrug:: I'm glad you get your use out of, and enjoy, your jacket. It's one of the better justifications for animal wear.
But the environmental impact I was referring to, was not so much in the biodegradable-ness of the material, so much as in the producing and raising en-mass of the animals themselves. Cutting down rainforests, bulldozing the environment for lodging, feed supplies, methane production, hormone injections, and yeah, there are definitely extreme cruelty conditions that make my own skin crawl.
And besides, really the point of elaborating on my lifestyle, was that it was a choice I made for me, but I don't feel a need to impose my beliefs on others.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-18 04:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-18 04:42 pm (UTC)Let them starve because they won't eat anything with eyes....
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Date: 2008-04-18 04:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2008-04-18 05:04 pm (UTC)So there :P
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Date: 2008-04-18 06:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-19 01:16 am (UTC)/curiosity.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-19 01:31 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-19 01:41 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-19 09:09 pm (UTC)Had I bought a different jacket, probably much less sturdy than mine, much thicker to equal the warmth of mine, and even one not directly made from animal products, how big of an impact would it have on the environment from all the different manufacturing processes it went through? When it's kaput, what will all those synthetic materials do? Will they even break down once it's thrown out? How many of those jackets would I have had to go through to equal the utility I've gotten from one cow-skin jacket?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-19 09:27 pm (UTC)But the environmental impact I was referring to, was not so much in the biodegradable-ness of the material, so much as in the producing and raising en-mass of the animals themselves. Cutting down rainforests, bulldozing the environment for lodging, feed supplies, methane production, hormone injections, and yeah, there are definitely extreme cruelty conditions that make my own skin crawl.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-19 09:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-19 04:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2008-04-18 06:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-18 04:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-18 06:44 pm (UTC)"Peter, those are Cheerios."
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-18 09:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-18 10:27 pm (UTC)