This will just be a quick continuation of my last post. Whereas my previous post dealt with the problems of killing animals for food, this post will deal with the problems of killing animals for leather, fur, etc. In my last post, we learned about the horrors of the factory-farming slughterhouse industy and all of the torture, brutal conditions, and killing that take place at those factories. That's something that needs to be remembered for this post. The animals that are killed for their skins to make clothes/accessories out of are treated just as bad and have to go through all of those same experiences.
Luckily, there are tons of alternatives out there for everything that's made from animals that you can buy instead, so that you won't be supporting the companies that represent the cruelty and killing of animals. Here are just a few of the many examples:
http://www.peta.org/living/fashion/cruelty-free-clothing-guide.aspx
PETA lists a bunch of companies and products that are free of animal skins.
http://www.alternativeoutfitters.com/index.aspx
This is a really great leather-alternative company.
Those links alone provide animal free-alternatives for everything you can think of that are usually made from leather/animal skins. And more good news is that if you don't like any of their options, you can go to any search engine or amazon and type in vegan belts, vegan wallets, vegan shoes, vegan purses, or vegan anything and there's tons of other options that come up. Also, when searching, you can use other keywords such as "cruetly-free", "animal-free", "fake leather", etc.
If enough people out there choose this type of consumerism, we can end the concept of killing animals for fashion and apparel. The companies that kill animals to use real leather will either run out of business, or be forced to switch to animal-free products. Because, after all, it's we that have the power to control the markets.
Showing posts with label Cruelty Free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cruelty Free. Show all posts
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
The Issue of Eating Meat/Finding an Ethical and Healthy Way
If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.
-Paul McCartney
"Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings.
-Leo Tolstoy
"Nothing will benefit human health or increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
-Albert Einstein
In a perfect world, there'd be no such thing as eating meat. Or at the very least, we'd be able to fully go without it while remaining in optimal conditions of health. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. I myself have experimented with veganism and vegetarianism with negative outcomes. At worst, I was getting really sick every couple of weeks. At best, I'd feel completely fatigued every day. I understand that it's possible to live that lifestyle healthily if you're a genius about supplementation, or have the proper genetics for it, but I'm not quite there yet.
There's several problems I have with eating meat. Mostly, I've always been highly against the idea of factory farm slaughterhouses and all of the torture, killing, horrible living conditions, and overall brutality that take place at those factories. What we're doing to these animals is nothing short of being equal to genocide and like a neverending holocaust. Watch this video to get just an idea of the atrocities that go on behind the scenes of where our meat comes from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeJfY5CXTM0
And keep in mind that these arn't just animals for us to do with as we please. But instead, try to see them for what they really are; conscious, living, breathing beings that experience emotions and feel pain, exactly like us. Just because they lack the ability to communicate and build things, that doesn't mean we should view them as lesser than us.
And then there's the issue of how unhealthy conventional processed meat is. Keep in mind that most of these animals have been pumped so full of growth hormones, antibiotics and fed with GMO feed and other poisonous food. A lot of these animals have become genetically modified themselves. By the time any of it is ready to eat, it's extremely unhealthy.
Most meats lead to extreme health problems such as clogged arteries, high cholesterol, heart-attacks and even cancer: http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/processedmeat050305.cfm
So what are the solutions? Fortunately there's a lot of them that are easy to figure out and add to your life. For starters, you could decide to try out veganism or vegetarianism and see if you're able to live that lifestyle healthily.
For everyone else, you can remember this tip: The ONLY meats I've found to be healthy and beneficial are free-range organic chicken, cage-free organic eggs, and natural wild caught fish. Those are the only ones that I've found to be low in fat, high in nutrients, and overall, safe and healthy to eat. The brand I recommend for fish is http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/. This way, you can fully avoid supporting slaughterhouses and unnecessarily harsh treatment of animals.
Although it's true that meat in general will always have high protein, when you're dealing with conventional meat, especially meats that come from cows or pigs, there's always going to be much more harm than good.
In conclusion, try to look out for not only the animals and the planet, but your health as well. If you're going to eat meat, please try to make sure that it's free-range and organic.
-Paul McCartney
"Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings.
-Leo Tolstoy
"Nothing will benefit human health or increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
-Albert Einstein
In a perfect world, there'd be no such thing as eating meat. Or at the very least, we'd be able to fully go without it while remaining in optimal conditions of health. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. I myself have experimented with veganism and vegetarianism with negative outcomes. At worst, I was getting really sick every couple of weeks. At best, I'd feel completely fatigued every day. I understand that it's possible to live that lifestyle healthily if you're a genius about supplementation, or have the proper genetics for it, but I'm not quite there yet.
There's several problems I have with eating meat. Mostly, I've always been highly against the idea of factory farm slaughterhouses and all of the torture, killing, horrible living conditions, and overall brutality that take place at those factories. What we're doing to these animals is nothing short of being equal to genocide and like a neverending holocaust. Watch this video to get just an idea of the atrocities that go on behind the scenes of where our meat comes from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeJfY5CXTM0
And keep in mind that these arn't just animals for us to do with as we please. But instead, try to see them for what they really are; conscious, living, breathing beings that experience emotions and feel pain, exactly like us. Just because they lack the ability to communicate and build things, that doesn't mean we should view them as lesser than us.
And then there's the issue of how unhealthy conventional processed meat is. Keep in mind that most of these animals have been pumped so full of growth hormones, antibiotics and fed with GMO feed and other poisonous food. A lot of these animals have become genetically modified themselves. By the time any of it is ready to eat, it's extremely unhealthy.
Most meats lead to extreme health problems such as clogged arteries, high cholesterol, heart-attacks and even cancer: http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/processedmeat050305.cfm
So what are the solutions? Fortunately there's a lot of them that are easy to figure out and add to your life. For starters, you could decide to try out veganism or vegetarianism and see if you're able to live that lifestyle healthily.
For everyone else, you can remember this tip: The ONLY meats I've found to be healthy and beneficial are free-range organic chicken, cage-free organic eggs, and natural wild caught fish. Those are the only ones that I've found to be low in fat, high in nutrients, and overall, safe and healthy to eat. The brand I recommend for fish is http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/. This way, you can fully avoid supporting slaughterhouses and unnecessarily harsh treatment of animals.
Although it's true that meat in general will always have high protein, when you're dealing with conventional meat, especially meats that come from cows or pigs, there's always going to be much more harm than good.
In conclusion, try to look out for not only the animals and the planet, but your health as well. If you're going to eat meat, please try to make sure that it's free-range and organic.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Conscientious Consumerism Can Save the World
I believe that one of the most important things that we can do to promote real positive change for the planet, both on an individual and collective level, is to be much more careful and conscientous about where we spend our money and what we spend it on. For example, I mentioned earlier how important it is to buy organic food. Let's say hypothetically that overnight, everyone decided to buy only organic food from here on out. This would activate a huge positive change. Within a month or so, you'd see all of the fast food restaurants closing and going out of business. You'd see industries like Monsanto panicking and running out of money. Most people don't realize that it's us, the consumers, who hold the real power, rather than the corporations. It's a matter of demand and supply. So if everyone switched over to only organic food, those would be the only food companies that would survive, and all of the companies that use GMO's, pesticides, herbicides, etc, would run out of business, and there'd be no market for new ones to start up.
Another good example is: let's say that everyone stopped buying hygiene products from companies that partake in animal testing. Within a matter of months, all of those companies would be going out of business, and there'd be no more animal testing in the world.
The best thing about this strategy is that it works the same for every industry. If everyone in the country only spent money on environmentally responsible, health promoting, and ethical companies, then it would be the downfall for every company that stands for the opposite of those things. All of the companies that stand for greed and corruption, and who care more about money than the welfare of the planet and all of its inhabitants, they'd all be gone and out of business in a matter of months if we, the common people, stopped supporting them by buying their products. Imagine a world with only caring, positive, and healthy companies that had good morals, and who cared about the planet and its people and animals. That sounds like a world I'd want to live in. And the good news is that we, the people, have the power to make that happen. The only hard parts are initially learning about this issue in the first place, and also learning about which companies are the positive ones to be spending money on and supporting. Luckily, there are some sources out there that can help direct us to finding out which companies are good (worth spending money on) and bad (completely avoiding). These websites are probabaly the best of those sources that I've found so far....
http://www.betterworldshopper.com/rankings.html
I wouldn't consider it to be 100% completely accurate, but it's definetely a good step in the right direction, and a good starting point in general.
Another really good one is... http://www.greenpages.org/
Fortunately, most companies that are ethical, caring, and environmentally responsible go out of their way to advertise those things on their websites, especially in their Frequently Asked Questions sections, so if you're ever questionable about any company/corporation, just check their website and it should be easy to figure out where they stand.
And just remember; the corporate world is dependent on us, the common citizens, even more so than we're dependent on them. We control the market with our spending habits. Their destinies lay in our hands. So since we're the ones with the power, let's use it wisely and really make it count.
Another good example is: let's say that everyone stopped buying hygiene products from companies that partake in animal testing. Within a matter of months, all of those companies would be going out of business, and there'd be no more animal testing in the world.
The best thing about this strategy is that it works the same for every industry. If everyone in the country only spent money on environmentally responsible, health promoting, and ethical companies, then it would be the downfall for every company that stands for the opposite of those things. All of the companies that stand for greed and corruption, and who care more about money than the welfare of the planet and all of its inhabitants, they'd all be gone and out of business in a matter of months if we, the common people, stopped supporting them by buying their products. Imagine a world with only caring, positive, and healthy companies that had good morals, and who cared about the planet and its people and animals. That sounds like a world I'd want to live in. And the good news is that we, the people, have the power to make that happen. The only hard parts are initially learning about this issue in the first place, and also learning about which companies are the positive ones to be spending money on and supporting. Luckily, there are some sources out there that can help direct us to finding out which companies are good (worth spending money on) and bad (completely avoiding). These websites are probabaly the best of those sources that I've found so far....
http://www.betterworldshopper.com/rankings.html
I wouldn't consider it to be 100% completely accurate, but it's definetely a good step in the right direction, and a good starting point in general.
Another really good one is... http://www.greenpages.org/
Fortunately, most companies that are ethical, caring, and environmentally responsible go out of their way to advertise those things on their websites, especially in their Frequently Asked Questions sections, so if you're ever questionable about any company/corporation, just check their website and it should be easy to figure out where they stand.
And just remember; the corporate world is dependent on us, the common citizens, even more so than we're dependent on them. We control the market with our spending habits. Their destinies lay in our hands. So since we're the ones with the power, let's use it wisely and really make it count.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
General Hygiene: Healthy and Conscientious Choices
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
-Mahatma Ghandi
In my last post I went over the do's and don'ts of dental hygiene, and for this post I'll try to go over the rest of the hygienic needs and my recommendations for healthy, beneficial, and ecologically responsible products that can meet those needs. Much like with the dental products, the main things to keep in mind are to find products that contain mostly organic, harmless ingredients, and are cruelty free/not tested on animals. Such products can easily be found in any natural health market, and even in the natural health section of most supermarkets.
The company I most recommend for shower and facial products is Sea Chi Organics http://seachi.com/. Especially
http://www.seachi.com/lime-body-wash-4oz120ml-p-99.html for body wash, http://www.seachi.com/peppermint-shampoo-8oz240ml-p-102.html for shampoo, and
http://www.seachi.com/leave-moisturizing-treatment-hair-growth-formula-8oz240ml-p-44.html for conditioner. They have a number of other products that cover all kinds of things, all of which are worth looking into. Dr. Bronner's Soaps is definetely another highly recommended company http://www.drbronner.com/ and they have products that cover almost all hygienic needs. Giovanni Cosmetics is another wonderful company that offers very reasonable prices for all of their products http://www.giovannicosmetics.net/.
For deoderants, it's really important to get a brand that doesn't contain any aluminum (and all the other chemicals the mainstream brands use, for that matter). Aluminum-containing deoderants have been linked to causing many health problems, even cancer. Read more about that at http://suite101.com/article/aluminum-in-deodorant-a45498 and http://www.naturalnews.com/027624_deodorant_aluminum.html. My preferred brand is Alba Botanica http://www.albabotanica.com/body/deodorants.html.
For hand soap, I really like the antibacterial soap by Clean Well http://www.cleanwelltoday.com/our-products/hand-soaps/.
For body lotion, I recommend the MSM lotion by Sun Star Organics http://sunstarorganics.com/msmberryvanillalotion.aspx.
Here's a site that list's a huge amount of hygiene companies that don't partake in animal testing... http://www.leapingbunny.org/shopping.php
And of course any of the body and skin care products approved by healthy-living expert David Wolfe and featured on the Longevity Warehouse site at http://www.longevitywarehouse.com/category-s/156.htm.
Those are some of the brands and products that I recommend, but when choosing for yourself, always consider these two main things to keep in mind: No harmful and toxic chemicals, and no testing on animals.
-Mahatma Ghandi
In my last post I went over the do's and don'ts of dental hygiene, and for this post I'll try to go over the rest of the hygienic needs and my recommendations for healthy, beneficial, and ecologically responsible products that can meet those needs. Much like with the dental products, the main things to keep in mind are to find products that contain mostly organic, harmless ingredients, and are cruelty free/not tested on animals. Such products can easily be found in any natural health market, and even in the natural health section of most supermarkets.
The company I most recommend for shower and facial products is Sea Chi Organics http://seachi.com/. Especially
http://www.seachi.com/lime-body-wash-4oz120ml-p-99.html for body wash, http://www.seachi.com/peppermint-shampoo-8oz240ml-p-102.html for shampoo, and
http://www.seachi.com/leave-moisturizing-treatment-hair-growth-formula-8oz240ml-p-44.html for conditioner. They have a number of other products that cover all kinds of things, all of which are worth looking into. Dr. Bronner's Soaps is definetely another highly recommended company http://www.drbronner.com/ and they have products that cover almost all hygienic needs. Giovanni Cosmetics is another wonderful company that offers very reasonable prices for all of their products http://www.giovannicosmetics.net/.
For deoderants, it's really important to get a brand that doesn't contain any aluminum (and all the other chemicals the mainstream brands use, for that matter). Aluminum-containing deoderants have been linked to causing many health problems, even cancer. Read more about that at http://suite101.com/article/aluminum-in-deodorant-a45498 and http://www.naturalnews.com/027624_deodorant_aluminum.html. My preferred brand is Alba Botanica http://www.albabotanica.com/body/deodorants.html.
For hand soap, I really like the antibacterial soap by Clean Well http://www.cleanwelltoday.com/our-products/hand-soaps/.
For body lotion, I recommend the MSM lotion by Sun Star Organics http://sunstarorganics.com/msmberryvanillalotion.aspx.
Here's a site that list's a huge amount of hygiene companies that don't partake in animal testing... http://www.leapingbunny.org/shopping.php
And of course any of the body and skin care products approved by healthy-living expert David Wolfe and featured on the Longevity Warehouse site at http://www.longevitywarehouse.com/category-s/156.htm.
Those are some of the brands and products that I recommend, but when choosing for yourself, always consider these two main things to keep in mind: No harmful and toxic chemicals, and no testing on animals.
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