Sea Shepherd

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Cruelty free

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Step One
Go vegan. The best way to begin a cruelty-free life is to not eat animal-based foods, including eggs and dairy products.
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Step Two
Buy products that say they are cruelty-free. This means they have not been tested on animals. Read the labels. This includes cosmetics, toiletries, household cleaners and laundry products.
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Step Three
Avoid buying anything not labeled cruelty-free unless you know for a fact that the manufacturer does not test on animals.
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Step Four
Use leather alternatives. They've come a long way, and many look and feel like the real thing.
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Step Five
Avoid anything made of real fur. This includes clothing and novelty items. Pet toys are sometimes made with real fur. Check before you buy.
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Step Six
Read labels carefully. Animal-derived ingredients appear when least expected. Collagen, for example, is normally derived from animals.
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Step Seven
Look it up. If you're unsure about the origin of an ingredient, there are several books on the market to assist consumers in deciphering ingredients. You can also find relevant information on Web sites.
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Step Eight
Stick with companies that you know do not use animal-derived ingredients and do not test their products on animals.
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Step Nine
Avoid down products. Synthetics are very advanced now and tend to be warmer, lighter and less allergenic than goose or duck down.
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Step Ten
Accept the fact that you can't avoid all animal products. For example, you may buy a chair that was manufactured using glue made partially from an animal-based ingredient.
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Step Eleven
Do the best you can.
Tips & Warnings
There are hundreds of companies making everything from hair dye to shoe polish that do not test their products on animals. Many also do not use animal-derived ingredients in their products. In addition to being cruelty-free, these products tend to be less toxic to both people and the environment.
Let companies know why you are not using their products. Tell them you only buy cruelty-free products. This will make a difference. More and more companies are getting away from animal testing.

Blue days

I think I have been spending too much time alone. My mood has been kinda down for days now. I have been seperated from my soon to be ex for over a year and a half. The divorce is almost final. For some reason unknown to me I have been feeling sad and I have no idea why. I guess I thought when I married for the second time it would last the rest of my life. Wrong.
My physical condition hasn't been much better. I am looking at yet another total hip replacement. I wish I would have had both of them done rather than go for the less invasive surgery. Seems like most things go that way for me.
I am thankful for my knitting and my family. That really keeps me going.

Vegan Philosophy

The term philosophy is often used to mean a set of basic values and attitudes toward life, nature and society. In this sense, Veganism is a "Philosophy of Life," guided by what I envision as an essential core of values and principles: • Vegans see life as a phenomenon to be treasured, revered and respected. We do not see animals as either "The Enemy" to be subdued, or the Materials for Food, Fabric or Fun that were put on Earth for human use. • Vegans see themselves as a part of the natural world, rather than its owners or its masters. • Veganism recognizes no expendable or superfluous species that humans are free to hurt or destroy. Species of life-forms need not justify their existence, nor plead for protection from extinction on the grounds of their potential usefulness as food or medicine for humans. We continue to be burdened and misguided by adages such as "A weed is a plant we have not yet found a use for." • Veganism acknowledges the intrinsic legitimacy of all life. It rejects any hierarchy of acceptable suffering among sentient creatures. It is no more acceptable to torment or kill creatures with "primitive nervous systems" than those with "highly developed nervous systems." The value of life to its possessor is the same, whether it be the life of a clam, a crayfish, a carp, a cow, a chicken, or a child. • Veganism understands that gentleness cannot be a product of violence, harmony cannot be a product of strife, and peace cannot be a product of contention and conflict. • Vegan ideals encompass much more than advocacy of a diet free of animal products, or a fervent defense of animal rights. Veganism excludes no sentient being–animal or human– from its commitment to compassionate, gentle benevolence. To show tender regard for the suffering of animals, yet treat humans with callous contempt, is a disheartening contradiction of Vegan principles. • John Muir, talking about the natural environment, once observed "Every time I bend down to pick something up, I find it is connected to something else." There is an equivalent "ecology" to our behavior. Everything we do connects to something else; every action touches on the world around us, either close at hand and noticeable, or far away and unperceived, immediate in its effect or distant in time. • If Veganism has a prime value, it is simply that life-respecting compassion overrides individual issues of custom, convenience, comfort or cuisine. • If there is a single article of faith, it is that commitment to Vegan values will bring us closer to a world in which the fate and fortune of a planet and all its life forms do not hang on the judgment or the generosity of one species. • If there is one single concept that both generates and sustains the meaning and the power of the Vegan world-view, it is found in the word mindfulness. As Vegans, we strive to be thoughtful, aware and concerned about the impact of our choices, our actions and our decisions. The fruit of this awareness is inner peace, the quiet strength of ethical confidence, and an uplifting sense of fulfillment.