How to eliminate animal testing and cruelty as a consumer...

in #vegan7 years ago

ANOIGMA-VEGANshutterstock_413417941-575x382.jpg
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What do you think of when you hear the word vegan? When I first became vegan and "came out," so to speak, my family and friends didn't take it well. Perhaps it was because I had been vegan several years prior to, and was a little annoying with my preaching. I was vegan for the health benefits, and I felt the need to tell people what their food was doing to their bodies. I thought I was helping and wanted them to be healthy, but ultimately my words fell on deaf ears. So, when my family heard the word vegan, they thought of someone who was going to preach to them about what meat was going to do to their body. Some people hear the word vegan and think of someone who doesn't shave, douses themselves in patchouli, has dreadlocks, and wears clothes made entirely out of hemp. Other people are completely confused as to what vegan means. I tell some individuals I am vegan and I get questions like: "so you still eat fish," "you can still have eggs right," "So you don't eat any animals, but you can still eat cheese," and so on.

I don't do any of those things. I am far from a hippie, patchouli happens to be one of my least favorite smells, I shave daily, and I don't think I own anything made from hemp. I am a vegan hairstylist that cares about animals, the environment, and my health. I primarily consider myself an ethical vegan, whereas being vegan is a way of life (1). I do not exploit animals for any of my needs, including my business (yes, even my color line Jack Winn Color is vegan). When you truly dive into veganism, you begin to realize that animal exploitation is completely ingrained in our society. Other than slaughtering them for meat, milk, and eggs, animals are harmed in many other ways. Ethical veganism is a lifestyle, it's not only how and what a person eats, but what they wear, paying attention to personal care products so they aren't tested on animals, hobbies and the job the individual has (1).
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So being vegan isn't just about what I eat, I have to pay close attention to every thing I purchase. The best way I have found to make sure the products I am purchasing do not test on animals is the cruelty cutter app, and the reason for this post. (http://cruelty-cutter.org). This was an app created by the Beagle Freedom Project that allows you to scan all products to find out if they are cruelty free. I was not surprised that many of the products that I used to use had been tested on animals, so I have been switching out all the products that I purchase to ones that have never harmed an animal. The best way to stop animal testing, is to stop using products that have been tested on animals.

Before I was vegan, I didn't know much about animal testing. I only thought it was on rats, or varmints, as if they were somehow less, because they weren't as cute and cuddly as other animals. I have since learned that, it's actually some of the cutest and most cuddliest animals that are tested on. Beagles, being a favorite for testing (2).

bfp.jpg beagles-2.jpg (3)

If you would like to stop this cruelty, you don't have to be vegan, though I would obviously highly recommend it, but you can start by paying attention to the products that you are using. I would suggest going through your household and checking some of your products and switching them out for cruelty free products. Then use the "bite back" function on the cruelty cutter app that shares to social media the products that are still using this barbaric form of testing on innocent beings.

Sources:

http://www.vegansouls.com/ethical-veganism (1)
http://rescuefreedomproject.org/donate/ (2)
https://animalwelfareissues.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/beagle-testing-in-the-uk/ (3)
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=618&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=1PWpWp7gMtCojwOAwI_AAQ&q=cruelty+free&oq=cru&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0i67k1l5j0l5.3168.4693.0.9619.7.5.2.0.0.0.96.402.5.5.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.7.457....0.9kI6lN67fX8#imgrc=JVE5yaMpoLoeCM:(4)
http://www.olivemagazine.gr/mediterranean-cooking/lets-go-vegan/ (5)

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Going Vegan is the best thing you could ever do for yourself or the planet but it is amazing for those poor animals.

Definitely one of my best decisions in life was to go vegan.

Hallo, How are you! do you not like to eat meat? Your posts are interesting and many are looking. always success.

This is the first time I heard about cruelty cutter app though I knew of some other apps. None of those were practical to use in my country due to limited listing of locally available brands. But I liked the "Bite Back" feature in this app.

Thanks for informing about this.

You are very welcome! I try to tell every one i know about this app.

Just fired off 100% vote in vain. I guess I fed the big mashine. Steem on and have a beautiful day!

I’ll fire one back at you so it wasn’t totally in vain! I appreciate the attempt 😊

I feel that veganism is slowly taking starting to dominate over the term vegetarian. Before almost no one knew what vegan meant, but now it seems like it's grown so big that it's maybe more used "out there" than vegetarian, maybe? At least that's my percepton of it.

I agree, although it is commonly misunderstood, or mistook for pescatarian or vegetarian, at least in my experience. I live across a river from Portland Oregon, which is one of the most Vegan friendly places in the US and it’s finally making its way over to my city, where Vegan is becoming more and more common. It’s definitely growing, which I am so excited about. The more education out there the more it will grow. I actually love it when people say they would be vegan but could never do it because it’s ‘too hard’. I see that as an opportunity to educate them on how easy it can be if you are passionate enough about it.

Great content! Keep it coming, Jennifer!

Thanks for the very informative post and link to the app. My daughter and I try to only buy products that weren't tested on animals. The app is going to make it a lot easier :-)

You are very welcome! It helped me out tremendously, and took out the guess work, I was so happy when I found the app. Another app I use that I forgot to mention is the ResQwalk. It tracks how many miles you walk daily when it is turned on and donates to your favorite animal resque based on mileage, my favorite to donate to is the Beagle freedom project, which is the organization that created the cruelty cutter.

Resteemed your article. This article was resteemed because you are part of the New Steemians project. You can learn more about it here: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@gaman/new-steemians-project-launch . If your post has more upvotes, your post will appear in the trending page. To get more upvotes, you can bid for @steembidbot vote. please check it out here: https://steembottracker.com/

As an ethical Vegan myself I am horrified at the indifference that people have to the suffering of animals for their own "beauty" products. How can one be deemed beautiful when the product that makes you that way has caused untold suffering to an animal? That is not beauty, beauty is kindness, compassion. Not greed and indifference.

Great post @jenniferferris. Resteemed for sure!

That is such a great point! When I first started researching products to use for my salon I was afraid the options weren’t going to be the best lines for my clients, but I find the vegan and cruelty free products are even better. These companies put so much care into their products that they are superior to other products that are still testing on animals. I read an article once called ‘this ugly beauty business’ that touched on the subject that you brought up. It really is so much more beautiful to be kind and compassionate as you pointed out.

I have found that too, not that I use beauty products myself but my wife says that the vegan ranges are way better than anything that she had used before.

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