By Kirsty Coleman-
We should only eat products that are vegan because this is the only way to display loyalty to the principles we believe that make us shun animal cruelty. Some of the obvious food products many of us eat that are not vegan include meat, diary, fish, eggs. It is easy to forget that being a vegan does not stop at just what food we consume. Animals are subjected to awful testing experiments and there are animal derived ingredients in abundance that comprise our everyday products. An investigation into how products were made, shockingly reveals just how many things or products we use that contributes, or have contributed, to animal cruelty. Individuals are urged to think twice about what you are being a part of.
It is an awful thing as a vegan, to discover that one may unknowingly be still contributing to animal cruelty. Even though a massive part of our life now consists of protecting animals and not contributing to exploiting animals. When I first made the choice to go vegan, I initially thought of food, but it only took me a few days or so for the penny to drop that it does not end there. Make-up, clothing, hair dye, the list goes on. I started to source where I was going to buy my shampoo and conditioner, my laundry detergent and fabric softener, without spending my life savings! As we all know, some companies exploit the fact that vegans are so dedicated, and they use this to charge more for their product, whilst portraying the misconception that they are doing it for the benefit of the planet and the animals.
Suddenly it was more than just a penny dropping, a massive boulder dropped. I started to think, “if these items aren’t vegan, surely there must be more that I haven’t discovered yet”. I found myself looking at absolutely everything around me, wondering if there was gelatine in it, or bone char. I was in the bathroom and it suddenly cropped up in my mind, “oh my god, what if toilet rolls aren’t vegan?!” I looked online and discovered straight away that so many of the big branded toilet rolls use gelatine to bind the fibers together. Why? Why do we need to do that? If there is the option not to kill an animal, why would you still choose to kill it? We are all unknowingly contributing to animal cruelty; tell me, who doesn’t use toilet paper? Online, I sourced toilet paper and kitchen roll made from bamboo, but if you shop around, there are plenty of other vegan choices too.
I proceeded to examine my lounge, and after recently finding a fairly local beauty salon which offers vegan waxing, it made me question candles. I soon discovered that most candles, indeed, were not vegan; they contained stearic acid, which is made from animal fat, and some luxury candles are made using beeswax. Again, I ask, why do we need to use animal fat if there is a moral alternative? In fact, if there was no other way to make candles ethically, do we really deserve them? I love having candles on in an evening, it feels so peaceful, warm and calming. They are not so calming when you realise there is animal fat in there.
LCD TELEVISION SCREENS
It continued one after the other, from LCD television screens containing animal cholesterol, to batteries containing gelatine, some brands of fruit juice containing omega-3 from fish oil, or vitamin D3, which is sometimes derived from sheep’s wool. This may or may not bother some vegans, and of course, sometimes there can be no avoiding of certain things in the kind of society we now live in, but we are not made aware of these things, and there is no law which states ingredients should be stated on non-food products. If more people were made aware, I would hope that sales of these things may be cut down enough for companies to invest money into alternative methods and ingredients. After all, do we put human cholesterol in our televisions?
TAMPOONS
Veganism does not just stop at using products which contain animal-derived products, it also includes avoiding things which have involved animal testing in order to pass “safety regulations”. Brace yourself for this one, because it blew my mind, and it still is doing as I am writing this. Tampons… I know! When you think of tampons being tested on animals, your first thought will most likely be, “What? Surely they don’t actually…you know, put them inside of them?” Well, you would certainly hope not, but unfortunately, humanity took a turn for the worst and yes, this is what has been done to animals for years. I will not divulge into any other details on this matter in this particular article, however, it has really affected me and it feels so close to my heart, that I needed to at least share this fact with others, so they can be aware.
I am continuously researching items which are surprisingly non-vegan, and I imagine it will be ongoing, especially as more and more vegans are concerned about the number of items which go against veganism. I am not sure, as the last begins to grow, if I will be more, or less surprised, at the hideous amount of non-vegan products and everyday items we are unaware of. Hopefully, together, we will encourage companies to find alternative ingredients, as their products begin to be frowned upon because of this. Lets continue to be a voice for the voiceless in the same way this publication purports to be in other respects.