My former bosses from Instinct took me to a screening of a movie - The Ghosts in Our Machine. It was a look into factory farming, for food and fur, and it was the first movie of it's kind I'd ever seen. It was incredibly well done, with a compelling story and nice ebb and flow of graphic/hard to handle images followed by images from Farm Sanctuary - an organization that rescues animals from factory farms.
Both my Instinct bosses are vegan, and I'd never thought about veganism until meeting them. I don't think I could ever go full vegan, but talking to them and being opened up to this whole new world, I've gained a greater awareness and knowledge of the plight animals are forced into. For instance, I had no idea they have fur factory farms - raising foxes, raccoons, minks, etc. simply to kill them for their pelts. I've always loved the way fur feels, but in my naivete I'd assumed they'd been hunted from the wild, not raised in a cruel existence bound for slaughter as soon as they were large enough. You can be sure I won't be wearing real fur again! And even if meat is certified as "grass fed" "free range" and "organic" doesn't mean they have a better situation/are treated more humanely than in a factory farm.
While I'm not planning on going full-vegan, I am interested in trying out many different vegan products - see how their meat substitutes taste, find some vegan recipes and try to eat that way a few times a week. I may switch my dairy habits over to completely vegan options and see if that helps with my allergies. My bosses were extremely helpful in providing info on products they like and where to get them. They recommend Whole Foods - but pretty much any good grocery store should have vegan options.To be honest, I'm not sure if being vegan truly changes anything in this world. They say every little bit helps, but I don't see the factory farm machine leaving our culture anytime soon, if ever.
As I'm experiencing this new awareness, I find it seeping into other aspects of my life.
I am a huge makeup person - I'm doing it more and more as a paying job, and it's great. I went into MAC yesterday to look for a new liquid foundation and on a whim asked if they were cruelty free. The saleslady assured me they are, and continued to cover my face in some fantastic products I really liked. This morning, I decided to do a little checking - I usually don't take one person's word as the end all on any subject. And guess what I found out? MAC DOES animal test! They hadn't until about a year ago, but since China REQUIRES animal testing, to market their makeup line to the Chinese, they've started mutilating bunnies. This makes me so angry - that a once cruelty-free company turns to animal cruelty for more profit. Obviously, they didn't NEED to test on bunnies to prove it was safe for human skin, but because China has some fucked up laws, they started doing cruel experiments on animals. Maybe the saleslady was just ignorant of the change in policy, but I'm still angry at being lied to.
So, this little incident prompted a search at companies that do and don't test on animals. And holy cow - it's insane some of the companies that do animal testing! Here's just a few of them: major makeup companies (MAC, Revlon, Oley, L'Oreal, Mary Kay, Avon, Estee Lauder, to name a few), CLOROX!, SC Johnson, Johnson and Johnson, Puffs, Proctor and Gamble (Head and Shoulders, Ivory, Herbel Esssences, Febreze, Crest, Downey, etc), Dove, Dial, Coppertone, Mr. Clean, and Ponds, to name a few. For a complete list, go here. If you're interested in making a change, here's a list of companies that do NOT animal test.
Not gunna lie, even doing a bit of research on this topic this morning, it's ridiculous trying to find the truth - different sites and people argue whether certain brands are or aren't cruelty free. And even though I'm not seeing Inglot on the PETA list, everything I'm finding says that they are cruelty free. And while yes, it is a hassle, an annoyance, trying to find cruelty free makeup, I encourage you to google search animal makeup testing. It's graphic, so I'm not posting it here, but it's something to keep in mind next time you're at the makeup counter.
Both my Instinct bosses are vegan, and I'd never thought about veganism until meeting them. I don't think I could ever go full vegan, but talking to them and being opened up to this whole new world, I've gained a greater awareness and knowledge of the plight animals are forced into. For instance, I had no idea they have fur factory farms - raising foxes, raccoons, minks, etc. simply to kill them for their pelts. I've always loved the way fur feels, but in my naivete I'd assumed they'd been hunted from the wild, not raised in a cruel existence bound for slaughter as soon as they were large enough. You can be sure I won't be wearing real fur again! And even if meat is certified as "grass fed" "free range" and "organic" doesn't mean they have a better situation/are treated more humanely than in a factory farm.
While I'm not planning on going full-vegan, I am interested in trying out many different vegan products - see how their meat substitutes taste, find some vegan recipes and try to eat that way a few times a week. I may switch my dairy habits over to completely vegan options and see if that helps with my allergies. My bosses were extremely helpful in providing info on products they like and where to get them. They recommend Whole Foods - but pretty much any good grocery store should have vegan options.To be honest, I'm not sure if being vegan truly changes anything in this world. They say every little bit helps, but I don't see the factory farm machine leaving our culture anytime soon, if ever.
As I'm experiencing this new awareness, I find it seeping into other aspects of my life.
I am a huge makeup person - I'm doing it more and more as a paying job, and it's great. I went into MAC yesterday to look for a new liquid foundation and on a whim asked if they were cruelty free. The saleslady assured me they are, and continued to cover my face in some fantastic products I really liked. This morning, I decided to do a little checking - I usually don't take one person's word as the end all on any subject. And guess what I found out? MAC DOES animal test! They hadn't until about a year ago, but since China REQUIRES animal testing, to market their makeup line to the Chinese, they've started mutilating bunnies. This makes me so angry - that a once cruelty-free company turns to animal cruelty for more profit. Obviously, they didn't NEED to test on bunnies to prove it was safe for human skin, but because China has some fucked up laws, they started doing cruel experiments on animals. Maybe the saleslady was just ignorant of the change in policy, but I'm still angry at being lied to.
So, this little incident prompted a search at companies that do and don't test on animals. And holy cow - it's insane some of the companies that do animal testing! Here's just a few of them: major makeup companies (MAC, Revlon, Oley, L'Oreal, Mary Kay, Avon, Estee Lauder, to name a few), CLOROX!, SC Johnson, Johnson and Johnson, Puffs, Proctor and Gamble (Head and Shoulders, Ivory, Herbel Esssences, Febreze, Crest, Downey, etc), Dove, Dial, Coppertone, Mr. Clean, and Ponds, to name a few. For a complete list, go here. If you're interested in making a change, here's a list of companies that do NOT animal test.
Not gunna lie, even doing a bit of research on this topic this morning, it's ridiculous trying to find the truth - different sites and people argue whether certain brands are or aren't cruelty free. And even though I'm not seeing Inglot on the PETA list, everything I'm finding says that they are cruelty free. And while yes, it is a hassle, an annoyance, trying to find cruelty free makeup, I encourage you to google search animal makeup testing. It's graphic, so I'm not posting it here, but it's something to keep in mind next time you're at the makeup counter.
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