Not a vegetarian then? From an art show I was recently.
Vegetarianism to most people mainly mainly means abstaining from meat within a dietary sense. However for many vegetarians this abstinence goes a lot further than what we choose to meet our lips with. When the term "vegetarian lifestyle" gets used it means being a vegetarian in every area of our life from what we wear to what we use in the shower.
It does depend on your reasons for becoming vegetarian. If you purely just don't like the taste of meat then sitting on a leather couch won't irk you but if like me it's a moral standpoint then better get checking the ingredient list of your favourite shower gel.
Leather. The idea of wearing leather has always irked me. During my meat-eating days I reminded myself that it was a by-product and if I was going to eat bacon I shouldn't throw my hands in the air about being gifted a leather bag. But now I no longer eat the meat leather goods have disapeared from my wardrobe and furniture - if I viewed a flat with a leather couch I'd reconsider. Buy me a leather skirt for my birthday and you'll find it in a charity shop a week later. Serious.
Animal Testing. I don't know anyone who actually thinks animal testing is right, and thankfully so, however I know very few who will research products before buying and protest with their purse. The people I know who will and do research their mascara choices first are all vegetarian and vegan. I've consciously been buying a lot of my products from Lush since early 2011 because I am comfortable that they fit with my ethical beliefs. Admittedly however it's only now that I am getting round to making sure that foundations and lipsticks were not tested on animals having only avoided brands such as MAC because the information had fallen into my lap.
Fur. Again, I don't know many people that would actually wear fur. But the fur trade is still active. Just this Thursday I was at the degree show for a local art school and threw up in my mouth at a jewellery student who had used rabbit fur in her final pieces. She wasn't there but I snapshot her business card and have already uploaded it to Facebook and this blog post.
Animals in Sports. You won't catch me at a horse race or bull fighting event any time soon. Also that Jackass show? Fucking disgusting.
Environment. This isn't a particularly well-researched area of mine and wasn't an initial reason to become vegetarian. However it has been proposed that meat-production adds to carbon emissions and that being veggie is better for the environment. Someone who is veggie might be more likely to recycle and not use a gas-guzzling SUV. But this isn't necessarily true for me, just some.
Do any of my vegetarian readers do more outside of their diet to promote animal rights or the environment?
Morag x
