I recently saw various post on Facebook from girls complaining how cruel Mac are for testing on animals. A year or so ago I would have shared the same post and nodded in agreement. But, over the past few months I have been making the conscious decision to learn the reality of not only the meat/dairy industries but what it really means to be cruelty free. The double standards I discovered in society shocked me, as I once too thought the same. The same girls saying how cruel Mac are then upload pictures of their Estee Lauder foundation the next day, a notorious company that test on animals but just not so well documented. Many popular beauty companies (or parent companies) tests on animals due to strict testing laws. The ethical elephant provides a eloquent account of the laws found here http://ethicalelephant.com/understanding-china-animal-testing-laws/ .
Yes stopping shopping at one notorious animal tester is great, but more companies need to be added to this ‘black list’. Cruelty free kitty has been an essential for me to check who and where tests on animals. Making small changes have allowed me to begin reducing my personal impact on the cruelty to animals. Similar to the demand restaurants have had for veganism, more and more beauty companies are now moving toward cruelty free.
Although there are distinctions between the decisions to not eat meat and not purchase cruelty free products they have many similarities too. I found myself disgusted at the Yulin but still using makeup that was tested animals who would eventually be euthanised. An interested word choice as this implies the animals wanted to endure this suffering. I found myself too trapped in the double standard of seeing some lives more valuable than others.
The outrage people have on festivals such as Yulin, Seaworld atrocities and the horse meat scandal is rarely seen when it comes to animal testing. Are some animals lives really worth more than others? I think it is important to respect different cultures and as western civilisations we see festivals such as barbaric and disgusting. But, this is a traditional part of a Chinese culture that in ways we must respect. I personally do not believe in the torture of any animal for food, I see the Yulin festival with the same disgust as slaughterhouses in the UK. Facebook has become a great way to share petitions against many injustices, often reaching targets and change actually coming from it. Similar to how I see peoples disgust and sharing of posts about MAC but then using a Estee Lauder foundation, I see people sign petitions to end Yulin, but the next day uploading a picture of a beef burger. For me I do not see the disconnect between animals just because one is domesticated in our culture. The stop Yulin festival Facebook page has over 35,000 likes, but I doubt every one of these likes is from a vegetarian.
Facebook is a interesting place for me as it exhibits many of the double standards society holds on animal abuse. People will get extremely passionate about Yulin festival or the recent Dogs purpose Alsatian scandal but remain silent on the meat industry, if anything promoting it.
When videos like the one below go viral though it allows for people to reflect and think about their choices. Cute dogs are a great marketing tool for veganism…
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