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Other than her penchant for shopping and candy, my wingwoman, Laura, is an effective vegetarian influence. When dining together, I pretend that she's easily offended (which she's not) and avoid meat dishes. Recently she said, "I realize that I'm a hypocrite. I’m vegetarian and yet I'm still using some products that test on animals. If I'm going to take a stand on this, I need to be consistent and look at all aspects of my life." Hence, my new interest in what we are calling, The Next Level.
Laura went online, did the research and has thrown out all products that test on animals, replacing them with 'cruelty-free' products. As her veggie protege, I started looking at my own cabinets and taking inventory and it's been an eye-opening experience.
I especially fretted over the friendly pink bottle of Oil of Olay. I love the stuff and started using it because my Grandma Beth did too. She had great skin and I loved the idea of smelling like her. However, I now know that as part of the Proctor & Gamble line-up, the product is tested on animals somewhere along the line. DAMMIT. This was going to be tough.
Trouble is, I make changes in my life the way newborn turtles make sharp right turns - sloooooowly and with shaky trepidation. The Universe, always impatient with me, stepped in to nudge me along when I flew home for a family visit. Going through security at Denver Airport, I got nabbed by TSA screeners. Holding the pink bottle of Olay, the woman asked me, "This is 4 oz., you can only have 3 oz. Do you want to check your luggage or do you want me to toss it?"
I knew what the gods were up to, knowing what is best before I do - sneaky bastards. "Go ahead and toss it," I smiled. "I'll get something else." And just like that, the Oil of Olay left my life, never to return (Unless P&G revamp their policies).
"I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn't. ...The pain which it inflicts upon unsuspecting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further."
--Mark Twain
Upon returning home, I continued going through my tolietries and checking out their animal testing backgrounds online. Results: Colgate toothpaste (yes), Dove deodorant (yes), LUSH Skin Drink (no), Elizabeth Arden hand cream (yes), Earth science face moisturizer (no), Avon's SkinSoSoft sunscreen/bug guard (no) and Burt's Bees Lip shimmer (no). Not too bad but I'll make different toothpaste and deodorant choices from now on.
(Someone suggested Tom's of Maine but in 2006, Colgate-Palmolive - which condones animal testing - acquired a controlling 84 percent stake in the company. However, Tom's is a stand-alone subsidiary the terms of the purchase stipulated that Tom's of Maine's policies will be retained, including a ban on animal testing. Tom's is so adamant about remaining cruelty-free that they have a centerpiece video on their home page that addresses the issue directly.)
On to the cleaning products cupboard: Windex (yes, although they have a Greenlist line that does not test on animals, thereby proving it can be done) 409 cleaner (yes), Comet cleanser (yes) and Lysol (yes). Ooof. Looks like I've got some housecleaning to do on my housecleaning products.
So, unless you believe in the core of your being that animals are mindless and without feeling and placed on Earth only for human usage and pleasure (and many do), the reality is pretty disturbing. As many as 115 million animals are experimented on and killed in laboratories in the U.S. every year, all in the name of attaining an ideal product for our market shelves. Truth is, an accurate count is impossible to achieve because neither the experimenters nor the government keep track.
"Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer
is: 'Because the animals are like us.' Ask the experimenters why it is
morally OK to experiment on animals, and the answer is: 'Because the
animals are not like us.' Animal experimentation rests on a logical
contradiction."
--Professor Charles R. Magel
The experiments include pumping chemicals into rats' stomachs, hacking muscle tissue from dogs' thighs, and putting baby monkeys in isolation chambers. (If there are indeed peaceful, happy
