Do you have pets? Read this!?!

Do you say to yourself, well I can't harvest this asparagus without crushing a beetle, so I might as well eat a baby dolphin? It's not a black and white issue, but one with many shades in between.

At one end of the spectrum, for me, are blood sports, in which animals are killed solely for whatever entertainment it provides, including bullfighting, cockfights, and dogfights. Most Americans agree this is needless and cruel, and blood sports are illegal in (almost) all states.

At the other end of the spectrum is medical testing, in which animals are experimented on for the good of humanity. While we may wish it was unnecessary, it is currently unavoidable to test the safety and efficacy of new drugs on animals, and many human lives are saved or improved through this testing. Therefore, even hard-core vegans (usually) are willing to take medication. (BTW, despite your insinuation, human trials are also necessary to get a medication approved, and many people do volunteer to have unapproved medication tested on them).

Cosmetics fall closer to the entertainment end of the spectrum; not really necessary. Food is closer to the medical end: people have to eat, and meat can be nutritious. On the other hand, meat is not really a necessary part of anyone's diet anymore, at least in western culture, so people eat meat for enjoyment more than for nutrition, pushing to the "entertainment" end.

Everyone needs to decide for themselves what life choices they will make, and where their personal ethics lead them. on issues of diet, pet ownership, animal testing, etc.

So if we're vegetarian we have to absolutely get rid of everything that harms animals? If one doesn't wear fur due to ethical reasons but still eats meat because he wants to, he's still helping some animals.

I'm not sure what you meant with your first question, but there are many reasons to become vegetarian. Some people do it for the animals, some for religious reasons, others for health. I do it mostly for health but I do love animals.
I have a dog and guess what?? I'm going to start feeding him a complete raw-meat diet! I am doing it for HIS health, you see! This is what's best for him.

I am a freshmen in highschool and we are actually not allowed to wear makeup in our school, so no, I do not wear a ton of makeup everyday.


I haven't had to take prescribed medication in my life yet....I'm just soooo healthy:)

Vegetarian and proud of it!! woot-woot!

1) I personally own 13 pets. They all eat varied diets depending on what their nutritional needs are. I have two dogs, both eat meat. One is allergic to wheat, and grains, so a vegetarian diet would be impossible for her. The other is elderly and I feel a switch in the diet at this point is unnecessary. My ferrets all eat meat, as they are obligate carnivores and need a high quality meat in their diet. My turtle is mainly vegetarian, but her pellets(which are fed in small amounts) do contain fish. My rats are mainly vegetarian, but they do sometimes get chicken bones that would otherwise be thrown away. My tarantula eats insects, so that would exclude her as a vegetarian. My crayfish eats mostly vegetables/algae, but the pellets he eats do contain fish. My rabbit is a natural vegetarian, as is my bird.

I care for my animals in the best way possible. I feed them what they need to thrive and remain healthy. Most of my current pets were obtained before my transition to vegetarianism. In the future I would most likely stick to pets that are vegetarian by nature. However, as most of my pets are rescues(from neglectful situations where many were near death), I would not pass by an animal simply because it would need a food that included meat.

My main reasons for owning pets is to rescue. Most of them would not be alive if not for my intervention(as they needed medical care).

Just b/c someone is not able to eliminate all suffering does not mean they should throw their hands in the air and give up. I know I will never stop all suffering in the world, but I do what I can. I will never eliminate all human suffering, but I still buy fair trade, avoid companies that use sweat shop labor. I cannot stop all environmental issues, but I still recycle.

2)Cosmetics are not an issue for me. I don't use make up, and other products I buy a cruelty free. It is not always easy to find cruelty free products, but it is possible.

3) Animals testing is an outdated and flawed practice. If it were not, there would not be so many recalled drugs. In truth, we are being tested on. I was on a medication for years, and then found out there there was a risk of permanent liver damage and possible failure. This was a drug on the market for a long time, it was obviously humans taking the drugs that developed this issue after prolonged supervised use, no some rat in a lab.

What needs to be done is focus on the people that have developed the disease. Computer technology has come a long way,and should be used as well. There are models, programs, etc. The choice here is not between babies and dogs, it's about real science and fake science.

4) I have taken medication. Being a vegetarian/vegan is about minimizing your contribution to suffering. We don't martyr ourselves for the cause. As I said before, no one can eliminate all suffering, we do what we can. When ever someone questions why I am vegetarian despite the fact that I cannot live 100% cruelty free I simply quote them a line from a song, which goes, "It's not the world that I am changing I do this so this world will know that it will not change me." Basically what I choose to do is for me. I know I will not change the world, but that does not mean that I will simply throw up my hands and give up. No matter what goes on, I will not change who I am.

Dogs need meat to survive, whereas humans do not. If there was no way to get, lets say, protein, then i wouldn't be against meat eating at all. However there are ways for people to get anything they get from meat, without the killing. Dogs on the other hand are more limited in what they can eat, so they need the meat to fill out their diet.

Um... no? I don't use cosmetics >.>

Some people do let themselves get tested on, and if they paid me enough, sure i would do it.

And so far i haven't needed to use any proscribed medication, i just let cold/flu's wear themselves out and i haven't had anything bad yet in my life.

Edit- i'm dumb. I use cosmetics (deodorant, shampoo etc) but none of them are tested on animals.

Vegatarian.

I'm a vegan, as is my tom cat, who is thriving on nutritionally-fortified vegan cat food.

And yes, those who purposely fund the torture and deaths of hundreds of other animals to feed their one companion are by definition not ethical vegetarians or vegans.

Actually, there are several brands of cosmetics which are not tested on animals. Revlon and Almay come to mind, though it's been years since I've worn makeup. Uh...yeah, no one "needs" cosmetics.

Scientists should perform tests on willing HUMAN subjects, thereby ensuring any conclusions would be at least REMOTELY applicable to the HUMANS who would benefit from them. And if it means humans die, that hardly justifies the torture and death of sentient non-humans. I don't get tested on because quite frankly it is not necessary- we've known the reactions of the human body to every known chemical compound for DECADES. Animal testing is more a protection against lawsuits by pharmaceutical companies. I don't take prescribed medication "to aid myself", nor would I. I've nearly died, with intercranial hypertension, and at serious risk of permanent brain damage, yet still refused medication. I refuse to fund torture and death. Period. Um...no. My ethical philosophy "comes down to" doing no harm, to the best of my ability.

For your pet question, in your eyes, just like mine, animal crultey is wrong, but yet yoru dog still eats it. In my oppinion, there is nothing wrong with this, it is yoru dog who is eating it not you but if you are really that bothered by it, dogs, just like , humans, do not need meat to survive. They make plenty of organic dog foods out there that contain no meat. Mt dog eats treats made from vegtables and she loves them more than any other treats. althuogh they may be harder to find, there are plenty out there :)

for yoru cosmetetics question: are you kidding! there are TONS of products out there that dont test on animals, you just have to find the right ones. Although these are more expensive, in my oppinion, they are wirth it for the descent treatment of animals. a good website to find these on is peta2.com i LOVE this website. they have everything from clothes, cosmetics, food, and free things, all vegetarian and vegan! knock yourself out and i hope you find something out there that works for you :))

peta2.com

Firstly, I became vegetarian simply because I was too squeamish and didn't like the taste or texture of meat. This was over 30 years ago. Now, having seen how food animals are raised, I am glad to be veg from that point of view as well.

I have two dogs and two cats, all rescued from miserable lives. There is no way I would enforce vegetarianism on my pets, although my dogs do eat a high percentage of veg. Their meat comes from waste and leftovers from the meat/fishing industries. It is a fact of life that people eat meat and fish and that there are leftovers from their processing. So in a way, my pets are doing everyone a favour by eating the offcuts. They are happy and healthy; they don't care about gourmet meals and happily eat at the bottom of the meat/fish food chain. So to your next question - why bother owning a pet. How can one answer this with a straight face? Pets are part of society and members of the family. Everyone is aware of their benefits to humans.

Next: cosmetics. I don't use any. My moisturiser is sorbolene cream with vegetable glycerine. My soap does not contain tallow. My household cleaning products consist of vinegar, eucalyptus oil, bicarb soda, tallow free laundry powder or certified cruelty free laundry liquid, and cruelty free shampoo. In the past, most things were tested on animals but today that is simply not the case. Your generalisations about "all cosmetics are used on animals for human safety yet I guarantee you, use many, many cosmetics everyday" definitely don't hold true in my life.

Re testing of medications etc: actually there is a whole new branch of science these days revolving around testing substances in ways other than on animals. Scientists have realised that they can get valid test results by other means - including testing on humans. Sure, much of their knowledge in this field comes from the animal based tests of the past, but why turn our backs on that wealth of information? I'm not about to traipse around town seeking experiments to be part of, but if I had a condition that there was some testing about then I would consider being a "guinea pig".

Re medicines: thankfully to date I have not needed much in the way of medications. I avoid big pharma medications if there is an alternative. I recognise that drugs are tested on animals. You have to draw the line between self preservation and martyrdom. I would choose to take a medication that has been tested on animals rather than die, so you're right to say it all comes down to serve the purpose of the individual - my purpose being to live as long as possible.

We are all here to live our lives based on our own lifestyles and decisions. But I'm not going to criticise others' lifestyles or where they draw the line, and I will not accept criticism about where I draw the line.

Phew! Finished now!