Lately I took part in many conversations about what we should eat or wear, and how much cruelty to animals is bearable. It started with the lovely Barbara, who has been a convinced vegetarian since her childhood. When I told her I attended a Corrida, and actually liked it, she was horrified.
I totally understand your feelings, Barbara!
I also talked a little bit with Jeremy, happy owner of Sultan, a fabulous brand of menswear. He pretends he is not eco conscious, but I can tell you his collections are! The 100% made in France collaboration with Paraboots is amazing, I’ll mention it in an upcoming post. I loved the look of the shoes with seal fur, but I could NEVER wear them, because of the feeling a cute animal of an endangered species has been murdered so that my feet will look cool. When I told him, he answered his company only kill bad seals and let the good seals live. Ha ha ha, I sure believe that!
There’s also this article from the Fearless Blog, that I really appreciated. They say you don’t have to put labels on people, like, if you’re a vegetarian you’re supposed to act some way, whereas if you eat meat you’re a bad bad bad killer.
For my part I was raised in the countryside, where people grow animals. It sounds weird, when you think about it, to take good care of a Being everyday, and then when you’re hungry you just kill it.
Is this cruelty, or just life ?
Is it a crime to kill for food? I am not a vegetarian but I eat a very low amount of meat, that I choose of good quality and local. I am aware of the tremendous impact red meat has on our planet, and I personally don’t want to be part of that. Meanwhile, I am french and a food lover, and can’t imagine a parisian bistrot without a good steak frites on the menu! We have to keep that tradition, but with local and good quality products, and maybe less quantities. Besides, I suppose there probably should be a program to modernise slaughterhouses to limit the pain.
Also, animals kill each other, don’t they ? And we humans are part of the food chain, right?
Is it a crime to kill because you want to look good? I don’t know, but I would never buy fur or leather from an animal that was raised for this purpose. Yet, I love to wear vintage fur, and leather from animals that were raised for their meat in the first place.
Is it a crime to kill to maintain traditions? I don’t know, but for my part I have the feeling that cruelty is part of nature. I respect ancient traditions that are very close to sacrifices, because sometimes we need to be in contact with death and its symbolic power. Like, corrida represents the symbol of a risky fight for life. Like whaling on a tiny little boat, once in a year, as they used to in the ancient times, at the risk of the sailor’s lives. Confrontation with nature is part of our « human animality ». But using modern equipments to perform a masacre, like they do every year at the whaling in the Faroe Islands, how human is that?
Is it a crime to kill for pleasure? That, I feel, is totally unbearable.
In the end, I would place Nature’s rights above all. And since we’re part of it, we can kill, eat, but not destroy. This is my own private opinion, and I am conscious of my contradictions. Well, life is not in black and white! It’s more like in a technicolor movie. Yes, you can be an eco activist AND wear leather. There is no « 100% » cruel or « 100% » nice, there are only inbetweens!
I would love to get feedback on that matter.
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