How to eliminate animal testing and cruelty as a consumer...

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What do you think of when you hear the word vegan? When I first became vegan and "came out," so to speak, my family and friends didn't take it well. Perhaps it was because I had been vegan several years prior to, and was a little annoying with my preaching. I was vegan for the health benefits, and I felt the need to tell people what their food was doing to their bodies. I thought I was helping and wanted them to be healthy, but ultimately my words fell on deaf ears. So, when my family heard the word vegan, they thought of someone who was going to preach to them about what meat was going to do to their body. Some people hear the word vegan and think of someone who doesn't shave, douses themselves in patchouli, has dreadlocks, and wears clothes made entirely out of hemp. Other people are completely confused as to what vegan means. I tell some individuals I am vegan and I get questions like: "so you still eat fish," "you can still have eggs right," "So you don't eat any animals, but you can still eat cheese," and so on.

I don't do any of those things. I am far from a hippie, patchouli happens to be one of my least favorite smells, I shave daily, and I don't think I own anything made from hemp. I am a vegan hairstylist that cares about animals, the environment, and my health. I primarily consider myself an ethical vegan, whereas being vegan is a way of life (1). I do not exploit animals for any of my needs, including my business (yes, even my color line Jack Winn Color is vegan). When you truly dive into veganism, you begin to realize that animal exploitation is completely ingrained in our society. Other than slaughtering them for meat, milk, and eggs, animals are harmed in many other ways. Ethical veganism is a lifestyle, it's not only how and what a person eats, but what they wear, paying attention to personal care products so they aren't tested on animals, hobbies and the job the individual has (1).

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So being vegan isn't just about what I eat, I have to pay close attention to every thing I purchase. The best way I have found to make sure the products I am purchasing do not test on animals is the cruelty cutter app, and the reason for this post. (http://cruelty-cutter.org). This was an app created by the Beagle Freedom Project that allows you to scan all products to find out if they are cruelty free. I was not surprised that many of the products that I used to use had been tested on animals, so I have been switching out all the products that I purchase to ones that have never harmed an animal. The best way to stop animal testing, is to stop using products that have been tested on animals.

Before I was vegan, I didn't know much about animal testing. I only thought it was on rats, or varmints, as if they were somehow less, because they weren't as cute and cuddly as other animals. I have since learned that, it's actually some of the cutest and most cuddliest animals that are tested on. Beagles, being a favorite for testing (2).

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If you would like to stop this cruelty, you don't have to be vegan, though I would obviously highly recommend it, but you can start by paying attention to the products that you are using. I would suggest going through your household and checking some of your products and switching them out for cruelty free products. Then use the "bite back" function on the cruelty cutter app that shares to social media the products that are still using this barbaric form of testing on innocent beings.

Sources:

http://www.vegansouls.com/ethical-veganism (1)
http://rescuefreedomproject.org/donate/ (2)
https://animalwelfareissues.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/beagle-testing-in-the-uk/ (3)
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=618&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=1PWpWp7gMtCojwOAwI_AAQ&q=cruelty+free&oq=cru&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0i67k1l5j0l5.3168.4693.0.9619.7.5.2.0.0.0.96.402.5.5.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.7.457....0.9kI6lN67fX8#imgrc=JVE5yaMpoLoeCM:(4)
http://www.olivemagazine.gr/mediterranean-cooking/lets-go-vegan/ (5)