Vegetarianism and handbags.

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shedreamsnot

Member
Mar 28, 2006
48
1
#1
I searched for this topic before, but to no avail. As both a handbag lover and a vegetarian, I am torn on whether or not I condone carrying and wearing leather. I have a few leather bags (Coach and the like), but they were bought before I was a vegetarian. There aren't many designer non-leather handbags that I really like. I think the only ones are perhaps Kate Spade?

It is common for vegetarians to carry and wear leather, I think. For example, for anyone who has ever seen Roseanne, Sara Gilbert ("Darlene") is a vegetarian in real life, but I've seen many pictures of her carrying a Louis Vuitton Multicolore Alma. The fact that vegetarian celebrities and other vegetarians carry leather doesn't make it right, of course, just an example of the fact that it does seem common.

But I digress. What do you guys think?
 
#2
A vegetarian doesn't eat meat.

A vegan is a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products; also : one who abstains from using animal products (as leather).

So I guess it's okay for a vegetarian to wear leather, but if someone's a self-proclaimed vegan, they shouldn't be using any animal products.

This is the thing that bothers me about Pamela Anderson. She claims to be a vegan but she eats fish and seafood. She comes out with a line of cruelty-free cosmetics and clothes and she has been pictured wearing leather and sitting in limos with leather seats. She has hepatitis C, and she's on medication for it. That medication has been tested on animals.
 
#3
caitlin1214 said:
A vegetarian doesn't eat meat.

A vegan is a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products; also : one who abstains from using animal products (as leather).

So I guess it's okay for a vegetarian to wear leather, but if someone's a self-proclaimed vegan, they shouldn't be using any animal products.

This is the thing that bothers me about Pamela Anderson. She claims to be a vegan but she eats fish and seafood. She comes out with a line of cruelty-free cosmetics and clothes and she has been pictured wearing leather and sitting in limos with leather seats. She has hepatitis C, and she's on medication for it. That medication has been tested on animals.
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Yeah, Pam Anderson is quite hypocritical. I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian. I drink milk and sometimes eat eggs. I detest vegan hypocrites, like my "vegan" friend who indulges on brownies and hamburgers when she gets stressed out!
 
#5
If I can remember right Ayla is a vegetarian and wears leather. I've been a vegetarian for 11 years and I do the same as well.

The fact that vegetarian celebrities and other vegetarians carry leather doesn't make it right, of course, just an example of the fact that it does seem common.

I understand where you're coming from, but personally I feel it's a by product. It honestly doesn't concern me that much. But, then again I didn't go into vegetarianism as a cause. I would buy more vegan bags if the faux leathers out there presented more quality and styles I like. The same goes for shoes.
 
#6
Sidebar: When Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson got together, I knew there was going to be a problem: Kid Rock enthusiastically hunts and eats meat (the man does beer fried turkey).

In a December GQ interview, the couple were asked if Pamela got Kid Rock to stop hunting. He goes, "Now I shoot the deer and she saves it." A shocked Pam responded, "What did you say? That's divorce right there. You shoot anything, it's over."
 
#8
I am a proud vegetarian, and I wear leather. Leather is a by-product of the meat industry, which is why I am not hesistant to wear it. If the meat industry was non-existent, then I wouldn't wear leather. Material, like fur, isn't by-product, so I would never wear fur.
Also, I respect Pam Anderson, b/c she is an animal activist and I do appreciate some steps she took in the past to gain consumers' attention on her cause. And, it is very difficult to be completely "pure" when it comes to animal testing. Many medications, sadly, are tested on animals, and I guess she had no choice but to take that medicine. People with illnesses and other reasons really don't have a choice, unfortunately, until one day, people realize the alternatives that are already in use by other corporations, and animal testing will be terminated.
 
#9
purplekitty22 said:
Many medications, sadly, are tested on animals, and I guess she had no choice but to take that medicine. People with illnesses and other reasons really don't have a choice, unfortunately, until one day, people realize the alternatives that are already in use by other corporations, and animal testing will be terminated.
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On the topic of medicine, there are many pills encapsulated with gelatin. If a doctor prescribed that for me, I don't think I would refuse to take it.
 
#10
Okay, so she can't help the medication, but she can help wearing leather. And sitting on leather seats. And eating seafood.

And for someone with a lot of flaws in their arguments, she spends quite a lot of time convincing someone who doesn't agree with her that they're wrong.



I have nothing against vegetarians or vegans. I only have a problem with them if they try to convince me that eating meat is wrong. It's like, they can't just disagree with me and leave it alone?
 
#11
caitlin1214 said:
I have nothing against vegetarians or vegans. I only have a problem with them if they try to convince me that eating meat is wrong. It's like, they can't just disagree with me and leave it alone?
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I totally know what you mean! Even though I am a vegetarian, I would never try to argue with someone about eating meat. That's such a personal choice, you know? I even cook meat now and then for my family when I make dinner. The only downside is not being able to taste it to know how good it is.

I know how it feels to be lectured about that stuff because vegans have lectured me! Also, I used to do behavioral research with animals with the behavioral psych part of my university and I got so much crap for that. >_< So frustrating!
 
#13
Don't get me wrong, I honestly believe Pamela Anderson genuinely cares for animals, and I applaud her for that. Without getting into it I think she's involved in the wrong group.
 
#15
I am a member of Peta and I think Pamela Anderson is great, if she sat on a leather seat so what, there probably weren't any other chairs, I think she should not be run down for what she does but applauded.
 
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