A hypothetical question about the ethics of being a vegan......?

Question

Imagine you decide to become a vegan after years of being a vegetarian. You go into your shower and discover that your shampoo contains an animal byproduct. Do you throw it away immediatley because of your vegan lifestyle?

Consider this information before answering:

1. The shampoo has already been bought. The company already has the financial benefit from that shampoo. Whether you use it or not makes no difference to the animals or the industry.

2. Being as the animal has already been killed, wouldn't it be considered dying in vanity to throw it out?

Or would you throw it out anyway solely because of the ethics, even after pondering the previous statements.

Answer 1

If someone became veggie i don't think they would finish off all the meat in the freezer.

So i suspect most vegans would throw out animal based cosmetics. If you really werea vegan how would you feel about rubbing dead cow all over your body in the shower ?

People don't become veggie or vegan overnight, it starts with awareness, belief, moral positioning and then the commitment, during this whoel transition its likely the products would run down anyway.

Answer 2

I was Vegan for a while but had to compremise cause Vegan life got too expensive for me. So I went back to being a Vegetarian! However most of my shampoos that I use don't contain any animal products yet some have been tested on animals! if I was in the situation that you said.. I would throw it out cause a true vegan is commited. lack of money keeps me from being a commited vegan! Coconut shampoo is great but it's pricey 3x the cost of regular shampoo!

Answer 3

Being a Vegan, is about respecting animals. By respecting animals we acknowledge that they are living, and while they may not have rights as it is traditionally known, they still deserve to be respected.

When we respect animals we observe where they came from. People have eaten meat for thousands of years, (I in no way wish to justify meat eating here) and for thousands of years people knew where their meat came from. Usually, from their own farm.

Now in modern times, we don't know where are meat comes from. We know that it comes from animals, but we don't really grasp the reality that our meat was once apart of a living being thing.

Vegans grasp that reality. They understand that mean, and animal products, do come from things which live and so they believe that is ethically wrong to use those products.

However, it is a great disrespect to an animal to waste in once it has already sacrificed itself to be in a product.

We do not live in a perfect world, and although we try to refrain from using animal products in our lives, occationaly one well slip in. In such situations when we have unwittingly bought an animal product we should avoid waste.

The best option would be to not through the product away, because than the animal would have died for no reason, but instead to either return it, if at all possible. If returning the product is not an option you can give it away to someone who does not refrain from using animal products.

Answer 4

It really depends on the individual. I'm still using up my supplies of non-vegan cosmetics, deodorants and shampoo (I'd been saving up a lot of stuff in anticipation of moving out for college). I've given away all my leather things (a purse and an old pair of moccasins) and after this winter I'm giving away my almost-new wool pea coat (I'd get rid of it sooner but at the moment I'm too poor to buy a new coat) and making stuffed animals out of my old wool sweaters, to give away to kids in my family.
I know a lot of people who are financially able to throw everything out and start over, however, that's just not something I can do.
At the end of the day, living consciously should be all about making an effort to reduce suffering, not being perfect. If there's something you can change in your life, do it. If not, do your best to help in other ways, and change it later.

Answer 5

Answers will vary on this one, but my answer is no - I wouldn't throw it out, exactly for the reasons you mentioned. I don't like waste, and the damage is already done...I'd use it up, and not buy that brand again. (In a similar fashion, I haven't yet replaced my leather belt - simply because I haven't found an affordable replacement yet, and throwing the one I have away won't do anything to further the vegan cause.) The minute I find a decent replacement, it's going to the Salvation Army...!

Answer 6

I don't consider myself a vegan because I eat dairy products.

I don't eat eggs or anything that requires an animal to be killed. I try to avoid buying products that contain substances from the bodies of animals, but my wife isn't quite as careful as I am.

Sometimes I use her soap that has tallow if I run out of my soap; simply because it's better than going to work without taking a bath.

I would say if you already bought it go ahead an use it if it doesn't bother you, and you can always try to be more careful next time if you like. Or, try to return it to the store if you want to.

Answer 7

Sorry, Shitakey, yet that article became thank you to long for me.... i do no longer bear in mind seeing this question until now and that i basically study somewhat of it, yet all i will say is that i'm vegan by way of fact of my journey with animals and that i emphasize with their discomfort and concern. i myself did no longer get a lot extra than “however the injustice they’re combating isn't the full equipment of human domination (whether some activists think of that’s what they’re against).” How does this author know what injustice i'm combating? The "dominance topic" the author speaks approximately is why I honestly have chosen to volunteer for animals and why i'm knowledgeable in human centers. My extreme thinking skills lead me to question why all people could prefer to tell me what my motives are ... for something. Frankly, i do no longer understand why somebody could be "against" any set of ethics whos objective is to help somebody else. Vegans ARE ethically different than meat eaters.. meat eaters ARE ethically different than vegans. No 2 human beings carry the same values, ethics or morals. whether i'm comparable or different from a meat eater (which, of direction, i used to be) has no pertaining to my veganism. I honestly have worry expertise those likely around philosophical debates....what's the element? If the author's argument is that vegans do no longer pass a ways sufficient, i will comprehend why he/she is an ex vegan. That defeatist suggestions-set could rigidity all people far flung from any activity and instruments up the guy for failure. i've got worked in animal welfare and animal rescue long sufficient to nicely known that each and every thing I do, have completed and ought to probably do is honestly no longer sufficient. So? comparable to volunteering interior the human centers, volunteers income satisfaction from making a distinction interior the lives of animals (and individuals) we paintings with.... no longer sufficient for some yet sufficient for the animals (or human beings) we serve. If we provide up on each and every thing, we ought to continually forget approximately prisons by way of fact we are able to in no way exchange human beings's behaviour and close down infant welfare companies and homeless shelters and retract all social welfare nets by way of fact interior the vast image, those social issues would be around until the top of time. lower back, i do no longer understand the incentive of somebody conversing out against a collection of values they used to espouse.... i myself could be attracted to how that comes approximately.

Answer 8

upon becoming a vegetarian (who did not support inedible animal products, such as wool, leather, etc.), i decided to discard some of my personal belongings, including cosmetics and fashion accessories. rather than throwing them away, i gave what can be used to my mom who will send the items to the philippines.

the items are in my possession already, and while it may not agree with my ethics, that doesn't mean someone else won't find any use for it. our family in the philippines is more unfortunate than we are anyways, so i know they'll find good use for those discarded items.

Answer 9

I wouldn't use it, just because I think it's a little gross to rub animals onto my head. But I also wouldn't throw it away, because I try not to waste stuff. Lots of homeless shelters, women's shelters, farm worker camps etc accept consumer goods and don't mind when things are lightly used. You could also just leave it in the shower at your gym and let some lucky person think they lucked out!

Answer 10

Most have a money back guarantee. I would send the rest of the bottle to the company with the receipt and tell them I would like a refund because I am not satisfied with the product as they use animal products. I would request that they consider acting compassionately towards animals in the future - letting them know that I would be happy to buy from them in the future if they change their practices.