A Question about Bone China?

Question

I have a very nice Edwardian Tea set (Rochester) made of bone china.

A friend of mine said that being vegitarian I should throw it away as it was made from animal bones. I thought it was made of porcelain and nothing to do with animals, but my friend insist that it is?
Please help.

In my ignorance I thought that "bone china" was just an expression about how fine the porcelain is.
I really love this tea-set and hate get rid of it.
Do YOU think it would be unethical to use it, being vegitarian?

It is bone china and it was made around 1902 - 1904.
No, I try not to buy things made from animals. However I do got some leather bound books? Perhaps I should hide them before they end up on the "throw away" list, LOL!
My point is that I don't want to contribute to animals being used and killed for our benefit.

My friend insist that it doesn't matter if the animals got killed a hundred years ago, they where still killed for something that I now owns. I'm not sure if I agree...

I should perhaps point out that it is my boyfriend who is insisting on throwing my china in the crusher. I did suggest that we could sell it, but he says that makes me just as bad as I would then profit from the cruelty.
Yes, I am attatched to this set as it comes from my family and feel it's part of my history, silly really.
My boyfriend insist that it goes in the crusher tomorrow. This was just a desperate attempt to come up with some good arguments against it..,

Answer 1

"Yes, I am attatched to this set as it comes from my family and feel it's part of my history, silly really"

NO...NOT "silly" at all! It is part of your history, and part of you and will be part of your children's history as well.

You've already heard the logical arguments for keeping it from folks.

What I would like to know is why you are keeping your bf. You would be better off, dear, throwing his sodding bum in the crusher.

His actions are a type of emotional abuse. My guess is that this behavior is not new and similar things have happened before where this control freak has behaved abusively. And as for your stupid "friend", lose them as well.

You sound like an absolutely charming and compassionate dear who treasures the memories and things from her family history.

My dear, RUN AWAY from the situation you are in--you deserve better---and take your wonderful tea set with you.

Answer 2

If I were in your situation then I would sell the china and give the money to an animal charity... there's no point throwing something away if you can donate money towards a good cause from it. But everyone's different so just do what you feel is best. I don't think you would be a 'bad' vegetarian by keeping it because you didn't purchase it yourself and have not therefore supported any industry that contributed to the suffering of an animal. Personally I wouldn't be able to keep it knowing that I'd be enjoying a product of something else's pain but just do what you feel is best.

Answer 3

Your boyfriend cannot dictate what you keep. If it is yours, keep it. The way I see it, you didn't kill the animals, so why should you suffer? Someone worked hard to make that tea set, and I bet some people would love to get their hands on it. If you can't handle an argument, give it to a charity so that they can sell it for their cause. That would be a lot more useful than adding to the tonnes of waste humans produce each year.
EDIT - Having actually read that this is from your family, you should not have to throw this set away. Would you ever ask your boyfriend to throw away something sentimental to him?
I do still stand by what I said. A charity shop is a better option, or if it is authentic, auction and give the proceeds to a charity of your choice. That way you can do something useful in a way that respects your family, instead of having it crushed to dust.

Answer 4

If you throw away all your leather, bone china etc, when become a vegetarian you are completely missing the point.

It is about preventing animals from being harmed. If you don't buy the stuff, there will be less demand and thus less animals will suffer. These animals have already been killed to satisfy the demand and throwing it out will not reverse that.

Furthermore, it is highly unlikely an animal has ever been killed for the bones. They are killed for the meat, bones are a waste product. And you can use the bones of animals that die naturally too.

Answer 5

Is she even veg herself? Even if she is, it doesn't change the fact that the tea set was made over one hundred years ago. As long as you don't go around promoting the joys of using bone china and you don't buy any more of it, there is no moral or ethical issue surrounding your use of it. Hell you could even sell it and make a profit on it and no one has any business or justification in criticizing your decision.

Using that china set in no way contributes to the suffering of any animal, 'period'.

Edit:
Please don't let any man take any control over your ability to make your own decisions. Your bf sounds like a psycho control freak.

Answer 6

Go to this site http://www.thepotteries.org/types/bonechina.htm
It tells you exactly what bone china is made from.

I also agree with you, the bone ash most likely comes from, animal bones that have come from butchers shops, so would be discarded anyway, the animals would be killed for the meat not the bones. The bones will just be a by product.

Answer 7

Throw it away? Why not sell it and donate the money to an animal shelter. Not everyone is a veggie and someone might appreciate it.

Bone china is the toughest of porcelains and does indeed contain bones. Bone ash makes up the greatest part of the formula for bone china, with the balance of the formula containing kaolin and petuntse. The resulting material is hard, resilient and an ivory white in color. It remains the standard for porcelain manufactured in England.

You have to remember that a hundred years ago and for generations before that if it wasn't for animals people would have starved, not have been able to plant (needed animals to pull the plows), would not have explored or gotten from one point to another as easily.

Answer 8

Pack it away in tissue paper, and send it off to a sympathetic friend's house who will hold onto it for you so your honey doesn't go smashing a lovely antique tea set.

Some new vegans decide to hold onto things that they already had (leather shoes, etc.) simply because it would be wasteful to throw away a perfectly good pair of shoes on the basis of their material. When those shoes wear out, the obvious choice would be for them to buy a pair of vegan-friendly shoes. I think this situation would apply to your tea set. Why toss it, you already own it!

Regardless of what it is made out of, your boyfriend would be hurting YOU by destroying a family heirloom. Hide it, or find a boyfriend who won't insist upon destroying something that matters to you.

Answer 9

The animals that contributed their bones (assuming it is bone chine) died over 100 years ago.
Do you wear leather shoes? Do you ever get prescriptions from the doctor that have been tested on animals to ensure safety?
Please keep things in proportion.
I too am a non-meat eater but I still understand that without other animal products life might be a little more difficult.
I think your friend was just winding you up, anyway.

Answer 10

I think you should keep the set of bone china. There is nothing you can do about animals being killed a hundred years ago. Like one of the other people said it all about keeping htings in perspective. Your friend is not being very nice to you to suggest that you should "throw it away". I agree with the above comment that she is probably trying to rile you up. Tell her to mind her own business!