Why Vegans Dont Wear Silk

While its pretty clear to most people why vegans dont eat meat or wear fur, why they dont wear silk is less obvious. Silk fabric is made from the fiber thats spun by silkworms when they form the cocoons for their pupal stage prior to becoming moths. In order to harvest silk, many silkworms are killed. While some methods of silk production do not require the creatures to die, its still a form of animal exploitation. Since vegans do not use products they believe exploit animals, they do not use silk. How Is Silk Made? Mass-produced silk is made from domesticated silkworms,  Bombyx mori, that are raised on farms. These silkworms–the caterpillar stage of the silk moth–are fed mulberry leaves until they are ready to spin cocoons and enter the pupal stage. The silk is secreted as a liquid from two glands in the caterpillars head. While in the pupal stage, the cocoons are placed in boiling water, which kills the silkworms and begins the process of unraveling the cocoons in order to produce silk threads. Approximately 15 silkworms are killed to make a gram of silk thread, and 10,000 are killed to make a silk sari. If allowed to develop and live, the silkworms would turn into moths and chew their way out of the cocoons to escape. However, these chewed silk strands are much shorter and less valuable than the whole cocoons. Silk thread can also be produced by killing silkworms while they are in the caterpillar stage, just before they spin cocoons, and extracting the two silk glands. The glands can then be stretched into silk threads known as silkworm gut, which is used mainly to make fly fishing lures. Non-Violent Silk Production Silk can also be made without killing the caterpillars. Eri silk or peace silk is made from the cocoons of Samia ricini, a type of silkworm that spins a cocoon with a tiny opening in the end. After metamorphosizing into moths, they crawl out of the opening. This type of silk cannot be reeled in the same way as Bombyx mori silk. Instead, it is carded and spun like wool. Unfortunately, Eri silk represents a very small portion of the silk market. Another type of silk is Ahimsa silk, which is made from the cocoons of Bombyx mori moths after the moths chew their way out of their cocoons. Due to the broken strands, less of the silk is usable for textile production, so Ahimsa silk costs more than conventional silk. Ahimsa is the Hindu word for non-violence. Ahimsa silk, though popular with the followers of Jainism, also represents a very small portion of the silk market. Do Insects Suffer? Dropping silkworms into boiling water kills them, potentially causing them to suffer. While the insect nervous system differs from that of mammals, insects do transmit signals from stimuli that cause a response. Experts disagree over how much an insect can suffer or feel pain. Most, however, leave the door open to the question and believe it may be possible that insects feel something akin to what we would classify as pain. Even if you accept the premise that insects dont feel pain in the same way that humans or even other animals experience it, vegans believe that all creatures are deserving of humane treatment. While it may not technically hurt them, when a silkworm is dropped into boiling water, it dies—and death free of pain is still death. Why Vegans Dont Wear Silk Vegans try to avoid harming and exploiting animals, which means they do not use animal products, including meat, dairy, eggs, fur, leather, wool–or silk. Since vegans consider all insects sentient, they believe these creatures have an animal right to a life free of suffering. Even the harvesting of Eri silk or Ahimsa silk is problematic because it involves the domestication, breeding, and exploitation of animals. Adult Bombyx mori silkmoths cannot fly because their bodies are too big compared to their wings, and adult males cannot eat because they have underdeveloped mouthparts. Similar to cows that have been bred for maximum meat or milk production, silkworms have been bred to maximize silk production, with no regard for the well-being of the animals. To vegans, the only possible ethical way to produce silk would be to collect cocoons from wild insects after the adult insects emerge from them and dont need them any longer. Another ethical way to wear silk would be to wear only second-hand silk, freegan silk, or old pieces of clothing that were purchased before one went vegan.

Abortion Is Not Justifiable - 855 Words

Abortion Every human being is a person. Every person has the right of life here on Earth. Abortion kills an innocent human being. Abortion by definition means the deliberate termination of a human being. Deliberate by definition means intentional. Abortion is the killing of innocent people who have no say in the ending of their life. Why are 42 million human beings deliberately killed worldwide each year? How is this be justified? It’s not justifiable! That baby feels the pain of the abortion. That human being is having it’s limbs tore off its own body and can feel every bit of it. The baby feels both psychological and real physical, organic pain. Let that sink in. Whether or not abortion is a painful experience to the unborn child being aborted, the child is left no less dead as a result of the carrier s choice. Poverty, rape, disabilities, or â€Å"unwantedness† does not justify abortion! If someone s right to life truly were established or removed based simply on their wantedness, what would that mean for those in foster care or for the homeless? When it comes to abortion, there is no shortage of What if...? s. Just when it seems the injustice of abortion has been firmly established, you ll hear things like: What if the woman was raped?, What if she can t afford a child?, or What if the baby is deformed? Even if the biological parents want nothing to do with their offspring, there are families all over the nation waiting desperately to adopt a baby, familiesShow MoreRelatedIs Abortion Justifiable In Cases Of Rape Or Incest?1496 Words   |  6 PagesAbortion is a topic that people love to argue. It is super easy to throw emotions into the argument because many people feel so strongly about it. People argue that abortion is either a good solution or a bad choice by the mother. However, many of the women who choose to have an abortion feel like it is their only choice. Finding out you are pregnant can be profoundly scary. Especially if the pregnancy is unplanned, or the mother is a victim of rape. It is assumed that most women who have beenRead MoreThe Argument Of Defending Abortion850 Words   |  4 PagesDefending abortion is always controversial. But, in some circumstances it can be justified. In the case of Clare Macwurter, her mental state questions if abortion is permissible. Judith Thomson’s article â€Å"A Defense of Abortion† argues analogies defending her reasoning for justifiable abortion. In some cases, Thomson reasons that abortion is sometimes justifiable. Munson states, â€Å"When the reasons for having an abortion are trivial, then abortion is not legitimate. When the reasons are serious andRead MoreEssay on The Debate on Abortion1316 Words   |  6 PagesThe Debate on Abortion Part A Abortion is the premature expulsion of the foetus from the womb. You need to perform an operation to perform this. Abortion is now legal if two doctors agree on either of the following:  · That continuing the pregnancy means that there is a risk to the womans health. Or that of her existing children greater than if the pregnancy was terminated, allowing up to 24 weeks of pregnancy  · Or that continuing the pregnancy would involveRead MorePractical Ethics, By Peter Singer, The Modern Bioethical Philosopher1469 Words   |  6 Pagesweighted. According to Singer, a being’s interest should be weighted on the basis of the properties of the being and never on the basis of its affiliation to some abstract group (Peter n.p). The book studies a wide array of ethical issues including abortion, sex, race, ability, infanticide, political violence, the moral status of animals, obligation to assist others, overseas aid, species, embryo experimentation, and euthanasia (Review of Practical Ethics n.p). In assessing the lives which are pleasurableRead MoreAbortion Is The Act Of Ending The Human Life Of A Pregnant Woman1528 Words   |  7 PagesIn the following paragraphs we will see a basic discussion on six general ways that abortion is performed. We go into graphic detail explaining the procedures that are used in such manners. Here we determine within oursel ves if abortion is right, justifiable, non-justifiable, wrong, murder, manslaughter, or criminal negligence. Here we posed provoking questions that make one think on the issues that are relevant to living things. Here we are shown what one side is like and excusable for a fetusRead MoreEssay about Justification Of Violence970 Words   |  4 Pagesshould fight back and do what they have to do to save themselves before its too late. Other situations which call for justifiable violence, in my opinion, are robbery at gunpoint and any other type of unprovoked violence. Other than self-defense, I do not believe violence should be tolerated at any cost. Hitting children when they do something quot;wrongquot; is not justifiable. I believe that if a child does something their parents dont want them to do, they should be taught not to do it anymoreRead MoreIs Abortion Morally Wrong?1397 Words   |  6 PagesAbortion is viewed as an ethical issue worldwide as it has many debates which causes question: Should it be considered morally ethical or not? Should it be legal or illegal? Is it wrong, is it, right? In addition to multiple theories: Beliefs, Morality, Logic, Science and many others. Some argue that abortion is morally wrong because it has a right to life. While the opposing view believe that its morally correct because it holds no right to life. The text â€Å"The Deliberately Induced Abortion ofRead MoreAbortion Essay755 Words   |  4 PagesPersuasion Abortion The thought of killing a human being, to most people, is bone chilling and can stand the hair on the back of your neck on end. Taking some ones life is the end all, and even in the most justifiable circumstances, anyone would buckle and not go through with it. Abortion, on the other hand, is a justifiable murder do to the fact that if you don’t think you can take care of a child, why even go through the psychological changes to change your mind. Abortion is an operationRead MoreThe Abortion Debate Essay1544 Words   |  7 Pages No matter where you stand on the issue, abortion is a highly debated topic in today’s society. In this essay I will examine both sides of the abortion issue. I will begin with a brief overview of the abortion debate, to include the morality of the situation. Next I will discuss the Pro-Life argument. Lastly I will look at the Pro-Choice view. In the final analysis I will show how utilitarianism, altruism, and situational ethical views apply to abortion. Having in mind the extreme controversy surroundingRead MoreThe Need For Civil Disobedience Essay1287 Words   |  6 Pagescivil disobedience. He states that the act of civil disobedience can be justifiable. One of the acts that he talks about is the act of nonviolence. He holds that people like Stuart Brown, Rex Martin, and Michael Bayles admit to an act of civil disobedience; but states that nonviolent civil disobedience is justifiable and that violent civil disobedience is not justifiable. (Morreall, 1976) Abortion Civil Disobedience Abortion is it right or wrong? This has been a question that so many of us have

Lucy Gault Free Essays

In the novel, The Story of Lucy Gault, chance plays a tremendous role. There are numerous examples of this. From the very beginning, the fact that Lucy goes for a swim, and then gets hurt on her way back through the woods, starts the plot. We will write a custom essay sample on Lucy Gault or any similar topic only for you Order Now With her not returning home, and the chance happening that her clothes were not all washed out to see, her parents left the country with out her, a critical point, never to see her again. If they had not found any of her clothes, or her sandal, they may have continued to look for her in the countryside. At this same time, the fact that Henry happened upon her under the black coat at Patty Lindon’s old place was another chance happening. And what if Henry had not needed the stones to repair the O’Reilly’s sheep fence, the reason he went to Liindon’s. Lucy survived and the story continues. And what about the first visit by Ralph – he got lost, came up a strange road that to him did not look like an avenue, did not expect to find a house, and it happened to be Lahardane, and by chance, once again Lucy was home and came out of the house. These suggest the hand of fate during not only Lucy’s life, but that of her parents and Ralph as well. The tragic consequences of Lucy’s mother and father finding her clothes along the shore prove to them that she had drowned, lost at sea while swimming alone. Convinced of this, they stop looking for Lucy and decide to continue with their plans to leave Ireland without her. They never look back. They move to England, and then continue to move from place to place, never contacting anyone at Lahardane with their updated location. Thus no one was able to let them know that their daughter had survived and was growing up without them. And likewise, they not seeing her mature. When Lucy first disappeared, Bridget confirmed that she had seen Lucy come home in prior nights with damp hair, proof that she had been swimming alone. They could not get past this fact of dishonesty. They had called her name in the woods to no avail. They blamed themselves, and seeing her clothes, and just one sandal, meant that she had drowned. As nothing was seen by the fisherman, it could only remain the sharks. There was no other answer. Misinterpretation plays a major role in this novel, and in everyone’s lives. Communication of all forms is vital. How to cite Lucy Gault, Papers