Guest guest Posted October 19, 2000 Report Share Posted October 19, 2000 Thanks for this article about the horrible things going on to Indian Cows and why we shouldn't wear leather. It is a bid heavy, but that is what is the reality. I hope that this finds you in good health. Your ever well wisher, Jayapataka Swami Your article: > This is an article from the website www.indya.com regarding leather > goods. > > > Ys > > Sumithra Krishna das > > > > > Dear Guru Maharaj, > > > > > > PAMH+RO. AGTSP and to YDG. > > > > > > Is it sinful to use leather goods, e. g. shoes, > > bags, > > > etc, that I bought before knowing about Krsna > > > consciousness? > > > What is the exact reason why we shouldn't cook in > > pots > > > that have been used for cooking non-veg.? > > > > > > Hope this finds YDG in good health. > > > > > > Your fallen servant > > > Ulrika > > > > > Stop the slaughter > > indya.com presents an exclusive appearance by Maneka Gandhi(Union > Minister) > > I often meet vegetarians who would "die" rather than eat meat. A closer > look shows a leather watch strap/bag/shoes. > > These are the excuses I then hear: > a) I am vegetarian due to health, not animal welfare reasons. > b) I buy my leather products from Khadi Gram Udyog because the animal died > naturally. > c) There is no alternative in India to leather. I can't go round in rubber > chappals or use cloth jholas. > d) The plastic alternatives are environmentally unfriendly because they > come from petrochemical products and are non biodegradable. > e) (This comes from the evolved environmentalists) I can't use cotton > because it's grown with chemical pesticides and fertilisers. > f) The animal was killed for its meat. Leather is only a by-product so > there is no harm in using it. > g) (I promise this is true) What nonsense - leather does not come from the > skin of animals. > h) I am helping poor people by buying leather products. > > I think all these myths should be dealt with. > > Myth: Leather is a by-product of the meat industry. > Reality: India is the largest leather manufacturer in the world. This > business running into lakhs of skins daily is not going to wait for > slaughterhouse skins alone. Leather is not an incidental product of > rearing of animals for meat. > > Although the skins and hides of sheep and goats are a small source of raw > material for tanners, cattle hide and calf skin account for most footwear > and leather goods. These are derived from millions of cattle slaughtered > annually, including dairy cattle. Speciality leather is made from deer, > alligators, lizards, sharks, snakes, crocodiles, and other exotic species, > which are killed solely for this purpose. > > In India very few people eat cattle meat. Many people exaggerate, for > political reasons, the amount of buffalo meat eaten by Muslims. But, all > studies show that Muslims eat mainly the same meat as Hindus - goat and > chicken meat. > > Cattle in India are slaughtered primarily for their skins and very often > the meat is thrown away. > Also people eat the meat that is locally available to them. The millions > of cattle that are jam-packed into trains and trucks to go to West Bengal > and Kerala to be slaughtered are only going for the leather industry, as > 90 per cent of them die from overcrowding and starvation during the > journey and their meat cannot be eaten. Even the vultures don't touch it! > > Myth: Leather comes from the skins of animals that have died of natural > causes. > Reality: This is a myth put out by the Khadi Gram Udyog. How can such a > large organisation with retail outlets in every state of India ensure a > steady supply of carcasses? Do they have people scouting all the villages > collecting the bodies of cattle and buffaloes that waste away after 20 > years? > > Besides, have you seen the skin of an old animal? Its hide is patched and > worn. There is no way you can produce uniform quality leather goods > randomly collecting the skins of such aged beasts. Mahatma Gandhi's Khadi > Gram Udyog has no business selling leather. > > An interview conducted with the main buyers of Khadi Gram Udyog revealed > that they gave the contract for their leather supply to contractors that > supplied leather for normal footwear in the leather industry. Which means > that there was no question of using or even differentiating between cattle > killed for leather and cattle that died naturally. > > All the leather in India comes from young cattle. This, in spite of a > Parliament law and state laws that forbid the killing of cattle under > 14-16 years (some states say 14, others 16). Calf leather is specifically > forbidden but leather sellers advertise it openly. Which calves die > naturally? > > Myth: The animals spend contented lives grazing in fields and are sent to > slaughter because they are old. > Reality: Leather is not taken from old cows but from cattle sent to > slaughter. Cattle are selectively bred and subjected to a range of cruel > procedures, including artificial insemination, artificial weaning and > feeding, dosing with antibiotics, castration, marking, and the separation > of cow and calf within a few days of birth. > > As a consequence of undergoing a vicious cycle of pregnancy and lactation, > dairy cows are especially susceptible to mastitis and lameness. Once they > are sick they are killed. Their male calves are murdered in millions each > year to provide tanneries with highly valued fine grain skin, used for > shoe uppers, jackets, gloves and wallets. > > Kidskin leather is from baby goats. However, the most prized skin used to > make soft suede is obtained from unborn calves, which means their mothers > are beaten to make them abort and the foetus is skinned and sold. > > The natural life expectancy of a cow is 20 years, yet beef cattle are > killed at one to three years and dairy cows at three to seven years due to > disease (36 per cent), poor yield (28 per cent) and the inability to calve > (36 per cent). They are killed to make more money for their owners from > the sale of their body parts including meat and leather. > > Myth: Unlike a wild fur-bearing animal, the meat (leather) producing > animal is killed humanely. > Reality: At the very least, transportation to the slaughterhouse causes > animals severe stress. Packed in cramped conditions, they may suffer heat > exhaustion, heart attacks, bruising, hunger, dehydration, and broken > bones, before reaching the slaughterhouses. > > The law says that only twelve cattle can be put into one train bogey. In > reality each train carries over 44 cattle squashed together in each bogey. > The law says that only four cattle can be put in a truck. Over 75 are > often thrown into one, their limbs and tails broken to make more room. > > Their noses are tied together and ten of them made to march hundreds of > miles. If one falls, its tailbones are broken and chillies put in its eyes > till it stands up again. If it dies, it is skinned on the spot. > > Once in the slaughterhouse they are killed in the most crude and cruel > manner. The knives are rusty and the workers callous and untrained. > Butchers need possess no formal qualification or training. In mechanised > slaughterhouses in Andhra Pradesh, boiling water is poured on the animal > and its skin stripped while it is still alive and hanging upside down. > > In Kerala, the head is smashed in with a hammer - often up to 20 blows > being given before the animal dies. Many of the butchers are children. > > Myth: Unlike plastic alternatives, leather products are > environment-friendly. > Reality: Tanneries not only emit unpleasant odours, they produce a host of > pollutants - including lead, zinc, formaldehyde, dyes, and cyanide based > chemicals. And added to the equation is the devastating environmental > impact of raising livestock. Animal slurry is probably the major cause of > water pollution: cattle, sheep and other ruminants are one of the main > sources of global warming. > > Methane and nitrogen in animal waste volatises to form ammonia - the > single greatest cause of acid rain; the felling of trees for livestock > grazing, and the amount of young shoots and grass eaten results in soil > erosion. > > Farm animals compete with us for land, water, and fuel, and consume five > to ten times as much primary plant food as people. > > Turning animal hides into leather is an energy intensive and polluting > practice. The Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology states: "On > the basis of quantity of energy consumed per unit of product, the leather > manufacturing industry would be categorised with aluminium, paper, steel, > cement and petroleum manufacturing industries as a gross consumer of > energy." > > "Production of leather basically involves soaking (bean house), tanning, > dyeing, drying and finishing. Over 95 per cent leather production is > chrome tainted. The effluent that must be treated is primarily related to > the bean house and tanning operations. The most difficult to treat is the > effluent from the tanning process." > > All wastes containing chrome are considered hazardous. Many other > pollutants employed by the processing of leather are considered primary > environment and health risks. In terms of disposal, one would think that > leather products would be biodegradable. But the primary function for a > tanning agent is to stabilise the collagen or protein fibres so that they > are no longer bio- degradable. > > If that were not enough, leather production causes serious water pollution > as well. India has so far taken a loan of Rs. 2000 crores to try and clean > the Ganges of the effluents poured into it from Kanpur's leather > industries. No success so far. > > Myth: Leather is a major money earner for India. It is also a major > employer. > Reality: Don't think that you are doing social service for India by buying > leather. The leather manufacturers pay no taxes, as it is a small-scale > industry. The leather exporters who earn 1.5 billion dollars pay no taxes. > > In fact the government pays them incentives to export. The people who are > involved by the leather industry are mainly on the tanning side; they flay > the skins, soak them in chemicals, et al. > > Many of these people earn the lowest possible wages and die very young > because of the cyanide, chrome and other chemicals that they steep > themselves in. Compensation is not paid nor any precautions taken for > their safeties, as the leather manufacturers claim to be small scale > themselves. > > Every time they fall sick, which is within months of this oppressive > labour, the government foots their major medical bills and the owner of > the tannery gets himself another poor person to exploit. The happy parts > of the leather trade-the actually making of shoes and garments-is all done > by machine. > > Do the leather manufacturers pay for the forests that have been destroyed > by the cattle grazing on them? Do they pay for the water sources that have > dried up as a result of forest cover disappearing? No, they take an animal > that has fed on land that is called common land and denuded it. > > The Government's Ministry for Wasteland Development then pays money to > NGOs for these lands to be greened again. Do the leather manufacturers pay > the Ministry? No. They make the money and India pays the bill. Which means > you pay for the enormous wealth of the leather manufacturer. > > Many Western countries are increasingly turning to leather alternatives. > China, which used to be the largest leather exporter, is now the world's > largest synthetic leather exporter. Countries like Thailand are following > suit. Most European countries that used to produce leather have passed the > environmental burden to India and now merely either take the finished hide > or use synthetics. > > A look at the Internet listings for leather alternative throws up more > than 12,000 links for all sorts of non-cruelty, non-leather items. The > Compassionate Shopper regularly lists companies that sell non-leather > shoes for instance. > > Do you want to help India's environment and join its anti-cruelty team? > First make a list of all the leather items in your life: > Watch straps, shoes, wallets, jackets, belts, drums (tablas), bags, > briefcases, hats, furniture covers, pants and other garments, cricket > balls, footballs, jewellery cases, spectacle cases, key chains, > bookbinding, lampshades, toys, gloves. > > There are so many alternatives to each. Suede-like materials for garments > (both leather and suede are so silly to use in a hot country like India), > cloth wallets and bags. Canvas belts with brass buckles. Spalding > manufactures synthetic leather volleyballs, footballs and basketballs. > > Cotton or spandex can replace leather gloves; synthetic fibre skin on > drums is as good. Waxed cloth and faux leather for jackets. Plastic, jute, > canvas and EKKO-a new non-polluting combination of natural and synthetic > rubber are commonly available. > > The most widely purchased item is shoes. What are you looking for? > Something eye catching, water resistant, durable, allowing your feet to > breathe? Who says that these qualities can't be found in non-leather > shoes? > > Vegetarian shoes not only outlast leather but also require less > maintenance, as they don't have to be polished. High quality non-leather > is water-resistant and also allows the feet to breathe. Nike, Adidas and > Reebok have animal free shoes. Chlorenol (called Hydrolite in Adidas and > Durabuck in Nike) is an innovative new material that stretches round the > foot with the same flexibility as leather. > > Some non-leather companies have introduced cork and hemp shoes with a > contoured cork footbed. Companies like Action Shoes and Bata say that they > have a vast line of non-leather shoes for men, women and children. Non > leather shoe shops like Rinaldis in Mumbai have the most beautiful shoes > possible. > > Anyone who wants to go into collaboration with a foreign non-leather > company will find himself rich. Especially now since the West is stopping > leather import from India. Anything China can do we can do better! > > Here are a few hints: > Some people complain that vinyl shoes squeak. Put a little mineral oil, > hand cream or any lubricant between the noisy surfaces. > Many patent leather shoes are in fact synthetic. Look for the man made > material label on it. Leatherette is not leather. It is high quality > vinyl. > > Don't wear dead animals on your feet. If the cow is your sacred animal > don't let her be killed for your needs. The wearer is responsible for the > killer and ignorance is no defence. You are the person who makes the money > for the leather industry and destroys India's environment as well. > > Is your pair of shoes worth the Ganges River or the Himalayan hillsides or > your State forest sanctuary? All of them are contained in the leather that > you buy. Purchasing leather goods helps to make the rearing and killing of > over 600 million cattle, goats a year in the country a profitable > business, and maintains a demand that can be satisfied only by the taking > of life. > > Make an effort to find non-leather items and ask each leather shop you > know to stock non-leather goods as well. You will see how quickly the > message spreads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.