Stop the Slaughter

[atma]

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.

[Tarun]

Humble suggestion: next time u may want to include "Avoid Leather" in your Thread Topic title.