Thursday 21 February 2013

Animals in cosmetics: Did your lipstick wipe a tear?

Today, it's not easy to go to a cosmetics store and not find the most amazing eye liners and shadows branded with M.A.C., L'Oreal, Chambor, Maybelline, etc. Some of us have even awaited the next month's pocket money to buy that gorgeous galaxy of supernova shades!

Yes, we've all heard about the bunnies and the monkeys whose eyes, ears and nostrils are fed blinding, deafening and life threatening fluids so that we get an end product that doesn't
make us rash
. But do we comfortably forget this fact when the super model poses looking fab in the shimmer on the face? 


Would you have desired the same gloss, had the poster shown it forced on an Earthling with a motive to check if it hurts and exactly how much. Here is a Quick read on the incessant Animal Testing today

Yes! There is something you can do without the need of being a scientist, chemist, biologist! You could choose those companies that test our lipsticks by our ways- the humane ways! Just the way you'd like it.

Take your pick :-)

Brands that (sell in/ship to/available in India) but Don't test on Live Animals: (BUAV certified)


Aftercare Company Available online
Bath and BodyWorks Available with online retailers
Marks & Spencer Available online/physical stores!
Molton Brown Available online
OSEA Available online
The Body Shop Available online/physical stores!


Not in India? Use BUAV's official product search or PETA's official shopping guide for your country.


Next time we go shopping, ensure that your beauty does not cost an Eye. Not this time.

A few popular ones that abuse :-/


1. 3M
2. Johnson & Johnson
3. Veet (Reckitt Benckiser)
4. L'Oreal USA
5. M.A.C.
6. Unilever (Dove, Lux, Axe. Lakme, Ponds, Vaseline, etc.)


Some things might not be as cheap as the baby monkeys and hopping bunnies which could be conveniently used to save costs. So don't worry if it takes a few extra rupees while you save an Earthling.

Disclaimer: I am not professionally associated with any of the companies mentioned in this post. I have discovered these names during my personal attempt to save a fellow earthling. 

Sunday 10 February 2013

Are we living in denial?

It was past midnight one day, when I happened to play a YouTube video while browsing about nothing and everything. I often did this because night was the time I had. That was my own. No work could be done. No grocery could be shopped for.

Little did I know that no morning hereafter would go without recollecting this night- thrice at least. Thrice because on an average, I eat three meals each day.

I have always skipped videos such as this one, conveniently stating,
  • "I know exactly what they're going to blabber. Tell me something new"
  • "I'd rather watch the happy side of life"
  • "I'm in no mood for this"
This one night, I gave them a chance. Just to confirm that they really were here to blabber about nothing I didn't know.

Few minutes into this clip, I realized that while dodging the topic, I was only

"A hypocrite living in denial of what I truly am- a Nazi who's directing a holocaust.

And while explicitly enjoying your meat, if you've dodged these videos too, believe me, you are but my fellow Nazi.

Does being born a human- the powerful, the smarter of the species, make it legit to manhandle every other species for our trivial desires? Did I just say 'Trivial'? Let me correct- a desire so profound, so important, so 'but-obvious!', as supreme as nurturing my darling taste buds. 

Why must I not eat the most delicious?
- I earned it. It's delicious. I can afford it. It's a human need!

well then,

Why must I not rape?
- I spotted her. She's refreshing. I can totally grope her. It's a human need!

Apologies for the insensitive corollary but your rationale is clearly no different from that of a rapist. What we miss in both these instances, is the other living being. You earned it but do they deserve it? 

Darwin's theory can even defend an assault, a rape and every other crime we the HUMANE despise.

Is it really fair to torture her because we desire not just food but the yummiest food? Do you really want to clip her ears and brand her with a flaming rod so that we know it's been tortured in "hygienic" environments? You are dumping her live with 100 others, just so that it is FRESH to chop for the morning salami?

Rubbish? How else do you believe, does a neatly packaged pack of meat appear on the shelf of your neighborhood supermarket? Was it found in a farm- just soiled? Was she playing happily in the field and simply shot in the head?

She WAS playing happily in the field. If what followed was just death- I'd certainly have said she had the best life. 

Sadly, that's exactly what didn't happen. What followed was, suffocation, non-anesthised branding, crippling cages and beating because we don't have all the time in the world for their slow leisurely walks around the slaughter house.

Note to the reader: I'm not anti meat eaters. I'm only requesting you to know your food. To be aware of how it reaches you. Please don't live in denial. 

If you have time to spare today, do watch "Earthlings" today - the single most honest and informative documentary by Nation Earth, about the use of nonhuman animals.

Don't use ignorance as an excuse. Come up with a rationale better than that of the rapist you detest. Be truly proud of your meat while you eat it.