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가죽을 만드려면 동물들이 죽어야 하는 것은 당연하지요

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그런데 어쨋든 고기때문에 죽는다면 가죽은 낭비되는거 아닌가요?

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While even many non-vegans object to the fur industry, 
the ethical line about leather is far less clear.

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Is leather truly a byproduct of the meat industry?

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To answer that question, we'll be answering 
others you didn't even know to ask.

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Like, do you know what country your leather was made in? 
Do you even know which animal it's made from?

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And, did you know there's a chance it's a cat or a dog?

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Once again I'm here to ruin your day with education.
You’re welcome.

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Hi, it's Emily from BiteSizeVegan.org, 
where you can find free resources,

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eCourses, kids' content, and a Guided 
Search to help you find just what you need,

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even if you don't know what to ask! Speaking of 
eCourses, this video has one of its very own,

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so you can test your knowledge after watching! 


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Just click the "take the eCourse now" button at bitesize.link/LeatherByproduct

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where you'll also find all the sources for this video.

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Before we dive into whether leather is a byproduct of the meat industry,

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let's cover where leather comes from. 
Leather is made from the hide or skin of animals.

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Most people associate leather with cow skin, which does 
make up the majority of leather produced.

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However, many other animals' skins are turned into leather, 
including buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs, horses,

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kangaroos, deer, and even cats and dogs—which 
we'll get to later in this article/video.

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There are also so-called "luxury" and "exotic" 
leathers made from the skin of animals like

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calves, ostriches, alligators, sharks, 
elephants, lizards, stingrays and zebras.

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As most cow skin leather is derived from 
cows either slaughtered for their meat,

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or after their bodies give out from 
the demands of the dairy industry,

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it's generally thought that leather is purely 
a byproduct of the meat and dairy industries.

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Companies even use this claim to insinuate 
that their leather products help reduce waste.

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After all, isn't it better to use as 
much of a slaughtered animal as possible?

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While this argument seems quite logical on the 
surface, it's entirely inaccurate.

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Far from an incidental, secondary product made during the 
production of meat,

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leather is a multi-billion dollar global industry. 
The leather goods market was valued at $407.2 billion in 2021,

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and is projected to grow to $743.50 billion by 2030.

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Leather production is not about minimizing 
waste—it's about maximizing profit.

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Leather is more accurately termed a coproduct 
rather than a byproduct of the meat and dairy industries.

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Without the sale of leather, 
the cost of meat would have to increase

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significantly to make up for lost profits. 
Even just a reduction in cow skin sales

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results in multi-million losses for a slaughterhouse. 
The economics of these industries are inextricable

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—they arguably cannot sustain themselves independently of one another.

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Additionally, not all leather is even a 
coproduct of the meat and dairy industries.

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As I mentioned earlier, so-called "luxury" 
and "exotic" leathers come from animals killed

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primarily or even solely for their skin. 
These animals may be illegally poached,

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even when endangered. In Myanmar, for example, the 
Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute found

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that endangered Asian elephants were increasingly 
being poached "for their skin instead of...ivory".

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While exotic skinsare a minority of 
the leather industry purely by volume,

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they fetch a much higher price point 
than cow skins. Some are hunted and

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poached in the wild while others are 
commercially farmed.

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An investigation into alligator and crocodile farms supplying 
the luxury brand Hermès, creator of the iconic Birkin bag

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(which I had never heard of before 
researching this, but is apparently a big deal),

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found deplorable conditions and barbaric, 
ineffective slaughter practices.

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Not all "luxury" leathers are exotic. 
The skin of newborn calves is highly valued for its softness.

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Calves are even cut out of their 
mother's wombs at slaughterhouses

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to have their beating hearts pierced to harvest 
bovine fetal serum—another coproduct

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—and their skins removed for "luxury" items. 
While even many meat-eaters draw an ethical line at eating veal,

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consumers still purchase calfskin products. 
With a decrease in demand for veal,

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calfskin becomes more and more of a primary product.

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Consumers have become more aware of and concerned 
about the treatment of animals killed for food,

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increasingly selecting so-called "humane" 
options like cage-free eggs and free-range meat

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—which, to be clear, are not at all humane. 
However, this consideration

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rarely enters the conversation 
when it comes to leather products.

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Even more unquestioned is whether the 
species of animal skin is accurately labeled.

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Much of the world's leather comes from China, 
which has no comprehensive animal welfare laws,

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and India, where the existing laws are poorly 
enforced. Again, the existence of animal welfare

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laws does not equate to humane treatment. 
There is no way to acceptably exploit and

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kill sentient beings. However, most consumers 
are unaware of the egregiousness of the cruelty

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inflicted upon the beings from which 
their leather products were derived.

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Investigations into India's leather trade 
found that cows who collapse from exhaustion

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while being marched to slaughter without 
food or water "have their eyes smeared with

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chili peppers and tobacco and their tails 
broken in an effort to keep them moving."

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In China, the leading global producer of 
leather, dogs and cats are also brutally

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killed for their skin, which is deliberately 
mislabeled and sold around the world.

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While the United States technically banned the 
importation of dog and cat fur and skin,

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it's impossible to effectively enforce given 
the difficulty of distinguishing the difference.

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Investigations into China's dog slaughterhouses 
captured dogs being bludgeoned with a wooden pole,

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often remaining conscious even after their throats 
were slit and their skin ripped from their bodies.

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Not only are leather products deliberately 
mislabeled when it comes to the species,

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but it's also not possible for consumers 
to necessarily know the country of origin.

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If an animal was skinned in China, 
but that skin was imported by Italy

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where the end product was manufactured, the 
label will indicate it was made in Italy.

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Along with the misconception that 
purchasing leather helps reduce waste,

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viewing most leather as a byproduct of the meat 
and dairy industries also allows consumers to

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believe they aren't supporting the cruelty 
inherent within those industries.

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However, as we've now seen, this simply isn't true. 
We've covered how leather from the meat and

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dairy industries is a profitable coproduct, 
creating a complete economic interdependency.

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We've covered how not all leather comes 
from animals slaughtered for their meat.

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And we've now learned that most leather products 
come from countries without even the most basic of

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animal welfare legislation or enforcement, 
and may even be the skin of cats and dogs.

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But let's say for the sake of argument 
that we are talking about cow skin leather

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from the meat and dairy industries within 
the United States or the European Union—which

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supposedly has strong animal welfare regulations. 
Does purchasing that very specific leather support animal cruelty?

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To answer this question, I'll give an incredibly high-level 
summary of the treatment of cows within these industries

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under the supposedly highest standards.

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Without any form of pain relief or 
anesthetic, cows within the meat and

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dairy industry undergo legally sanctioned 
mutilations like dehorning and castration.

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Cows are forcefully impregnated through artificial 
insemination—a process that can be physically

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damaging, especially when considering that most 
inseminations are performed by non-veterinarians.

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Bulls are repeatedly subjected 
to painful electroejaculation.

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In the dairy industry, no matter the 
country, babies are taken from their mothers

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after birth. Cows bond intensely with their 
babies and mother cows will cry for days

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until their voices are hoarse. 
We've already discussed what happens to the male calves.

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Most females are kept to eventually replace their mothers, 
though some are sent to meet the same fate as the males.

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This cycle of forced impregnation and traumatic separation

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is repeated over and over again until dairy cows' 
bodies give out entirely around age four or five,

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despite having a natural lifespan of 20 years or more.

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At the slaughterhouse, even in the "best" of 
conditions, a significant number of cows are

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ineffectively stunned with a captive bolt gun. 
This in combination with the pressure to keep the line moving

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often results in cows being conscious during slaughter 
and even as their skin is removed.

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Additionally, the vast majority of animal welfare 
regulations contain exceptions

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for animals undergoing halal and kosher ritual slaughter,

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mandating that they be allowed to be killed without any stunning.

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For an in-depth look into halal and kosher slaughter, please

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see my video and article "Are Halal And Kosher 
Slaughter Humane?" at bitesize.link/HalalKosher

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Even in the most "ideal" conditions, it's 
impossible to say that any animal product,

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coproduct, or even byproduct does not support 
overt cruelty. No animal wants to be killed.

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Aside from all of the economic, logistical, and 
ethical reasons that leather cannot rightly be

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viewed as a byproduct, the leather industry 
is responsible for profound environmental

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devastation entirely independent of the meat 
and dairy industries.

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The extreme toxicity of leather production also endangers 
the lives of tannery workers and those in

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surrounding communities. These issues deserve 
their own dedicated videos and articles,

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which I plan to produce in the future. 
For now, I will provide a very high-level summary.

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Please also see the article for this video for further resources.

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The environmental impact of the meat and dairy 
industries themselves is astronomical.

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On top of this destruction, most leather is tanned with 
toxic chemicals like chromium, formaldehyde,

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arsenic, and other heavy metals, all 
of which are dumped into waterways.

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Not only does this water pollution kill the 
fish and other species within the water,

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but it also poisons any species that enters or 
drinks from the water—including humans.

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Tannery workers and people in communities surrounding 
tanneries face a myriad of health issues,

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including increased cancer rates, leading 
to what have been termed "cancer villages".

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Leather's environmental impact also extends 
to the deforestation caused by raising cows,

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especially in Brazil, the world's third-largest 
producer of cow skins. The "cattle" industry

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is the single largest cause of tropical 
deforestation in the Amazon and globally.

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The vast majority of Amazonian deforestation is 
done illegally. Research by Stand.earth released

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in 2022 documents over 100 fashion 
brands—many well-known like Adidas,

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Nike, Coach, Prada—"have supply-chain links 
to Brazilian leather exporters...

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known to engage in Amazon deforestation." European 
auto manufacturers like VW, BMW, Daimler,

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PSA and Renault have also been linked to illegal 
deforestation for the leather used in their cars.

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I think at this point it's safe to say 
that leather is far from a harmless,

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waste-reducing byproduct of the meat industry. 
With the abundance of vegan leather alternatives,

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which I’ll be covering soon in a dedicated 
article, there's simply no reason to continue

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supporting such a cruel and environmentally devastating industry.

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Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter or follow the Telegram channel
to be notified when my article on vegan leather alternatives is published.

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Just click the Subscribe menu at BiteSizeVegan.org.

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Please do share this with anyone wondering 
what's so wrong with leather?

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And remember to take the free eCourse! 
To support content like this, head over to BiteSizeVegan.org

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and click the Donate menu. 
Now go live vegan, and I'll see you soon.