Is Leather a Byproduct of the Meat Industry?

가죽을 만드려면 동물들이 죽어야 하는 것은 당연하지요

그런데 어쨋든 고기때문에 죽는다면 가죽은 낭비되는거 아닌가요?

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

Is leather truly a byproduct of the meat industry?

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

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

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

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

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

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Search to help you find just what you need,

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

so you can test your knowledge after watching! 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—they arguably cannot sustain themselves independently of one another.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

poached in the wild while others are 
commercially farmed.

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

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

found deplorable conditions and barbaric, 
ineffective slaughter practices.

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

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

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

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

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

calfskin becomes more and more of a primary product.

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

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

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

rarely enters the conversation 
when it comes to leather products.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Along with the misconception that 
purchasing leather helps reduce waste,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

under the supposedly highest standards.

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

dairy industry undergo legally sanctioned 
mutilations like dehorning and castration.

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

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

Bulls are repeatedly subjected 
to painful electroejaculation.

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

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

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

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

This cycle of forced impregnation and traumatic separation

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

despite having a natural lifespan of 20 years or more.

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

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

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

Additionally, the vast majority of animal welfare
regulations contain exceptions

for animals undergoing halal and kosher ritual slaughter,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

devastation entirely independent of the meat 
and dairy industries.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

supporting such a cruel and environmentally devastating industry.

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what's so wrong with leather?

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