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