Living cruelty-free.

Even in today's society, so much of our lives is based on cruelty. Not only cruelty to animals, but cruelty to people. Yes, sometimes it does seem overwhelming, when you think about it. Fruit is picked by people in slave conditions, chickens are crammed into tiny cages and are forced to lay until they drop dead, vinyl siding kills people every day of the week. All in the name of 'cheap'. I try to buy ethically, when I can. Organic, local, Fair Trade. But where does the line get blurred? With traditional crafts, kids apprentice young, is that child labor? Or learning a trade? And there are so many things that come with a label, but how do you know? You want to buy products grown in the States, not shipped very far, but then you end up with horrible conditions for workers in Florida. Do you buy the organic oranges from Florida? Or do you buy the 'ethical grapes' from Chile?

Buying locally does help, of course it does. But I wish, so much, there were better ways of finding things out, of ensuring that my food did not cause suffering. Of course it would be ideal if everything we bought was produced on small family farms, with the appropriate complement of fowl and animals working the soil... but unfortunately that is not a reality. I just wish there was more I could do... I feel so helpless when shopping, even at Whole Foods, because so much of the food out there is not cruelty-free


Chocolate, given out at Easter and Halloween, that is tainted with blood. Toxic toys produced in sweatshops.... but every drop in the bucket helps. Buying Fair Trade chocolate, organic clothing, wooden (or European) toys.... it all helps.