New Year, New blog

So here it is already, 2010. I’m not the kind that usually makes resolutions for I know I tend to not keep them, which makes me normal I guess. I was reminded on the last day of 2009 that the single resolution I made last year was completely forgotten sometime around April. Oops.

But this time it feels a little different. I seem to be moving in the direction of this Years resolution anyway, so it seems natural to step it up a notch by telling world and actually documenting the progress (or lack thereof).

And what would this New Years Resolution for 2010 be?

I resolve to move towards living cruelty-free in all areas of my life.

I’d like to be 100% cruelty-free, but I think that would be nearly impossible. I do have a demanding full-time job, I do have a husband and family, and I do have other obligations that prevent me from devoting all of my time to research and personal manufacturing of products.

So what do I mean by cruelty-free? I mean using products and services that don’t treat fellow humans badly in the process, for I am no better than them; using products and services that don’t do animal testing or otherwise bring harm to animals, for they do feel pain and I am no better than them; and using products and services that are sustainable and don’t have a negative impact on the earth. My original reason for going vegetarian was that I didn’t want anything to die in my name, and now I’m expanding it to include - I want nothing to suffer in my name.

I’m pretty sure that most Americans have no idea where there food really comes from, and if they did I don’t think they would eat it. I hope the same would be said of them if they knew how workers were being treated that made their cheap toys or most anything else they buy.

I’m afraid I will become overwhelmed, that the amount of research required to pass the cruelty-free test or to find an alternative is impractical or cost prohibitive. I’m afraid of how the information will affect my psyche- I want to be happier, not sadder! For this reason, I will remove the word “cruel” from my mission and simply use the word Friendly Living to imply cruelty-free. Saying “friendly” makes me smile, saying “cruelty-free” does not.

I know this could be a battle. I travel for a living and the whole travel industry is not, shall we say, green-friendly? From the airplanes to mini shampoo bottles to three meals a day in restaurants – I suspect these don’t live up to my new standards, so some things like this will just have to fall to the bottom of the list while I work on others. Of course if a Friendlier job offer came along…

I hope to research new products or services at least 2-3 times a month and report on my progress. Every product or service is open to scrutiny. When you think about all the products in your home, do you really know how they are made and if the workers are treated fairly? I already wonder about the items I’m buying now, but I’ll go one step further to find out instead of just living in ignorance.

So thank you for staying with me this far! I’m open to informative links, good ideas and humor! By the year 2011 I expect to be a much friendlier person, and have hopefully helped someone else become friendlier as well.


My goal for this week: To not eat anymore high-fructose corn syrup. I easily quit this before but it somehow found it’s way back into my body with a vengeance over the holidays. Much of the corn and corn-by product industry is terrible to its workers. Quick fact - over half of the corn industry is made into sweeteners.

Wishful thinking for others: To not eat any corn-fed beef, only grass-fed. Tied to my personal goal, the corn industry is not sustainable and there are too many issues to get into here. I’ll just say that cows are not meant to eat corn and it would significantly reduce the antibiotics they’re fed, the e-coli contamination rates and the ammonia being blended with nearly all beef sold

Current resources and links: Food, Inc(www.foodincmovie.com), King Corn (www.kingcorn.net), www.leapingbunny.org, www.naturewatch.org