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Can leather be ethical?
It's a nonsensical question. There's a rational disconnect somewhere there. All animals die. Some die young, some die old. Humans too. To deny the cycle of life or to so disassociate yourself from it...out of delicate sensibilities or an attempt to ascend to a level of self-righteousness that elicits universal admiration (not) and ten compliant virgins (maybe)...is to disdain what little harmony is yet available to modern man. It's a guarantee of alienation...but an alienation that is self-inflicted. And in the end, it only leads to self-delusion--such as convincing yourself that the deleterious effects of producing synthetic substitutes (mostly from petro-chemical precursors) for natural products is somehow less damaging to the environment or more ethical than accepting life as it is. We can use nature; partake of life as it comes to us...as it was meant to be. Or we can so twist reality that nothing we do or use is native or natural to this world...and
everything we do is harmful to the environment, ourselves, and those who come after. The endangerment of the native shrimp fisheries in the Louisiana deltas is as much a result of our sanctimonious drive to create "clean," "antiseptic," conscious-soothing, replacements for products that are all around us in nature. A brave new world brought to you by Dow Chemical. Margarine...another example of misguided attempt to supplant nature. The result?--trans fats, saturated fats, and obesity--which we turn a blind eye to or redefine as normal. The credulous assert that modern man doesn't need to eat meat or wear leather...but that brave new world also is brought to you by the Dow Chemical companies of the world...or near-as-nevermind analogues. "Can leather be ethical?" It's pointless navel-gazing, in my opinion. It
is, however, highly unethical to either use leather or eat meat if you have never participated in the killing and butchering of an animal. And best on a regular basis.