I'm trying to be more 'ethical'

Ethical - morally good or correct, relating to moral principles

I'm trying to be more ethical, but I also realise I am not very good at it. I try not to buy makeup tested on animals, I try and make sure my meat is free range and I can trace it's origin, I try to know where the products I buy are made and how, but I'm still not perfect. It takes time to know all about what you are buying with endless research and lots of reading of labels. Two years ago I decided I would become a  vegetarian. I naturally gravitate towards eating pulses and vegetables more than meat and thought I would have no problem becoming vegetarian. My reason to do it was for 'ethical reasons', to help animal welfare, after reading an article I found disturbing. A couple of things happened a number of months down the line. First, I realised I obviously was having way too restrictive a diet. My nails were snapping all the time, my hair wasn't in the best of condition and I felt tired all the time. I was probably missing some vital vitamins or minerals? My fault for not doing my research properly. Second, I was failing miserably by still using leather items such as my shoes, and using makeup that was probably tested on animals. Third, not all cheese is vegetarian, and neither is all wine! In the end I decided what I would do is go back to introducing a wide variety of foods in my diet, including meat, and make sure I knew where my food came from, oh and not buy leather items any more. 

I've stuck to that. I check up about the farms where the meat I buy comes from. I try to buy only free range meat, and fruit and vegetables in season. I encourage Neil to have one meat free day a week at least...….he's an avid carnivore......though the only beans he will eat is baked beans! I can't seem to manage without cheese I am afraid. I've been looking at my makeup too. I do not agree with testing products on animals at all and therefore have switched brands to make sure what I purchase and use isn't. I feel very strongly about this. But I know that I am not being as 'ethical' as I should or could be. For example I have been reading recently about palm oil. Well heck, I must have been wearing blinkers when that information came out! Of course I'd read all about the destruction of the rain forests, but I think I must have missed the point. The repercussions of that destruction, and why it is happening, have made me sad to be from a so called modern progressive society. It's all about demand and supply. Note the way I said it. The demand for palm oil, beef and hard wood, for example, are causing the rapid whole sale destruction of the forests. There are some sustainable products for sale and hopefully I have sourced a few of them. A lot of supermarket own branded products have sustainable sources, so it's worth reading up on their own web sites to get the information if you are interested?

I realise that it takes commitment and dedication to know where your food and the products you buy come from, but if each of us take little steps to check just a couple of items we buy are ethically sourced then maybe the next few generations will not blame us for the state of their earth? Why do I say 'the state of their earth'? Because scientists say that if we carry on the way we are and, for example, the rainforests vanish or the bees die out because we've destroyed their habitat, the earth will be a very different and barren place in the future. Little steps from all of us now will make a huge difference to the future people of our earth!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/10801226/The-rise-of-vegetarian-wine.html

https://ypte.org.uk/factsheets/rainforests/what-are-the-threats-to-the-rainforests

https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/these-companies-dont-test-on-animals/

https://ethicalelephant.com/cruelty-free-brand-list/

https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/cruelty-free-101/makeup-brands-that-test-on-animals/