Can't use down feathers

[TN Cereal Killa]

Ok...I am going to put on a flame suit proceed with this... The wife and I are in what I call 90 percent vegan life style 10 percent paleo. meaning we are vegan 90 percent of our life from food to other products of day to day life. Now the 10 percent that we are not is where it gets tricky we will eat meat but it has to meet certain rules that we have. rule 1. has to be local , 2.has to be organic, 3.has to be free range, 4.has to be from a source I have met and talked with ( know the farmer), or 5. has to be self harvested ( I deer hunt and fish). Now when I comes to down, boots and other products we have agreed to not buy new from a store but we will buy second hand and repurpose the product. In our mind this money doesn't go to the one responsible for ways it was obtained. since it is more expensive to obtain meats this way it is a treat for us to eat it and we only get to once a week.

We look at it as a silent protest... will our change make a difference? No but to us we feel it has made our lives better. you are probably wondering how? all I can say is to try it before dismissing it, you will be surprised at the little things like dry skin, acne, feeling bloated, and more that I have noticed get better so far doing this.

[Wlb007]

The whole vegan/ethical thing does raise an important point: barring merino wool and down, many of the products we hangers and hikers use are synthetic. I've always wanted to convert to fully natural materials but I wouldn't know where to start.

What natural materials would you use for a hammock, suspension, rain gear etc?

Hemp and rubber

[VictoriaGuy]

i respect the vegan persons right to believe what they do as long as they respect my right to believe as I do. I believe in more of a natural diet and In nature omnivores eat meat and vegetables. Like it or not the human animal is an omnivore. The human body evolved/designed as an omnivore therefore I eat what fits my body was designed to. Using the by products from these action is a duty not to be wasteful. So for me not only is the use of down ethical but an admirable act. To waste the down would be wrong.

I hear the 'evolved to eat this' argument (less often the 'designed' argument in my world) fairly frequently.
It does make some sense, providing the 'evolved person's' diet doesn't include sugar or wheat, or perhaps even cooked food (part of the paleo idea). Is that the case here?

I've tried the argument: "My teeth evolved to eat ice cream and cookies!" argument a few times, and got no respect!
(That's in spite of an advanced degree in Genetics in my hip pocket! )

[VictoriaGuy]

All I can say is to try it before dismissing it, you will be surprised at the little things like dry skin, acne, feeling bloated, and more that I have noticed so far doing this.

I hope this was a typo....or have you really noticed those (bad) symptoms since you started the new diet?

[VictoriaGuy]

Using the by products from these action is a duty not to be wasteful. So for me not only is the use of down ethical but an admirable act. To waste the down would be wrong.

I think that part of the argument against using down is that it is (at present) difficult to ensure that the down was not obtained as part of a process that involves what many feel to be animal cruelty - force-feeding+confinement, and live plucking. Some feel that the 'living conditions' for poultry in industrial farming operations constitute cruelty as well.

Most vegans and vegetarians have strong feelings about animal cruelty, and that's a big part of their motivation to follow their diets.

I agree with your argument, if the geese (less often, ducks) were raised in free-range conditions and killed humanely for meat. I've read that some Hutterite goose down operations meet those conditions, but I don't know if this has been confirmed by independent monitors.

[TN Cereal Killa]

I hope this was a typo....or have you really noticed those (bad) symptoms since you started the new diet?

LOL those are things I have noticed get better since the diet.

[Shane]

I think it would be better to point the girl here to get some good help from people who know hammocks and insulation than to point and laugh at her.

[Rain Man]

Got a good laugh reading a post on White Blaze. New hanger said they did not want to use down feather insulation because they are a vegan.

Why is that funny?

Rain Man

.

[Storytellertn]

I think that part of the argument against using down is that it is (at present) difficult to ensure that the down was not obtained as part of a process that involves what many feel to be animal cruelty - force-feeding+confinement, and live plucking. Some feel that the 'living conditions' for poultry in industrial farming operations constitute cruelty as well.



Most vegans and vegetarians have strong feelings about animal cruelty, and that's a big part of their motivation to follow their diets.



I agree with your argument, if the geese (less often, ducks) were raised in free-range conditions and killed humanely for meat. I've read that some Hutterite goose down operations meet those conditions, but I don't know if this has been confirmed by independent monitors.

Well said.

[MGLion]

I respect the choices of others so long as they don't force their beliefs upon me.

Amen. The very definition of Freedom.