Resources & Insights For Striving Towards A "Cruelty-Free" Life

part 1 of 3

<<<RESOURCES>>>

First, let me define some key-terms & offer links for further info about them, to start out with:

---"Cruelty-Free"

A verbal-label which usually denotes a human-product made without animal-testing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruelty-free

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---"Vegan"

A person who abstains from food/clothes/tools/entertainment that was produced through the exploitation of animals or animal-byproducts.

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

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---"Jainist"

A person who practices the Five Great Vows of "Non-Violence", "Non-Possessiveness", Non-Dishonesty", Non-Thievery" and "Non-Reproductivity"; in order to weaken the sway of the physical & strengthen the spiritual, for the purpose of attaining liberating insight which will end the cycle of death-&-rebirth. (Thus achieving moksha from samsara.)

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

See Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_vegetarianism

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---"Vajrayana Buddhist"

A person who utilizes "skillful-means" to repurpose "desire" to the point of totally exhausting any influence by the mental-poisons/hindrances over one's thoughts/speech/actions (plus practicing regular principles espoused by Gautama Buddha through the "Four Noble Truths" & the "Noble Eightfold Path"); in order to have a direct-experience of the truth-of-reality. (Which provides an alternative path to the same wisdom which ends the cycle of suffering,-death-&-rebirth.)

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

See Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_vegetarianism

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---"Albigensian Cathar (Gnostic Christian)"

A person who practices extreme ascetic-renunciation from worldly-activity in order to focus exclusively on one's "spiritual-essence" in order to eventually achieve salvation from our current state of "material-imprisonment".

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

See Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_vegetarianism
+
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandaeism

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---"Bodhisattva"

A person who has made the commitment to postpone entering pari-nirvana for the purpose of remaining in samsara in order to continue benefitting ALL beings still trapped in the cycle of death/rebirth; in addition to always dedicating any merit from virtuous activity towards the ultimate goal of EVERYONE'S salvation.

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

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DATABASES

https://crueltyfree.peta.org/

https://www.leapingbunny.org/

https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/

"Cruelty-Free Kitty", "Leaping Bunny" and "P.E.T.A." each offer their own database where you can find "cruelty-free" versions of whatever items you might be intending to purchase.

They also provide other articles relevant to sparking the heightened compassion that actually provokes a person to make the little augmentations to their own existence which can make a world-wide difference.


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ARTICLES

https://ethicalelephant.com/cruelty-free-loopholes/

This article helps caution that even once an individual starts to care about the suffering of other lifeforms more, this human civilization is so based on exploitation that even "cruelty-free" products can misleading.

https://lmi.edu/cruelty-free-vs-vega...he-difference/

Similar to the "natural" VS "organic" labeling-problem, where advertisements of "all natural ingredients" conceal the fact that a product is still being generated in dubious ways, without adhering to any real kind of accountability for what they are claiming.

https://www.sustainablejungle.com/fe...free-vs-vegan/

https://www.tomsofmaine.com/good-mat...vegan-products

Further clarifications over the differences & overlaps between "cruelty-free" and "vegan" labeling.

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https://www.treehugger.com/best-huma...-traps-5090077

https://veganuniversal.com/get-rid-of-ants-humanely

https://www.familyhandyman.com/artic...t-rid-of-ants/

Here are some humane solutions for "pest" problems.

It's good to remember that a human home probably seems as if no different from a weird tree to animals, since houses are made of lumber & other repurposed materials from nature.

But despite understanding that some creatures are considered "unwanted visitors", I limited myself to providing options for mice & ants.

Hopefully, if other lifeforms are causing issue, these links will atleast spark the idea of seeking humane alternatives for removing whatever other creature(s) might be a nuisance to you.


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https://pinkispalate.com/

https://veganjains.com/recipes/

http://www.jainvegans.org/recipes/

This section deals with food; and the fact that even after abstaining from meals derived from suffering, our planet actually does still offer a cornucopia of abundance.

So since sustenance is still required to maintain one's physical embodiment, here are a trio of websites that provide recipes that atleast attempt to minimize harm against other lifeforms.

https://www.jaina.org/news/63088/Jai...ip-V.-Shah.htm

In addition, here's an article concerning how Jainist tradition might need an update in regards to certain things like dairy, because the modern practiices related to that industry have changed alot since the days of Mahavira Jaina.

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https://adventureswithart.com/best-v...lored-pencils/

https://doublecheckvegan.com/vegan-art-supplies/

The issue of ingredients derived from suffering extends to all types of items, including what humans create art with.

But there are atleast a couple art-supply companies who offer tools that weren't made from animals.

part 2 of 3

<<<INSIGHTS>>>


At some point during life, a person can notice how circumstances endlessly fluctuate back-&-forth between good-&-bad experiences.

Eventually, through this up-&-down rollercoaster-ride, a person might ALSO notice that they aren't the only one enduring life's waxing-&-waning suffering.

With awareness that others are caught up in the same plight, a person has the opportunity to decide that they don't want to be part of the problem.

Amongst the myriad frustrations & disatisfactions, there are innumerable ways that we can choose to not contribute to the suffering of others.

One of which is to not perpetuate the underlying cruelty that inherently exists in modern society.

But what exactly does trying to shift one's lifestyle towards being "cruelty-free" really mean?

To cut straight to the heart of the matter: the idea of living "cruelty-free" can be summed up as "Do No Harm".
(As pledged during the medical Oath written in Ancient Greece by Hippocrates.)

A second way to phrase that idea is: "Do Unto Others, As You Would Want Others To Do Unto You."
(As taught during the ministry of Yeshua the Anointed/Jesus the Christened.)

And that saying was paralleled by the wisdom of Kong Qiu/Kǒng Fūzǐ/Confucius, who framed things from the other person's side: "Never Impose On Others What You Would Not Choose To Be Imposed Upon Yourself".

Yet another culture's distillation of this "Cruelty-Free" concept is found in the Jainist term "Ahimsa",
which is the "Vow Of Non-Violence" a.k.a. the "Vow Of Harmlessness".

So, to take up a "Cruelty-Free" lifestyle is to take up the habit of prioritizing the needs of others, before one's own needs, and especially above one's own "wants".

To see things from the viewpoint of those we affect, so we can consider whether our thoughts/words/actions would make US feel hurt in any manner, before we act, for the sake of not hurting whomever we are about to affect.

It's a change of heart that can metamorphosize the mind.

And once that becomes part of one's attitude and behavior, we can foresee whether what we are about to do is the right thing or not.

From there, there are levels of how far a person might push the envelope in living without inflicting unwanted effects, as well as actively striving to relieve those already suffering.

For example:

On the Consumerist level, one can reduce the inherent harm of the way that modern-day societies function, if a person stops buying products made with animal-testing..

Animal-testing is the prectice of engaging in experiments to see what irritating, sickening or deadly side-effects could occur to a living creature, before being allowed to sell medicine, cosmetics, hygiene tiems & other things to humans.

But, of course, if we wouldn't want chemicals sprayed in our eyes & mouths that hurt or kill us.... then it can be seen that rats & rabbits would not want these things done to them either.

Which would then compel one's conscientiousness to support alternative options made by companies who create "cruelty-free" versions of the very same items one might have still wanted. But without contributing to the suffering of animals, and helping prove that these commodities can be safely created without animal-testing practices.

Within the Consumerist level is also the ability to reduce how much trash one generates by choosing reusable items rather than disposable items, which saves money & fills less space in all the already-overwhelmed landfills.

Recycle all you can.

Next,
on the Vegetarian level, a person can stop buying & eating meat.

This "food" seems innocuous when you don't have to see what happens to create it. All meat, even fish, can only reach your plate after other living creatures are systematically slaughtered, after either being forcefully captured in the wild or bred into overcrowded captivity with only doom awaiting them in their future.

Certainly we wouldn't want to live in a cage for our brief & uncomfortable life, before a butcher fatally wounds our body. And even more humane farmers still create a false sense of security, since their livestock still end up the victims of cleavers, no matter how friendly the farmer or how tranquil the pastoral lifestyle of a free-range chicken or grass-fed cow. It's still a ruse that ends in bloodshed. Which would be the equivalent of a human winning a lottery-prize where you are given food-&-shelter for 30-40 years, with the stipulation that when this time-period ends... you are tortured to death to make someone-else's dinner.

Weighing the value of a whole life VS a single sandwich seems self-evident when seen in that light.

After that,
there is the Vegan level, where a person can stop utilizing anything made with even the "by-products" of animals.

Stuff to drink or eat like milk, eggs, honey, butter, cheese, royal jelly, etc.

Stuff to wear like fur, leather, silk, feathers, wool, etc.

All of these items come from the same type of suffering that is inflicted on animals to get their meat.

Cows are kept artifically inseminated to produce more milk. Hens are cramped into coops to take their eggs. And when no more milk or eggs are being produced, they both are rewarded by joining those killed for meat. Bee-hives are intruded upon to rob the honey which the bees laboured so hard to create & only receive a less-nutritious substitute in return. Wool is inhumanely sheared from sheep & llamas kept naked in cold climates. Silkworm Caterpillars & Spiders are kept in overcrowded conditions, before the caterpillars are boiled alive in their cocoons, (while spiders aren't widely used because they will cannibalize each other & they require "too much space" to spin webs for industrial-scale factory-farming). Leather is the hide of slaughtered cattle & other animals bred as livestock, so it also supports the meat industry too. And there are places in the world that still skin animals alive, including raccoons, to steal their fur faster. With zero regard for the pain inflicted by such an inhumane process!

Once exposed to the reality of wear all these things come from, a person can see that anyone who values their own comfort & well-being wouldn't appreciate being subjected to such conditions.

Not to mention all the animals who are being consensually subjected to public display & scrutiny, as well as forced to perform for human-entertainment. Which then evokes compassion towards the creatures kept by venues like circuses & zoos.

And by ceasing support for all of these things, a person helps reduce demand for it in the future, which means less creatures will suffer, as it becomes less profitable to exploit & abuse them.

Going from there, on the Jainist level,
a person also starts respecting the lives of plants & micro-organisms as much as they can. In addition to minimizing the amount of possessions they own.

Root-vegetables like garlic & onions would cease to be eaten, since these are produced underground & uprooting the entire plant to acquire the veggies ends up killing it. Not to mention the issue of earthworms& microbes who live in the soil, who are harmed by the cultivating/harvesting processes.

Farming as a whole becomes treacherous, since even organic farms who avoid chemical pesticides for human-health reasons still utilize alternateive pest-solutions to naturally kill whatever grub or aphid is sharing the food they are growing.

Even foraging for mushrooms results in the death of the fungus, because it isn't a fruit or nut that can be picked off from a tree or bush without stealing the main plant's life, too.

Then there's Yeast, which is used to make dough rise in baked goods, like most bread. These micro-organisms are cooked alive in the heat of the oven, to produce the gases that inflate air-bubbles already trapped in the kneaded dough as the Yeast eat sugars & starches, before the temperature that all the Yeast die.

So their sauna feeding-frenzy ends in mass-execution by a furnace gas-chamber.

Following this, a Jain reaches the dilemma of seeds.

In nature, seeds are part of fruit so that when an animal eats the berry or fruit, the seeds inside it will pass through the mobile lifeform's digestive system, before getting returned to the Earth somewhere farther away than the plant could have gotten the seed on its own.

However, the sewage systems of modern day are not cornucopias of eaten seeds, which means that any seeds that pass through a human's guts get wasted.

Nevermind the practice of roasting & eating seeds outright, which intentionally dooms the "germ of a potential new-life" within all viable seeds.

This would be why a Jain abstains from many-seeded fruits & vegetables (like pomegranates & cucumbers), as well as ones where the seeds are difficult to remove from the fruit itself (like on the outside ofstrawberries). Atleast one can attempt to let a palmful of apple seeds have the opportunity to sprout (no matter how unlikely), just by dispersing them upon bare ground.

The Jainist minimalism of possessions also means a reduce in contributing to the industrial-scale mass-production process which inherently increases the pollution-problem as waste-management services struggle to find room for all the rubbish.

Finally, on the Universal level,
a person strives to do no harm to anyone/anything/anytwhere/anywhen at all. This becomes a continuous commitment to be considerate about the lives of others, whether through your thoughts, words, or actions.

And this means fostering an all-inclusive compassion that EVERYTHING deserves respect & happiness.

Even things commonly deemed undesirable or dangerous.

This can be as simple as refraining from swatting a mosquito or housefly.

Or desisting the practice of poisoning ants.

Or discontinuing the practice of setting mouse-traps.

Even opting to not pull up so-called "weeds" you might feel don't belong amongst your lawn or garden. Or atleast transplanting them safely elsewhere.

Another thing would be the downplayed reality that even recreational "catch & release" fishing for fun... still ends up harming animals, even if they are let go.

That fishing-hook still pierces the piscine-entity's inner mouth, and I've unfortunately witnessed fish who are so hurt by this injury... that they end up dying from it, after getting released.

It's quite uncomfortable to watch a happy-friend act like everything they're doing is fine... as the fish they caught & released... floats belly up along the water's surface....

There's also the matter of using earthworms & other creatures for "live bait"...

...because if the recreational fisher isn't using fake lures, then there even more victims of hook skewering. Which, once again, is often fatal.

....

Then, there's a metaphorical "can of worms" with MUCH more complicated implications & consequences:

Vehicles & Fuel.

Whether it is a car, truck, van, boat, ship, airplane, train, or any other motorized method of transportation....

...they all factor into the modern-world's "military-industrial complex" as driven by the scarcity of certain natural resources.

Wars are justified over oil.

Oil is drilled out of the environment through violent methods which both damage the land itself, and occcassionally result in major disasters from oil spills and oil-rig explosions.

Then the oil is burned as various forms of fuel, which release gaseous emissions that contribute to air pollution.

And a direct side-effect of high-speed transportation is the death of many animals.

Cars & trucks cause road-kill...

Ship propellors injure marine life...

Flying organisms crash directly into turbines and windshields of aircraft....

So shifting to cleaner energy doesn't actually solve all the harm that vehicles inflict on our fellow inhabitants of Earth.

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This is an enormous issue, yet I do realize that the convenience of such transportation will sway most people to forsake the other creatures that are left traumatized or or terminally wounded.

Regardless, it is still worth my saying: Reducing our reliance on these machines by any amount will spare lives, no matter how few.

With the warmer weather, Spring is always a good time to drive/ride less, and walk more.

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There is a vast scope of human choices, so listing every situation where a person could choose between "doing no harm" and some other decision that might be opportunistically beneficial in a selfish way, but inflict a negative result on other beings.... would be impossible....

So, it is ultimately up to each of us to make use of our own brains in the heat of the moment.

But it does become a natural inclination & tendency to choose doing the right thing, the more you do it.

Also:
we shouldn't forget that the flipside of "doing no harm" would be to actively "do good" for others.

And there's so many ways you can help somebody each & every day. Little things like holding the door for someone, or helping carry something for them.

Or more outgoing things like donating healthy food (like boxes of oatmeal, canned fruit, canned nuts, canned vegetables, etc) to your local "homeless shelter"/"soup kitchen"/"food bank"/or even a church/Y.M.C.A./monastery/temple, etc.

Whether providing nourishing food or clean clothes, it is always worthwhile to make the time to share with those in your local area who need help.

Even something like taking a walk down your neighborhood's streets with a trash-bag, to pick up any litter and properly dspose of it, is a simple activity which benefits our mutual environment. And I can say from my own experience doing this, that while removing rubbish from public places, you'll end up meeting other good-hearted people along the way. That helps counterbalance cleaning up messes made by the negative-side of humanity for me.

Lastly: a couple years ago, someone named Arlene indirectly gave me one of the most perfectly-succinct pieces of all-encompassing advice I ever encountered in my whole life:

"Do All The Good You Can".

part 3 of 3

<<<BONUS>>>

For further inspirational motivation, here is the monologue by Pythagoras that catalyzed my own overdue commitment to ceasing all carnivorousness, in the Spring of 2019.

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OVID, METAMORPHOSES 15

2. PYTHAGORAS TEACHES HIS PHILOSOPHY

https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses15.html

Quote:

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[60] Here lived a man, by birth a Samian. He had fled from Samos and the ruling class, a voluntary exile, for his hate against all tyranny. He had the gift of holding mental converse with the gods, who live far distant in the highth of heaven; and all that Nature has denied to man and human vision, he reviewed with eyes of his enlightened soul. And, when he had examined all things in his careful mind with watchful study, he released his thoughts to knowledge of the public. He would speak to crowds of people, silent and amazed, while he revealed to them the origin of this vast universe, the cause of things, what is nature, what a god, whence came the snow, the cause of lightning—was it Jupiter or did the winds, that thundered when the cloud was rent asunder, cause the lightning flash? What shook the earth, what laws controlled the stars as they were moved—and every hidden thing he was the first man to forbid the use of any animal's flesh as human food, he was the first to speak with learned lips, though not believed in this, exhorting them.—

[75] "No, mortals,” he would say, “Do not permit pollution of your bodies with such food, for there are grain and good fruits which bear down the branches by their weight, and ripened grapes upon the vines, and herbs—those sweet by nature and those which will grow tender and mellow with a fire, and flowing milk is not denied, nor honey, redolent of blossoming thyme. The lavish Earth yields rich and healthful food affording dainties without slaughter, death, and bloodshed. Dull beasts delight to satisfy their hunger with torn flesh; and yet not all: horses and sheep and cattle live on grass. But all the savage animals—the fierce Armenian tigers and ferocious lions, and bears, together with the roving wolves—delight in viands reeking with warm blood. Oh, ponder a moment such a monstrous crime—vitals in vitals gorged, one greedy body fattening with plunder of another's flesh, a living being fed on another's life! In that abundance, which our Earth, the best of mothers, will afford have you no joy, unless your savage teeth can gnaw the piteous flesh of some flayed animal to reenact the Cyclopean crime? And can you not appease the hungry void—the perverted craving of a stomach's greed, unless you first destroy another life?

[96] "That age of old time which is given the name of ‘Golden,’ was so blest in fruit of trees, and in the good herbs which the earth produced that it never would pollute the mouth with blood. The birds then safely moved their wings in air, the timid hares would wander in the fields with no fear, and their own credulity had not suspended fishes from the hook. All life was safe from treacherous wiles, fearing no injury, a peaceful world. After that time some one of ill advice (it does not matter who it might have been) envied the ways of lions and gulped into his greedy paunch stuff from a carcass vile. He opened the foul paths of wickedness. It may be that in killing beasts of prey our steel was for the first time warmed with blood. And that could be defended, for I hold that predatory creatures which attempt destruction of mankind, are put to death without evasion of the sacred laws: but, though with justice they are put to death, that cannot be a cause for eating them.

[111] "This wickedness went further; and the sow was thought to have deserved death as the first of victims, for with her long turned-up snout she spoiled the good hope of a harvest year. The ravenous goat, that gnawed a sprouting vine, was led for slaughter to the altar fires of angry Bacchus. It was their own fault that surely caused the ruin of those two. But why have sheep deserved sad destiny, harmless and useful for the good of man with nectar in full udders? Their soft wool affords the warmest coverings for our use, their life and not their death would help us more. Why have the oxen of the field deserved a sad end—innocent, without deceit, and harmless, without guile, born to endure hard labor? Without gratitude is he, unworthy of the gift of harvest fields, who, after he relieved his worker from weight of the curving plow could butcher him, could sever with an axe that toil worn neck, by which so often with hard work the ground had been turned up, so many harvests reared. For some, even crimes like these are not enough, they have imputed to the gods themselves abomination—they believe a god in heaven above, rejoices at the death of a laborious ox. A victim free of blemish and most beautiful in form (perfection brings destruction) is adorned with garlands and with gilded horns before the altar. In his ignorance he hears one praying, and he sees the very grain he labored to produce, fixed on his head between the horns, and felled, he stains with blood the knife which just before he may have seen reflected in clear water. Instantly they snatch out entrails from his throbbing form, and seek in them intentions of the gods. Then, in your lust for a forbidden food you will presume to batten on his flesh, O race of mortals! Do not eat such food! Give your attention to my serious words; and, when you next present the slaughtered flesh of oxen to your palates, know and feel that you gnaw your fellow tillers of the soil.

[143] "And, since a god impels me to speak out, I will obey the god who urges me, and will disclose to you the heavens above, and I will even reveal the oracles of the Divine Will. I will sing to you of things most wonderful, which never were investigated by the intellects of ancient times and things which have been long concealed from man. In fancy I delight to float among the stars or take my stand on mighty Atlas' shoulders, and to look afar down on men wandering here and there—afraid in life yet dreading unknown death, and in these words exhort them and reveal the sequence of events ordained by fate!

[153] "O sad humanity! Why do you fear alarms of icy death, afraid of Styx, fearful of moving shadows and empty names—of subjects harped on by the poets' tales, the fabled perils of a fancied life? Whether the funeral pile consumes your flesh with hot flames, or old age dissolves it with a gradual wasting power, be well assured the body cannot meet with further ill. And souls are all exempt from power of death. When they have left their first corporeal home, they always find and live in newer homes. I can declare, for I remember well, that in the days of the great Trojan War, I was Euphorbus, son of Panthous. In my opposing breast was planted then the heavy spear-point of the younger son of Atreus. Not long past I recognised the shield, once burden of my left arm, where it hung in Juno's temple at ancient Argos, the realm of Abas. Everything must change: but nothing perishes. The moving soul may wander, coming from that spot to this, from this to that—in changed possession live in any limbs whatever. It may pass from beasts to human bodies, and again to those of beasts. The soul will never die, in the long lapse of time. As pliant wax is moulded to new forms and does not stay as it has been nor keep the self same form yet is the selfsame wax, be well assured the soul is always the same spirit, though it passes into different forms. Therefore, that natural love may not be vanquished by unnatural craving of the appetite, I warn you, stop expelling kindred souls by deeds abhorrent as cold murder.—Let not blood be nourished with its kindred blood!

[176] "Since I am launched into the open sea and I have given my full sails to the wind, nothing in all the world remains unchanged. All things are in a state of flux, all shapes receive a changing nature. Time itself glides on with constant motion, ever as a flowing river. Neither river nor the fleeting hour can stop its constant course. But, as each wave drives on a wave, as each is pressed by that which follows, and must press on that before it, so the moments fly, and others follow, so they are renewed. The moment which moved on before is past, and that which was not, now exists in Time, and every one comes, goes, and is replaced.

[186] "You see how night glides by and then proceeds on to the dawn, then brilliant light of day succeeds the dark night. There is not the same appearance in the heavens,: when all things for weariness are resting in vast night, as when bright Lucifer rides his white steed. And only think of that most glorious change, when loved Aurora, Pallas' daughter, comes before the day and tints the world, almost delivered to bright Phoebus. Even the disk of that god, rising from beneath the earth, is of a ruddy color in the dawn and ruddy when concealed beneath the world. When highest, it is a most brilliant white, for there the ether is quite purified, and far away avoids infection from impurities of earth. Diana's form at night remains not equal nor the same! 'Tis less today than it will be tomorrow, if she is waxing; greater, if she wanes.

[199] "Yes, do you not see how the year moves through four seasons, imitating human life: in early Spring it has a nursling's ways resembling infancy, for at that time the blade is shooting and devoid of strength. Its flaccid substance swelling gives delight, to every watching husbandman, alive in expectation. Then all things are rich in blossom, and the genial meadow smiles with tints of blooming flowers; but not as yet is there a sign of vigor in the leaves. The year now waxing stronger, after Spring it passes into Summer, and its youth becomes robust. Indeed of all the year the Summer is most vigorous and most abounds with glowing and life-giving warmth. Autumn then follows, and, the vim of life removed, that ripe and mellow time succeeds between youth and old age, and a few white hairs are sprinkled here and there upon his brow. Then aged Winter with his tremulous step follows, repulsive, strips of graceful locks or white with those he has retained so long.

[214] "Our bodies also, always change unceasingly: we are not now what we were yesterday or we shall be tomorrow. And there was a time when we were only seeds of man, mere hopes that lived within a mother's womb. But Nature changed us with her skilfull touch, determined that our bodies should not be held in such narrow room, below the entrails in our distended parent; and in time she brought us forth into the vacant air. Brought into light, the helpless infant lies. Then on all fours he lifts his body up, feeling his way, like any young wild beast, and then by slow degrees he stands upright, weak-kneed and trembling, steadied by support of some convenient prop. And soon more strong and swift he passes through the hours of youth, and, when the years of middle age are past, slides down the steep path of declining age. This undermines him and destroys the strength of former years: and Milon, now grown old, weeps, when he sees his arms, which once were firm with muscles big as those of Hercules, hang flabby at his side: and Helen weeps, when in the glass she sees her wrinkled face, and wonders why two heroes fell in love and carried her away.—O Time, devourer of all things, and envious Age, together you destroy all that exists and, slowly gnawing, bring on lingering death.

[237] "Yes, even things which we call elements, do not endure. Now listen well to me, and I will show the ways in which they change. The everlasting universe contains four elemental parts. And two of these are heavy—earth and water—and are borne downwards by weight. The other two devoid of weight, are air and—even lighter—fire: and, if these two are not constrained, they seek the higher regions. These four elements, though far apart in space, are all derived from one another. Earth dissolves as flowing water! Water, thinned still more, departs as wind and air; and the light air, still losing weight, sparkles on high as fire. But they return, along their former way: the fire, assuming weight, is changed to air; and then, more dense, that air is changed again to water; and that water, still more dense, compacts itself again as primal earth.

[252] “Nothing retains the form that seems its own, and Nature, the renewer of all things, continually changes every form into some other shape. Believe my word, in all this universe of vast extent, not one thing ever perished. All have changed appearance. Men say a certain thing is born, if it takes a different form from what it had; and yet they say, that certain thing has died, if it no longer keeps the self same shape. Though distant things move near, and near things far, always the sum of all things is unchanged.

[259] "For my part, I cannot believe a thing remains long under the same form unchanged. Look at the change of times from gold to iron,: look at the change in places. I have seen what had been solid earth become salt waves, and I have seen dry land made from the deep; and, far away from ocean, sea-shells strewn, and on the mountain-tops old anchors found. Water has made that which was once a plain into a valley, and the mountain has been levelled by the floods down to a plain. A former marshland is now parched dry sand, and places which endured severest drought are wet with standing pools. Here Nature has opened fresh springs, but there has shut them up; rivers aroused by ancient earthquakes have rushed out or vanished, as they lost their depth.

[273] "So, when the Lycus has been swallowed by a chasm in the earth, it rushes forth at a distance and is reborn a different stream. The Erasinus now flows down into a cave, now runs beneath the ground a darkened course, then rises lordly in the Argolic fields. They say the Mysus, wearied of his spring and of his former banks, appears elsewhere and takes another name, the Caicus. The Amenanus in Sicilian sands now smoothly rolling, at another time is quenched, because its fountain springs are dry. The water of the Anigros formerly was used for drinking, but it pours out now foul water which you would decline to touch, because (unless all credit is denied to poets) long ago the Centaurs, those strange mortals double-limbed, bathed in the stream wounds which club-bearing Hercules had made with his strong bow.—Yes, does not Hypanis descending fresh from mountains of Sarmatia, become embittered with the taste of salt?

[287] "Antissa, Pharos, and Phoenician Tyre, were once surrounded by the wavy sea: they are not islands now. Long years ago Leucas was mainland, if we can believe what the old timers there will tell, but now the waves sweep round it. Zancle was a part of Italy, until the sea cut off the neighboring land with strong waves in between. Should you seek Helice and Buris, those two cities of Achaea, you will find them underneath the waves, where sailors point to sloping roofs and streets in the clear deep. Near Pittheaan Troezen a steep, high hill, quite bare of trees, was once a level plain, but now is a hill, for (dreadful even to tell) the raging power of winds, long pent in deep, dark caverns, tried to find a proper vent, long struggling to attain free sky. Finding no opening from the prison-caves, imperious to their force, they raised the earth, exactly as pent air breathed from the mouth inflates a bladder, or the bottle-hides stripped off the two-horned goats. The swollen earth remained on that spot and has ever since appearance of a high hill hardened by the flight of time.

[307] "Of many strange events that I have heard and known, I will add a few. Why, does not water give and take strange forms? Your wave, O horned Ammon, will turn cold at mid-day, but is always mild and warm at sun-rise and at sun-set. I have heard that Athamanians kindle wood, if they pour water on it, when the waning moon has shrunk away into her smallest orb. The people of Ciconia have a stream which turns the drinker's entrails into stone, which changes into marble all it raves. The Achaean Crathis and the Sybaris, which flow not far from here, will turn the hair to something like clear amber or bright gold. What is more wonderful, there are some waters which change not only bodies but the minds: who has no knowledge of the Salmacis and of its ill famed waves? Who has not heard of the lakes of Aethiopia: how those who drink of them go raving mad or fall in a deep sleep, most wonderful in heaviness. Whoever quenches thirst from the Clitorian spring will hate all wine, and soberly secure great pleasure from pure water. Either that spring has a power the opposite of wine-heat, or perhaps as natives tell us, after the famed son of Amythaon by his charms and herbs, delivered from their base insanity the stricken Proetides, he threw the rest of his mind healing herbs into the spring, where hatred of all wine has since remained. Unlike in nature flows another stream of the country, called Lyncestius: everyone who drinks of it, even with most temperate care, will reel, as if he had drunk unmixed wine. In Arcadia is a place, called Pheneos by men of old, which is mistrusted for the twofold nature of its waters. Stand in dread of them at night; if drunk at night, they harm you, but in daytime they will do no harm at all. So lakes and rivers have now this, now that effect.

[335] "Ortygia once moved like a ship that drifts among the waves. Now it is fixed. The Argo was in dread of the Symplegades, which moved apart with waves in-rushing. Now immovable they stand, resisting the attack of winds. Aetna, which burns with sulphur furnaces, will not be always concentrated fire, nor was it always fiery. If the earth is like an animal and is alive and breathes out flame at many openings, then it can change these many passages used for its breathing and, when it is moved, may close these caverns as it opens up some others. Or if rushing winds are penned in deepest caverns, and they drive great stones against the rock, and substances which have the properties of flame and fire are made by those concussions; when the winds are calmed the caverns will, of course, be cool again. Or if some black bitumen catches fire or yellow sulphur burns with little smoke, then surely, when the ground no longer gives such food and oily nutriment for flames and they in time have ravined all their store, their greedy nature soon will pine with death—it will not bear such famine but depart and, when deserted, will desert the place.

[356] "'Tis said that Hyperboreans of Pallene can cover all their bodies with light plumes by plunging nine times in Minerva's marsh. But I cannot believe another tale: that Scythian women get a like result by having poison sprinkled on their limbs.

[361] "If we give any credit to the things proved by experience, we can surely know whatever bodies are decayed by time or by dissolving heat are by such means changed into tiny animals—Come now, bury choice bullocks killed for sacrifice, and it is well known by experience that the flower-gathering bees are so produced, miraculous, from entrails putrefied. These, like the faithful animals from which they were produced, inhabit the green fields, delight in toil, and labor for reward. The warlike steed, when buried in the ground, is a known source of hornets. If you cut the bending claws off from the sea-shore crab and bury the remainder in the earth, a scorpion will come forth from the dead crab buried there, threatening with its crooked tail.

[375] "The worms which cover leaves with their white threads, a thing observable by husbandmen, will change themselves to funeral butterflies. Mud holds the seeds that generate green frogs, at first producing tadpoles with no feet, and soon it gives them legs adapted for their swimming, and, so they may be as well adapted to good leaping, their hind legs are longer than the fore-legs. The mother bear does not bring forth a cub but a limp mass of flesh that hardly can be called alive. By licking it the mother forms the limbs, and brings it to a shape just like her own. Do not the offspring of the honey bees, concealed in cells hexagonal, at first get life with no limbs, and assume in time both feet and wings? Unless the fact were known, could anyone suppose it possible that Juno's bird, whose tail is bright with stars; the eagle, armor-bearer of high Jove; the doves of Cytherea; and all birds emerge from the middle part of eggs? And some believe the human marrow turns into a serpent when the spine at length has putrefied in the closed sepulchre.

[391] "Now these I named derive their origin from other living forms. There is one bird which reproduces and renews itself: the Assyrians gave this bird his name—the Phoenix. He does not live either on grain or herbs, but only on small drops of frankincense and juices of amomum. When this bird completes a full five centuries of life straightway with talons and with shining beak he builds a nest among palm branches, where they join to form the palm tree's waving top. As soon as he has strewn in this new nest the cassia bark and ears of sweet spikenard, and some bruised cinnamon with yellow myrrh, he lies down on it and refuses life among those dreamful odors.—And they say that from the body of the dying bird is reproduced a little Phoenix which is destined to live just as many years. When time has given to him sufficient strength and he is able to sustain the weight, he lifts the nest up from the lofty tree and dutifully carries from that place his cradle and the parent's sepulchre. As soon as he has reached through yielding air the city of Hyperion, he will lay the burden just before the sacred doors within the temple of Hyperion.

[408] "But, if we wonder at strange things like these, we ought to wonder also, when we learn that a hyena has a change of sex: the female, quitting her embracing male, herself becomes a male.—That animal which feeds upon the winds and air, at once assumes with contact any color touched. Conquered India gave to the vine crowned Bacchus lynxes, whose urine turns, they say to stones, hardening in air. So coral, too, as soon as it has risen above the sea, turns hard. Below the waves it was a tender plant.

[418] "The day will fail me; Phoebus will have bathed his panting horses in the deep sea waves, before I can include in my discourse the myriad things transforming to new shapes. In lapse of time we see the nations change; some grow in power, some wane. Troy was once great in riches and in men—so great she could for ten unequalled years afford much blood; now she lies low and offers to our gaze but ancient ruins and, instead of wealth, ancestral tombs. Sparta was famous once and great Mycenae was most flourishing. And Cecrops' citadel and Amphion's shone in ancient power. Sparta is nothing now save barren ground, the proud Mycenae fell, what is the Thebes of storied Oedipus except a name? And of Pandion's Athens what now remains beyond the name?

[431] "Reports come to me that Dardanian Rome is rising, and beside the Tiber's waves, whose springs are high in the Apennines, is laying her deep foundations. So in her growth her form is changing, and one day she will be the sole mistress of the boundless world. They say that soothsayers and that oracles, revealers of our destiny, declare this fate, and, if I recollect it right, Helenus, son of Priam, prophesied unto Aeneas, when he was in doubt of safety and lamenting for the state of Troy, about to fall, `O, son of a goddess, if you yourself, will fully understand this prophecy now surging in my mind Troy shall not, while you are preserved to life fall utterly. Flames and the sword shall give you passage. You shall go and bear away Pergama, ruined; till a foreign soil, more friendly to you than your native land, shall be the lot of Troy and of yourself. Even now I know it is decreed by Fate that our posterity, born far from Troy, will build a city greater than exists, or ever will exist, or ever has been seen in former times. Through a long lapse of ages other noted men shall make it strong, but one of the race of Iulus; shall make it the great mistress of the world. After the earth has thoroughly enjoyed his glorious life, aetherial abodes shall gain him, and immortal heaven shall be his destiny.’ Such was the prophesy of Helenus, when great Aeneas took away his guardian deities, and I rejoice to see my kindred walls rise high and realize how much the Trojans won by that resounding victory of the Greeks!

[453] "But, that we may not range afar with steeds forgetful of the goal, the heavens and all beneath them and the earth and everything upon it change in form. We likewise change, who are a portion of the universe, and, since we are not only things of flesh but winged souls as well, we may be doomed to enter into beasts as our abode; and even to be hidden in the breasts of cattle. Therefore, should we not allow these bodies to be safe which may contain the souls of parents, brothers, or of those allied to us by kinship or of men at least, who should be saved from every harm? Let us not gorge down a Thyestean feast! How greatly does a man disgrace himself, how impiously does he prepare himself for shedding human blood, who with the knife cuts the calf's throat and offers a deaf ear to its death-longings! who can kill the kid while it is sending forth heart rending cries like those of a dear child; or who can feed upon the bird which he has given food. How little do such deeds as these fall short of actual murder? Yes, where will they lead? Let the ox plough, or let him owe his death to weight of years; and let the sheep give us defence against the cold of Boreas; and let the well-fed she-goats give to man their udders for the pressure of kind hands. Away with cruel nets and springs and snares and fraudulent contrivances: deceive not birds with bird-limed twigs: do not deceive the trusting deer with dreaded feather foils: do not conceal barbed hooks with treacherous bait: if any beast is harmful, take his life, but, even so, let killing be enough. Taste not his flesh, but look for harmless food!”

---

https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses15.html

Another thing for this thread:

If there's an item you already use frequently, but there's no cruelty-free or vegan version(s) available in your local area yet, YOU can actually contact the company you already support & make a polite request that they consider adjusting the materials they use!

You see: I myself just did this very thing!

Last week, I called the number on the back of the box of Crayola markers (which I needed to replace).

Previously learning from the resources above that Chartpak made vegan markers, I had tried to acquire some of those.

...but unfortunately nowhere around here sold them!

Hence deciding to see if maybe Crayola (who has wide distribution) would hear me out on the topic of either altering the ingredients to eliminate all animal byproducts or creating a vegan sub-line.

And while there's no telling IF or WHEN that phone-call might result in any change... the company did listen and collect info.

That leads me to provide a list of animal-derived ingredients AND actual alternative ingredients which can be substituted in place of those harm-inducing ones:

Spoiler!

Quote:

---

PETA’s list of animal-derived ingredients and their alternatives is here to help you avoid animal ingredients in food, cosmetics, and other products. Keep in mind that this list is not all-inclusive. There are thousands of technical and patented names for ingredient variations. Many ingredients known by one name can be of animal, vegetable, or synthetic origin. However, don’t let all this overwhelm you—this list is a resource and is here to help! If you have any questions regarding an ingredient in a product, you can always call the manufacturer.

While we hope this list proves helpful, we also want to emphasize that no one can avoid every single animal ingredient. Being vegan is about helping animals, not maintaining personal purity. Boycotting products that may contain trace amounts of animal products can actually be harmful to animals in the long run. For example, by refusing to eat a veggie burger from a restaurant because the bun may contain traces of milk or eggs, you are discouraging that restaurant from offering vegan options because it is seems too difficult a task. So use our list as a guide, and do your best to avoid animal ingredients. Read more.

Adrenaline.

Hormone from adrenal glands of hogs, cattle, and sheep. In medicine. Alternatives: synthetics.

Alanine.
(See Amino Acids.)

Albumen.
In eggs, milk, muscles, blood, and many vegetable tissues and fluids. In cosmetics, albumen is usually derived from egg whites and used as a coagulating agent. May cause allergic reaction. In cakes, cookies, candies, etc. Egg whites sometimes used in “clearing” wines. Derivative: Albumin.

Albumin.
(See Albumen.)

Alcloxa.
(See Allantoin.)

Aldioxa.
(See Allantoin.)

Aliphatic Alcohol.
(See Lanolin and Vitamin A.)

Allantoin.
Uric acid from cows, most mammals. Also in many plants (especially comfrey). In cosmetics (especially creams and lotions) and used in treatment of wounds and ulcers. Derivatives: Alcloxa, Aldioxa. Alternatives: extract of comfrey root, synthetics.

Alligator Skin.
(See Leather.)

Alpha-Hydroxy Acids.
Any one of several acids used as an exfoliant and in anti-wrinkle products. Lactic acid may be animal-derived (see Lactic Acid). Alternatives: glycolic acid, citric acid, and salicylic acid are plant- or fruit-derived.

Ambergris.
From whale intestines. Used as a fixative in making perfumes and as a flavoring in foods and beverages. Alternatives: synthetic or vegetable fixatives.

Amerchol L101.
(See Lanolin.)

Amino Acids.
The building blocks of protein in all animals and plants. In cosmetics, vitamins, supplements, shampoos, etc. Alternatives: synthetics, plant sources.

Aminosuccinate Acid.
(See Aspartic Acid.)

Angora.
Hair from the Angora rabbit or goat. Used in clothing. Alternatives: synthetic fibers.

Animal Fats and Oils.
In foods, cosmetics, etc. Highly allergenic. Alternatives: olive oil, wheat germ oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, almond oil, safflower oil, etc.

Animal Hair.
In some blankets, mattresses, brushes, furniture, etc. Alternatives: vegetable and synthetic fibers.

Arachidonic Acid.
A liquid unsaturated fatty acid that is found in liver, brain, glands, and fat of animals and humans. Generally isolated from animal liver. Used in companion animal food for nutrition and in skin creams and lotions to soothe eczema and rashes. Alternatives: synthetics, aloe vera, tea tree oil, calendula ointment.

Arachidyl Proprionate.
A wax that can be from animal fat. Alternatives: peanut or vegetable oil.

Bee Pollen.
Microsporic grains in seed plants gathered by bees then collected from the legs of bees. Causes allergic reactions in some people. In nutritional supplements, shampoos, toothpastes, deodorants. Alternatives: synthetics, plant amino acids, pollen collected from plants.

Bee Products.
Produced by bees for their own use. Bees are selectively bred. Culled bees are killed. A cheap sugar is substituted for their stolen honey. Millions die as a result. Their legs are often torn off by pollen-collection trapdoors.

Beeswax. Honeycomb.
Wax obtained from melting honeycomb with boiling water, straining it, and cooling it. From virgin bees. Very cheap and widely used. May be harmful to the skin. In lipsticks and many other cosmetics, especially face creams, lotions, mascara, eye creams and shadows, face makeup, nail whiteners, lip balms, etc. Derivatives: Cera Flava. Alternatives: paraffin, vegetable oils and fats, ceresin (aka ceresine, earth wax; made from the mineral ozokerite; replaces beeswax in cosmetics; also used to wax paper, to make polishing cloths, in dentistry for taking wax impressions, and in candle-making), carnauba wax (from the Brazilian palm tree; used in many cosmetics, including lipstick; rarely causes allergic reactions), candelilla wax (from candelilla plants; used in many cosmetics, including lipstick; also in the manufacture of rubber and phonograph records, in waterproofing and writing inks; no known toxicity), Japan wax (vegetable wax, Japan tallow; fat from the fruit of a tree grown in Japan and China).

Biotin. Vitamin H. Vitamin B Factor.
In every living cell and in larger amounts in milk and yeast. Used as a texturizer in cosmetics, shampoos, and creams. Alternatives: plant sources.

Blood.
From any slaughtered animal. Used as adhesive in plywood, also found in cheese-making, foam rubber, intravenous feedings, and medicines. Possibly in foods such as lecithin. Alternatives: synthetics, plant sources.

Boar Bristles.
Hair from wild or captive hogs. In “natural” toothbrushes and bath and shaving brushes. Alternatives: vegetable fibers, nylon, the peelu branch or peelu gum (Asian, available in the U.S.; its juice replaces toothpaste).

Bone Char.
Animal bone ash. Used in bone china and often to make sugar white. Serves as the charcoal used in aquarium filters. Alternatives: synthetic tribasic calcium phosphate.

Bone Meal.
Crushed or ground animal bones. In some fertilizers. In some vitamins and supplements as a source of calcium. In toothpastes. Alternatives: plant mulch, vegetable compost, dolomite, clay, vegetarian vitamins.

Calciferol.
(See Vitamin D.)

Calfskin.
(See Leather.)

Caprylamine Oxide.
(See Caprylic Acid.)

Capryl Betaine.
(See Caprylic Acid.)

Caprylic Acid.
A liquid fatty acid from cow’s or goat’s milk. Also from palm, coconut, and other plant oils. In perfumes, soaps. Derivatives: Caprylic Triglyceride, Caprylamine Oxide, Capryl Betaine. Alternatives: plant sources, especially coconut oil.

Caprylic Triglyceride.
(See Caprylic Acid.)

Carbamide.
(See Urea.)

Carmine. Cochineal. Carminic Acid.
Red pigment from the crushed female cochineal insect. Reportedly, 70,000 beetles must be killed to produce one pound of this red dye. Used in cosmetics, shampoos, red apple sauce, and other foods (including red lollipops and food coloring). May cause allergic reaction. Alternatives: beet juice (used in powders, rouges, shampoos; no known toxicity), alkanet root (from the root of this herb-like tree; used as a red dye for inks, wines, lip balms, etc.; no known toxicity; can also be combined to make a copper or blue coloring). (See Colors.)

Carminic Acid.
(See Carmine.)

Carotene. Provitamin A. Beta Carotene.
A pigment found in many animal tissues and in all plants. When used as an additive, typically derived from plant sources. Used as a coloring in cosmetics and in the manufacture of vitamin A.

Casein. Caseinate. Sodium Caseinate.
Milk protein. In “nondairy” creamers, soy cheese, many cosmetics, hair preparations, beauty masks. Alternatives: soy protein, soy milk, and other vegetable milks.

Caseinate.
(See Casein.)

Cashmere.
Wool from the Kashmir goat. Used in clothing. Alternatives: synthetic fibers.

Castor. Castoreum.
Creamy substance with strong odor, originally from muskrat and beaver genitals but now typically synthetic. Used as a fixative in perfume and incense. While some cosmetics companies continue to use animal castor, the majority do not.

Castoreum.
(See Castor.)

Catgut.
Tough string from the intestines of sheep, horses, etc. Used for surgical sutures. Also for stringing tennis rackets, musical instruments, etc. Alternatives: nylon and other synthetic fibers.

Cera Flava.
(See Beeswax.)

Cerebrosides.
Fatty acids and sugars found in the covering of nerves. May be synthetic or of animal origin. When animal-derived, may include tissue from brain. Used in moisturizers.

Cetyl Alcohol.
Wax originally found in spermaceti from sperm whales or dolphins but now most often derived from petroleum. Alternatives: vegetable cetyl alcohol (e.g., coconut), synthetic spermaceti.

Cetyl Palmitate.
(See Spermaceti.)

Chitosan.
A fiber derived from crustacean shells. Used as a lipid binder in diet products; hair, oral, and skin-care products; antiperspirants; and deodorants. Alternatives: raspberries, yams, legumes, dried apricots, many other fruits and vegetables.

Cholesterin.
(See Lanolin.)

Cholesterol.
A steroid alcohol in all animal fats and oils, nervous tissue, egg yolk, and blood. Can be derived from lanolin. In cosmetics, eye creams, shampoos, etc. Alternatives: solid complex alcohols (sterols) from plant sources.

Choline Bitartrate.
(See Lecithin.)

Civet.
Unctuous secretion painfully scraped from a gland very near the genital organs of civet cats. Used as a fixative in perfumes. Alternatives: (See alternatives to Musk.)

Cochineal.
(See Carmine.)

Cod Liver Oil.
(See Marine Oil.)

Collagen.
Fibrous protein in vertebrates. Usually derived from animal tissue. Can’t affect the skin’s own collagen. An allergen. Alternatives: soy protein, almond oil, amla oil (see alternatives to Keratin), etc.

Colors. Dyes.
Pigments from animal, plant, and synthetic sources used to color foods, cosmetics, and other products. Cochineal is from insects. Widely used FD&C and D&C colors are coal-tar (bituminous coal) derivatives that are continuously tested on animals because of their carcinogenic properties. Alternatives: grapes, beets, turmeric, saffron, carrots, chlorophyll, annatto, alkanet.

Corticosteroid.
(See Cortisone.)

Cortisone. Corticosteroid.
When animal-derived, a hormone from adrenal glands. However, a synthetic is widely used. Typically used in medicine. Alternatives: synthetics.

Cysteine, L-Form.
An amino acid from hair that can come from animals. Used in hair-care products and creams, in some bakery products, and in wound-healing formulations. Alternatives: plant sources.

Cystine.
An amino acid found in urine and horsehair. Used as a nutritional supplement and in emollients. Alternatives: plant sources.

Dexpanthenol.
(See Panthenol.)

Diglycerides.
(See Monoglycerides and Glycerin.)

Dimethyl Stearamine.
(See Stearic Acid.)

Down.
Goose or duck insulating feathers. From slaughtered or cruelly exploited geese. Used as an insulator in quilts, parkas, sleeping bags, pillows, etc. Alternatives: polyester and synthetic substitutes, kapok (silky fibers from the seeds of some tropical trees) and milkweed seed pod fibers.

Duodenum Substances.
From the digestive tracts of cows and pigs. Added to some vitamin tablets. In some medicines. Alternatives: vegetarian vitamins, synthetics.

Dyes.
(See Colors.)

Egg Protein.
In shampoos, skin preparations, etc. Alternatives: plant proteins.

Elastin.
Protein found in the neck ligaments and aortas of cows. Similar to collagen. Can’t affect the skin’s own elasticity. Alternatives: synthetics, protein from plant tissues.

Emu Oil.
From flightless ratite birds native to Australia and now factory-farmed. Used in cosmetics and creams. Alternatives: vegetable and plant oils.

Ergocalciferol.
(See Vitamin D.)

Ergosterol.
(See Vitamin D.)

Estradiol.
(See Estrogen.)

Estrogen. Estradiol.
Female hormones from pregnant mares’ urine. Considered a drug. Can have harmful systemic effects if used by children. Used for reproductive problems and in birth control pills and Premarin, a menopausal drug. In creams, perfumes, and lotions. Has a negligible effect in the creams as a skin restorative; simple vegetable-source emollients are considered better. Alternatives: oral contraceptives and menopausal drugs based on synthetic steroids or phytoestrogens (from plants, especially palm-kernel oil). Menopausal symptoms can also be treated with diet and herbs.

Fats.
(See Animal Fats.)

Fatty Acids.
Can be one or any mixture of liquid and solid acids such as caprylic, lauric, myristic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic. Used in bubble baths, lipsticks, soap, detergents, cosmetics, food. Alternatives: vegetable-derived acids, soy lecithin, safflower oil, bitter almond oil, sunflower oil, etc.

FD&C Colors.
(See Colors.)

Feathers.
From exploited and slaughtered birds. Used whole as ornaments or ground up in shampoos. (See Down and Keratin.)

Fish Liver Oil.
Used in vitamins and supplements. In milk fortified with vitamin D. Alternatives: yeast extract ergosterol, exposure of skin to sunshine.

Fish Oil.
(See Marine Oil.) Fish oil can also be from marine mammals. Used in soapmaking.

Fish Scales.
Used in shimmery makeup. Alternatives: mica, rayon, synthetic pearl.

Fur.
Obtained from animals (usually mink, foxes, or rabbits) cruelly trapped in steel-jaw traps or raised in intensive confinement on fur farms. Alternatives: synthetics. (See Sable Brushes.)

Gel.
(See Gelatin.)

Gelatin. Gel.
Protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones in water. From cows and pigs. Used in shampoos, face masks, and other cosmetics. Used as a thickener for fruit gelatins and puddings (e.g., Jell-O). In candies, marshmallows, cakes, ice cream, yogurts. On photographic film and in vitamins as a coating and as capsules. Sometimes used to assist in “clearing” wines. Alternatives: carrageen (carrageenan, Irish moss), seaweeds (algin, agar-agar, kelp—used in jellies, plastics, medicine), pectin from fruits, dextrins, locust bean gum, cotton gum, silica gel. Marshmallows were originally made from the root of the marshmallow plant. Vegetarian capsules are now available from several companies. Digital cameras don’t use film.

Glucose Tyrosinase.
(See Tyrosine.)

Glycerides.
(See Glycerin.)

Glycerin. Glycerol.
A byproduct of soap manufacture (normally uses animal fat). In cosmetics, foods, mouthwashes, chewing gum, toothpastes, soaps, ointments, medicines, lubricants, transmission and brake fluid, and plastics. Derivatives: Glycerides, Glyceryls, Glycreth-26, Polyglycerol. Alternatives: vegetable glycerin (a byproduct of vegetable oil soap), derivatives of seaweed, petroleum.

Glycerol.
(See Glycerin.)

Glyceryls.
(See Glycerin.)

Glycreth-26.
(See Glycerin.)

Guanine. Pearl Essence.
Obtained from scales of fish. Constituent of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid and found in all animal and plant tissues. In shampoo, nail polish, other cosmetics. Alternatives: leguminous plants, synthetic pearl, or aluminum and bronze particles.

Hide Glue.
Same as gelatin but of a cruder impure form. Alternatives: dextrins and synthetic petrochemical-based adhesives. (See Gelatin.)

Honey.
Food for bees, made by bees. Can cause allergic reactions. Used as a coloring and an emollient in cosmetics and as a flavoring in foods. Should never be fed to infants. Alternatives: in foods—maple syrup, date sugar, syrups made from grains such as barley malt, turbinado sugar, molasses; in cosmetics—vegetable colors and oils.

Honeycomb.
(See Beeswax.)

Horsehair.
(See Animal Hair.)

Hyaluronic Acid.
When animal-derived, a protein found in umbilical cords and the fluids around the joints. Used in cosmetics and some medical applications. Alternatives: synthetic hyaluronic acid, plant oils.

Hydrocortisone.
(See Cortisone.)

Hydrolyzed Animal Protein.
In cosmetics, especially shampoo and hair treatments. Alternatives: soy protein, other vegetable proteins, amla oil (see alternatives to Keratin).

Imidazolidinyl Urea.
(See Urea.)

Insulin.
From hog pancreas. Used by millions of diabetics daily. Alternatives: synthetics, vegetarian diet and nutritional supplements, human insulin grown in a lab.

Isinglass.
A form of gelatin prepared from the internal membranes of fish bladders. Sometimes used in “clearing” wines and in foods. Alternatives: bentonite clay, “Japanese isinglass,” agar-agar (see alternatives to Gelatin), mica, a mineral used in cosmetics.

Isopropyl Lanolate.
(See Lanolin.)

Isopropyl Myristate.
(See Myristic Acid.)

Isopropyl Palmitate.
Complex mixtures of isomers of stearic acid and palmitic acid. (See Stearic Acid.)

Keratin.
Protein from the ground-up horns, hooves, feathers, quills, and hair of various animals. In hair rinses, shampoos, permanent wave solutions. Alternatives: almond oil, soy protein, amla oil (from the fruit of an Indian tree), human hair from salons. Rosemary and nettle give body and strand strength to hair.

Lactic Acid.
Typically derived from plants such as beets. When animal-derived, found in blood and muscle tissue. Also in sour milk, beer, sauerkraut, pickles, and other food products made by bacterial fermentation. Used in skin fresheners, as a preservative, in the formation of plasticizers, etc. Alternatives: plant milk sugars, synthetics.

Lactose.
Milk sugar from milk of mammals. In eye lotions, foods, tablets, cosmetics, baked goods, medicines. Alternatives: plant milk sugars.

Laneth.
(See Lanolin.)

Lanogene.
(See Lanolin.)

Lanolin. Lanolin Acids. Wool Fat. Wool Wax.
A product of the oil glands of sheep, extracted from their wool. Used as an emollient in many skin-care products and cosmetics and in medicines. An allergen with no proven effectiveness. (See Wool for cruelty to sheep.) Derivatives: Aliphatic Alcohols, Cholesterin, Isopropyl Lanolate, Laneth, Lanogene, Lanolin Alcohols, Lanosterols, Sterols, Triterpene Alcohols. Alternatives: plant and vegetable oils.

Lanolin Alcohol.
(See Lanolin.)

Lanosterols.
(See Lanolin.)

Lard.
Fat from hog abdomens. In shaving creams, soaps, cosmetics. In baked goods, French fries, refried beans, and many other foods. Alternatives: pure vegetable fats or oils.

Leather. Suede. Calfskin. Sheepskin. Alligator Skin. Other Types of Skin.
Subsidizes the meat industry. Used to make wallets, handbags, furniture and car upholstery, shoes, etc. Alternatives: cotton, canvas, nylon, vinyl, ultrasuede, pleather, other synthetics.

Lecithin. Choline Bitartrate.
Waxy substance in nervous tissue of all living organisms. But frequently obtained for commercial purposes from eggs and soybeans. Also from nerve tissue, blood, milk, corn. Choline bitartrate, the basic constituent of lecithin, is in many animal and plant tissues and prepared synthetically. Lecithin can be in eye creams, lipsticks, liquid powders, hand creams, lotions, soaps, shampoos, other cosmetics, and some medicines. Alternatives: soybean lecithin, synthetics.

Linoleic Acid.
An essential fatty acid. Used in cosmetics, vitamins. Alternatives: (See alternatives to Fatty Acids.)

Lipase.
Enzyme from the stomachs and tongue glands of calves, kids, and lambs. Used in cheesemaking and in digestive aids. Alternatives: vegetable enzymes, castor beans.

Lipids.
(See Lipoids.)

Lipoids. Lipids.
Fat and fat-like substances that are found in animals and plants. Alternatives: vegetable oils.

Marine Oil.
From fish or marine mammals (including porpoises). Used in soapmaking. Used as a shortening (especially in some margarines), as a lubricant, and in paint. Alternatives: vegetable oils.

Methionine.
Essential amino acid found in various proteins (usually from egg albumen and casein). Used as a texturizer and for freshness in potato chips. Alternatives: synthetics.

Milk Protein.
Hydrolyzed milk protein. From the milk of cows. In cosmetics, shampoos, moisturizers, conditioners, etc. Alternatives: soy protein, other plant proteins.

Mink Oil.
From minks. In cosmetics, creams, etc. Alternatives: vegetable oils and emollients such as avocado oil, almond oil, and jojoba oil.

Monoglycerides. Glycerides. (See Glycerin.)
From animal fat. In margarines, cake mixes, candies, foods, etc. In cosmetics. Alternative: vegetable glycerides.

Musk (Oil).
Dried secretion painfully obtained from musk deer, beaver, muskrat, civet cat, and otter genitals. Wild cats are kept captive in cages in horrible conditions and are whipped around the genitals to produce the scent; beavers are trapped; deer are shot. In perfumes and in food flavorings. Alternatives: labdanum oil (from various rockrose shrubs) and extracts from other plants with a musky scent.

Myristal Ether Sulfate.
(See Myristic Acid.)

Myristic Acid.
Organic acid typically derived from nut oils but occasionally of animal origin. Used in shampoos, creams, cosmetics. In food flavorings. Derivatives: Isopropyl Myristate, Myristal Ether Sulfate, Myristyls, Oleyl Myristate. Alternatives: nut butters, oil of lovage, coconut oil, extract from seed kernels of nutmeg, etc.

Myristyls.
(See Myristic Acid.)

“Natural Sources.”
Can mean animal or vegetable sources. Most often in the health-food industry, especially in the cosmetics area, it means animal sources, such as animal elastin, glands, fat, protein, and oil. Alternatives: plant sources.

Nucleic Acids.
In the nucleus of all living cells. Used in cosmetics, shampoos, conditioners, etc. Also in vitamins, supplements. Alternatives: plant sources.

Ocenol.
(See Oleyl Alcohol.)

Octyl Dodecanol.
Mixture of solid waxy alcohols. Primarily from stearyl alcohol. (See Stearyl Alcohol.)

Oleic Acid.
Obtained from various animal and vegetable fats and oils. Usually obtained commercially from inedible tallow. (See Tallow.) In foods, soft soap, bar soap, permanent wave solutions, creams, nail polish, lipsticks, many other skin preparations. Derivatives: Oleyl Oleate, Oleyl Stearate. Alternatives: coconut oil. (See alternatives to Animal Fats and Oils.)

Oils.
(See alternatives to Animal Fats and Oils.)

Oleths.
(See Oleyl Alcohol.)

Oleyl Alcohol. Ocenol.
Found in fish oils. Used in the manufacture of detergents, as a plasticizer for softening fabrics, and as a carrier for medications. Derivatives: Oleths, Oleyl Arachidate, Oleyl Imidazoline.

Oleyl Arachidate.
(See Oleyl Alcohol.)

Oleyl Imidazoline.
(See Oleyl Alcohol.)

Oleyl Myristate.
(See Myristic Acid.)

Oleyl Oleate.
(See Oleic Acid.)

Oleyl Stearate.
(See Oleic Acid.)

Palmitamide.
(See Palmitic Acid.)

Palmitamine.
(See Palmitic Acid.)

Palmitate.
(See Palmitic Acid.)

Palmitic Acid.
A fatty acid most commonly derived from palm oil but may be derived from animals as well. In shampoos, shaving soaps, creams. Derivatives: Palmitate, Palmitamine, Palmitamide. Alternatives: vegetable sources.

Panthenol. Dexpanthenol. Vitamin B-Complex Factor. Provitamin B-5.
Can come from animal or plant sources or synthetics. In shampoos, supplements, emollients, etc. In foods. Derivative: Panthenyl. Alternatives: synthetics, plants.

Panthenyl.
(See Panthenol.)

Pepsin.
In hogs’ stomachs. A clotting agent. In some cheeses and vitamins. Same uses and alternatives as Rennet.

Placenta. Placenta Polypeptides Protein. Afterbirth.
Contains waste matter eliminated by the fetus. Derived from the uterus of slaughtered animals. Animal placenta is widely used in skin creams, shampoos, masks, etc. Alternatives: kelp. (See alternatives to Animal Fats and Oils.)

Polyglycerol.
(See Glycerin.)

Polypeptides.
From animal protein. Used in cosmetics. Alternatives: plant proteins and enzymes.

Polysorbates.
Derivatives of fatty acids. In cosmetics, foods.

Pristane.
Obtained from the liver oil of sharks and from whale ambergris. (See Squalene, Ambergris.) Used as a lubricant and anti-corrosive agent. In cosmetics. Alternatives: plant oils, synthetics.

Progesterone.
A steroid hormone used in anti-wrinkle face creams. Can have adverse systemic effects. Alternatives: synthetics.

Propolis.
Tree sap gathered by bees and used as a sealant in beehives. In toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, supplements, etc. Alternatives: tree sap, synthetics.

Provitamin A.
(See Carotene.)

Provitamin B-5.
(See Panthenol.)

Provitamin D-2.
(See Vitamin D.)

Rennet. Rennin.
Enzyme from calves’ stomachs. Used in cheesemaking, rennet custard (junket), and in many coagulated dairy products. Alternatives: microbial coagulating agents, bacteria culture, lemon juice, or vegetable rennet.

Rennin.
(See Rennet.)

Resinous Glaze.
(See Shellac.)

Retinol.
Animal-derived vitamin A. Alternative: carotene.

Ribonucleic Acid.
(See RNA.)

RNA. Ribonucleic Acid.
RNA is in all living cells. Used in many protein shampoos and cosmetics. Alternatives: plant cells.

Royal Jelly.
Secretion from the throat glands of worker honeybees. Fed to the larvae in a colony and to all queen larvae. No proven value in cosmetics preparations. Alternatives: aloe vera, comfrey, other plant derivatives.

Sable Brushes.
From the fur of sables (weasel-like mammals). Used to make eye makeup, lipstick, and artists’ brushes. Alternatives: synthetic fibers.

Sea Turtle Oil.
(See Turtle Oil.)

Shark Liver Oil.
Used in lubricating creams and lotions. Derivatives: Squalane, Squalene. Alternatives: vegetable oils.

Sheepskin.
(See Leather.)

Shellac. Resinous Glaze.
Resinous excretion of certain insects. Used as a candy glaze, in hair lacquer, and on jewelry. Alternatives: plant waxes, Zein (from corn).

Silk. Silk Powder.
Silk is the shiny fiber made by silkworms to form their cocoons. Worms are boiled in their cocoons to get the silk. Used in cloth. In silk-screening (other fine cloth can be and is used instead). Taffeta can be made from silk or nylon. Silk powder is obtained from the secretion of the silkworm. It is used as a coloring agent in face powders, soaps, etc. Can cause severe allergic skin reactions and systemic reactions if inhaled or ingested. Alternatives: milkweed seed-pod fibers, nylon, silk-cotton tree and ceiba tree filaments (kapok), rayon, and synthetic silks.

Snails.
In some cosmetics (crushed).

Sodium Caseinate.
(See Casein.)

Sodium Steroyl Lactylate.
(See Lactic Acid.)

Sodium Tallowate.
(See Tallow.)

Spermaceti. Cetyl Palmitate. Sperm Oil.
Waxy oil originally derived from the sperm whale’s head or from dolphins but now most often derived from petroleum. In many margarines. In skin creams, ointments, shampoos, candles, etc. Used in the leather industry. May become rancid and cause irritations. Alternatives: synthetic spermaceti, jojoba oil, and other vegetable emollients.

Sponge (Luna and Sea).
A plantlike animal. Lives in the sea. Becoming scarce. Alternatives: synthetic sponges, loofahs (plants used as sponges).

Squalane.
(See Shark Liver Oil.)

Squalene.
Oil from shark livers, etc. In cosmetics, moisturizers, hair dyes, surface-active agents. Alternatives: vegetable emollients such as olive oil, wheat germ oil, rice bran oil, etc.

Stearamide.
(See Stearic Acid.)

Stearamine.
(See Stearic Acid.)

Stearamine Oxide.
(See Stearyl Alcohol.)

Stearates.
(See Stearic Acid.)

Stearic Acid.
When animal-derived, a fat from cows, pigs, and sheep, etc. May also be of plant origin, including from cocoa butter and shea butter. Can be harsh, irritating. Used in cosmetics, soaps, lubricants, candles, hairspray, conditioners, deodorants, creams, chewing gum, food flavoring. Derivatives: Stearamide, Stearamine, Stearates, Stearic Hydrazide, Stearone, Stearoxytrimethylsilane, Stearoyl Lactylic Acid, Stearyl Betaine, Stearyl Imidazoline. Alternatives: Stearic acid can be found in many vegetable fats, coconut.

Stearic Hydrazide.
(See Stearic Acid.)

Stearone.
(See Stearic Acid.)

Stearoxytrimethylsilane.
(See Stearic Acid.)

Stearoyl Lactylic Acid.
(See Stearic Acid.)

Stearyl Acetate.
(See Stearyl Alcohol.)

Stearyl Alcohol. Sterols.
A mixture of solid alcohols. Can be prepared from sperm whale oil. In medicines, creams, rinses, shampoos, etc. Derivatives: Stearamine Oxide, Stearyl Acetate, Stearyl Caprylate, Stearyl Citrate, Stearyldimethyl Amine, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Stearyl Heptanoate, Stearyl Octanoate, Stearyl Stearate. Alternatives: plant sources, vegetable stearic acid.

Stearyl Betaine.
(See Stearic Acid.)

Stearyl Caprylate.
(See Stearyl Alcohol.)

Stearyl Citrate.
(See Stearyl Alcohol.)

Stearyldimethyl Amine.
(See Stearyl Alcohol.)

Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate.
(See Stearyl Alcohol.)

Stearyl Heptanoate.
(See Stearyl Alcohol.)

Stearyl Imidazoline.
(See Stearic Acid.)

Stearyl Octanoate.
(See Stearyl Alcohol.)

Stearyl Stearate.
(See Stearyl Alcohol.)

Steroids. Sterols.
From various animal glands or from plant tissues. Steroids include sterols. Sterols are alcohol from animals or plants (e.g., cholesterol). Used in hormone preparation. In creams, lotions, hair conditioners, fragrances, etc. Alternatives: plant tissues, synthetics.

Sterols.
(See Stearyl Alcohol and Steroids.)

Suede.
(See Leather.)

Tallow. Tallow Fatty Alcohol. Stearic Acid.
Rendered beef fat. May cause eczema and blackheads. In wax paper, crayons, margarines, paints, rubber, lubricants, etc. In candles, soaps, lipsticks, shaving creams, other cosmetics. Chemicals (e.g., PCB) can be in animal tallow. Derivatives: Sodium Tallowate, Tallow Acid, Tallow Amide, Tallow Amine, Talloweth-6, Tallow Glycerides, Tallow Imidazoline. Alternatives: vegetable tallow, Japan tallow, paraffin, ceresin (see alternatives to Beeswax). Paraffin is usually from petroleum, wood, coal, or shale oil.

Tallow Acid.
(See Tallow.)

Tallow Amide.
(See Tallow.)

Tallow Amine.
(See Tallow.)

Talloweth-6.
(See Tallow.)

Tallow Glycerides.
(See Tallow.)

Tallow Imidazoline.
(See Tallow.)

Triterpene Alcohols.
(See Lanolin.)

Turtle Oil. Sea Turtle Oil.
From the muscles and genitals of giant sea turtles. In soap, skin creams, nail creams, other cosmetics. Alternatives: vegetable emollients (see alternatives to Animal Fats and Oils).

Tyrosine.
Amino acid often of plant or synthetic origin but sometimes hydrolyzed from casein (milk). Used in cosmetics and creams. Derivative: Glucose Tyrosinase.

Urea. Carbamide.
Typically synthetic. When extracted from animals, it is excreted from urine and other bodily fluids. In deodorants, ammoniated dentifrices, mouthwashes, hair colorings, hand creams, lotions, shampoos, etc. Used to “brown” baked goods, such as pretzels. Derivatives: Imidazolidinyl Urea, Uric Acid. Alternatives: synthetics.

Uric Acid.
(See Urea.)

Vitamin A.
Can come from fish liver oil (e.g., shark liver oil), egg yolk, butter, lemongrass, wheat germ oil, carotene in carrots, and synthetics. An aliphatic alcohol. In cosmetics, creams, perfumes, hair dyes, etc. In vitamins, supplements. Alternatives: carrots, other vegetables, synthetics. (Please note that Vitamin A exists in two forms: see also Carotene, Retinol.)

Vitamin B-Complex Factor.
(See Panthenol.)

Vitamin B Factor.
(See Biotin.)

Vitamin B12.
Can come from animal products or bacteria cultures. Twinlab B12 vitamins contain gelatin. Alternatives: vegetarian vitamins, fortified soy milks, nutritional yeast, fortified meat substitutes. Vitamin B12 is often listed as “cyanocobalamin” on food labels. Vegan health professionals caution that vegans get 5–10 mcg/day of vitamin B12 from fortified foods or supplements.

Vitamin D. Ergocalciferol. Vitamin D2. Ergosterol. Provitamin D2. Calciferol. Vitamin D3.
Vitamin D can come from fish liver oil, milk, egg yolks, and other animal products but can also come from plant sources. Vitamin D2 is typically vegan. Vitamin D3 may be from an animal source. All the D vitamins can be in creams, lotions, other cosmetics, vitamin tablets, etc. Alternatives: plant and mineral sources, synthetics, completely vegetarian vitamins, exposure of skin to sunshine.

Vitamin H.
(See Biotin.)

Wax.
Glossy, hard substance that is soft when hot. From animals and plants. In lipsticks, depilatories, hair straighteners. Alternatives: vegetable waxes.

Whey.
A serum from milk. Usually in cakes, cookies, candies, and breads. Used in cheesemaking. Alternatives: soybean whey.

Wool.
From sheep. Used in clothing. Ram lambs and old “wool” sheep are slaughtered for their meat. Sheep are transported without food or water, in extreme heat and cold. Legs are broken, eyes injured, etc. Sheep are bred to be unnaturally woolly and unnaturally wrinkly, which causes them to get insect infestations around the tail areas. The farmer’s solution to this is the painful cutting away of the flesh around the tail (called “mulesing”). “Inferior” sheep are killed. When sheep are sheared, they are pinned down violently and sheared roughly. Their skin is cut up. Every year, hundreds of thousands of shorn sheep die from exposure to cold. Natural predators of sheep (wolves, coyotes, eagles, etc.) are poisoned, trapped, and shot. In the U.S., overgrazing of cattle and sheep is turning more than 150 million acres of land to desert. “Natural” wool production uses enormous amounts of resources and energy (for breeding, rearing, feeding, shearing, transport, slaughter, etc.). Derivatives: Lanolin, Wool Wax, Wool Fat. Alternatives: cotton, cotton flannel, synthetic fibers, ramie, etc.

Wool Fat.
(See Lanolin.)

Wool Wax.
(See Lanolin.)

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https://www.peta.org/living/food/ani...redients-list/

That list is helpful because a company is more likely to ACTUALLY consider changing if shown that workable alternative-options already exist!

So, again:

Whether striving towards more humane meals, or art supplies, or hygiene products, or clothes/shoes, or ANYTHING, just remember that by taking a little time to make your interest in humane practices by all businesses known to them... your actions will add to the efforts & endeavours of others, which eventually accumulates into an appreciable difference that benefits the whole world!

Hey, just wondering... What exactly do you get out of using a dead forum as your personal blog? :-? There are better ways of going about it, you know.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tymek

Hey, just wondering... What exactly do you get out of using a dead forum as your personal blog? :-? There are better ways of going about it, you know.

---

Although I disagree about any of these posts being akin to a "personal blog"... if you actually want to know, I can elaborate:

It all starts with meditation.

And as it turns out, when investigating my own mind, there was alot of "unfinished business" with places & people from my past. PSO-W being one of those places.

I did write a rather long post in the "Lounge" introduction section of the forum that explained how I read PSO-W for many years in the mid-2000s, but had nothing to really contribute back then.

Now that things are a bit different, I decided that, as a part of reciprocating all the little "life lessons" that the people here gave freely to everyone.... I would share what seemed significant enough to impart, in the hope that maybe somebody would benefit.

Obviously, whether any given person values similar things as me (in order to relate on the intimate level necessary to actually gain some benefit), is itself impossible to truly gauge.

However, there are people who do still stop by PSO-W and hopefully the combination of topics directly related to Phantasy Star, and all subjects related to everything in life surrounding that electronic experience, contain atleast a smidgeon of "something" worthwhile.

Even if it only amounts to sharing a couple dozen drawings.

But, again, there is a real hope that maybe someone out there has read or seen something which they were previously unaware of, and that catalyst will itself hopefully be of benefit to a whole chain-reaction of people.

....

In the end, perhaps this will give you, Tymek, peace of mind as to my intentions, and perhaps peace of mind to me as well, concerning the ability to move on from all the karmic entanglements made by an online game from our mutual past.

More ways that little things can make a big difference:

If you frequently jot down memos to yourself,
instead of buying sticky-notes or note-pads,
you could just repurpose your otherwise-unwanted junk-mail!

Basically,
simply ripping up the envelopes and any sections of the inner pages that are blank on atleast one side
provides free paper for your memos,
which saves you money otherwise spent on note-pads,
which reduces your paper usage,
which simultaneously conserves trees!

And once done with these little pieces of scrap paper,
recycling them is yet another way to help prevent deforestation.

* * *
* * *
* * *

For further info about the importance of altering habits to prevent the loss of this planet's rain-forests:


https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/...r-daily-lives/


https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/everyday-actions/

Single-use disposable-items are a big part of the pollution-problem.
Therefore:
Long-lasting reusable-items are part of the solution!!

Discontinuing to use stuff that is only utilized once (before getting thrown away)
and then exchanging such things for alternatives that can simply get washed & re-utilized many more times,
would greatly assist with reducing this world's waste.

For example:

Switching to carrying a hankerchief, which is easily cleaned & reused,
rather than expending more money & creating more trash via numerous boxes of kleenex-tissues.

Another example:

it's becoming more common to see people bring tote-bags into grocery stores,
to be used instead of the paper-bags that the supermarkets provide at checkout.

This helps reduce the usage of paper, which also reduces the demand to cut down trees.

In addition, totes are stronger & less likely to rip when overfilled.
So you get much more usage out of a single tote,
when compared with the other types of bags that frequently become litter.

Or how about:

Bringing around your own THERMOS-style water-bottle, which is easily refilled,
rather than disposing of yet-another empty water-bottle,
which can be seen strrewn across the land AND floating in the sea.

With all that said:

Please share any reusable alternatives for disposable items that you've found!

You might mention something that other forum-goers weren't aware of, yet!

Gautama's guidance:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/No.../Contents.html

A comprehensive account of Siddhartha Gautama's life and teachings.

Quote:

---

Table Of Contents

Titlepage
Contents
Cover
Copyright
Introduction
Map
Abbreviations
Birth
The Noble Search
The Awakening
Past Lives
Kamma & Rebirth
The Four Noble Truths
Unbinding
After the Awakening
Contemporary Views
Spreading the Dhamma
Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion
The Not-Self Discourse
The Thirty Friends
The Three Kassapa Brothers
The Fire Sermon
King Bimbisāra of Magadha
The Two Chief Disciples
Returning Home
Training the Saṅgha
Establishing the Nuns’ Order
The Eight Vows of Respect
Dwelling near Sāvatthī
King Pasenadi Kosala & Queen Mallikā
Lady Visākhā
Devas
Training the Saṅgha
Wandering
Family Matters
The Buddha’s Dwelling
Portraits of the Buddha
The Buddha as Victor
The Quarrel at Kosambī
Devadatta
Attempts on the Buddha’s Life
Schism
Old Age
The Last Year
Relinquishing the Fabrications of Life
The Four Great Standards
The Last Day
From Body to Relics
The First Council to the Present
The Group Recitation
The Lesser & Minor Training Rules
The Brahmā-punishment
The Survival of the Dhamma & Vinaya
Glossary
Further Reading
Endnotes

---

Enormous gratitude must be extended to Thānissaro Bhikkhu, who translated this material into the English language, with additional commentary to provide context, and has shared it all FOR FREE, to benefit all beings!

...and Arlene's wise words are worth repeating:

"Do All The Good You Can"