LUSH: Animal Cruelty and How it Can Be Avoided

I am not a vegetarian; I eat chicken and fish, but that's pretty much it. Over the past three years, I have attempted to live a close-to-vegetarian lifestyle, and boy is it more difficult than it seems. Obviously I didn't jump right into it; I did my research, and found out what foods I could use to supplement my declining meat intake. It's not easy when you're seventeen and living with meat-eating parents, because sometimes there just was no time for them to make two different meals each night to accommodate my new meatless diet. So I slowed down and decided to just avoid red meats, and my parents were definitely more open to that idea and gladly joined me in this endeavor.

The fight against animal cruelty has always been a cause that I have held near and dear to my heart, because really it is my honest opinion that animals ought to be treated with the kindness and respect that they deserve - that's the main reason for which I decided to drastically cut back on meats. There is a mind-blowing amount of animal cruelty in the meat market worldwide and that is something that unfortunately is probably not going to change for a while; people aren't taking enough action in preventing this and encouraging change because in most cases, they don't know about it, or they just don't want to know about it. The world will never be a vegetarian place, humanity has lived too long in the same omnivorous state for it to change now; however there are changes that can be made to avoid treating animals like they are soulless pieces of garbage because they are living breathing beings just like you and me and they do provide the human race with most of its every-day needs - dairy, eggs, furs, skins, meats, the works. I don't preach to people about how vegetarianism is the way to go but I will, with every fiber of my being, implore that you treat what you need to survive with the respect it deserves.

Obviously the most apparent and "out-there" form of animal cruelty that we can ABSOLUTELY AVOID is animal testing. I am not a full vegetarian quite yet but the moment I decided I was going to live a better person and cut back on meats, I stopped buying cosmetics tested on animals. I was never a big makeup-buyer but like everyone else, I use shampoo and conditioner and soap and face washes. I've tried a few different brands for shampoo and conditioner but the one I stuck with for the longest time is Hemp & Co. which is also vegan as well as cruelty-free; not only did I immediately feel good knowing that no animals had been harmed in the creation of the products, it made my hair feel and look significantly better and I haven't used a different one since.

But today I went to LUSH: vegan, cruelty-free and all-natural. And this is what I bought. 

(Pardon the mediocre quality of the picture, I forgot my camera because I'm a dingus.)