Ken Berwitz
I love this stuff.
From Brian Hogan\’s article at ecorazzi.com:
Vegan Ellen DeGeneres recentlylaunched a footwear line that will feature leather shoes, and, naturally,animal lovers are upset.
The shoe line, called “ED by ellen”, will feature leather boots and ismanufactured in Brazil by the Camuto Group, thesame billion-dollar leather company that\’s behind Nine West. The shoes, whichwill sell for $250 and up, will be available at Bergdorf Goodman in NYC as wellas in other stores throughout the country and internationally in the spring.
Is it hypocritical for a vegan to attach her name to a line of leather shoes? That\’s like asking whether it is hypocritical for a fabulously wealthy presidential candidate umbilically tied to Wall Street and big money interests to claim that she is running so she can be a champion of everyday peop……oh, wait, Ellen DeGeneres supports that candidate, doesn\’t she?
Look, let\’s get real about animals. They do not die good deaths. Have you ever heard of any animal, even the cute cuddly ones, passing away in a hospital or hospice facility, with loving family and friends around it? Or is it far more likely that an animal will die because a larger animal caught, killed and ate it.
Personally, I have not eaten cows, pigs or sheep for well over 20 years. My reason is not that I object to animals as food, it is because of the way I have seen those animals treated in the “farms” where they are raised for slaughter.
I do, however eat poultry…for which I acknowledge my own hypocrisy, since chickens and probably turkeys are treated grotesquely. My rationale, for whatever it\’s worth, is that they are lesser animals with less developed nervous systems (which I admit, I\’m not even sure is the case – but free-range chickens, not pent up in tiny cages probably eliminate that worry, and I do look for them).
In any event, I have a feeling that Ellen fans are not going to worry much about this, and that many will happily buy and proudly wear “ED by ellen” shoes….just as Hillary fans are not going to worry about the email scandal or the Clinton Foundation\’s looking more and more like an elaborate pay-to-play and money laundering scheme.
It\’s just the way the world turns.
