i'm not sure how many of you are aware of my Australian alter-ego. A few years ago, in a bout of egotistical curiosity, I googled my first name and I got a LOT of hits (don't remember the number I found back then, but today I did it again and it's 509,000!). Near the top of the list is
Annalise Braakensiek who is an Australian model. It seems that she mainly models swimsuits, lingerie, fashion wear, and her own skin....and it's obvious that she is one sexy woman, with a lot of fans. Needless to say, I didn't think I had a lot in common with her!!!
BUT, yesterday I found a connection when I was searching online for information re: being vegan and knitting. I started following a
vegan diet last winter, not long after learning
how to knit. At first, I wasn't too concerned about the 'other side' of being vegan, namely, what I wear and what products I use on my body. I made a conscious decision to concentrate first on what I'm putting IN my body, and I vowed to start investigating the other issues within a year. The end of that year is fast approaching, and as the weather turns colder, I am beginning to pick up the knitting needles more often, so..... I decided to start the next stage of my vegan evolution by snooping around to find out what I should know about knitting (in which one mostly uses sheep's wool) as it relates to being vegan. Indeed, I learned that this industry is not free from the difficult issue of animal cruelty. Quite the opposite, actually. I found a website called
Save the Sheep, and this photo of a very nude Annalise Braakensiek with a rescued lamb. Turns out we have something in common after all...
I also learned that there are many alternatives to wool for those who love to knit. Alternatives include "cotton, cotton flannel, polyester fleece, synthetic shearling, and other cruelty-free fibers. Tencel—breathable, durable, and biodegradable—is one of the newest cruelty-free wool substitutes. Polartec Wind Pro—made primarily from recycled plastic soda bottles—is a high-density fleece with four times the wind resistance of wool that also wicks away moisture." I've also seen bamboo wool for sale at
Lettuce Knit a store that sells exclusively organic wool, as well as wool alternatives.
A photo of Bamboo Wool from Lettuce Knit.
Here are some excerpts from Save the Sheep, and I warn you, this information is disturbing:
--It may come from a sheep, goat, or Tibetan antelope. It may be called "wool," "mohair," "pashmina," "shahtoosh," or "cashmere." But no matter what it's called, any kind of wool causes harm to the animals from whom it is taken.
--Many people believe that shearing sheep helps animals who might otherwise be burdened with too much wool. But without human interference, sheep grow just enough wool to protect themselves from temperature extremes. The fleece provides effective insulation against both cold and heat. Shearers are usually paid by volume, not by the hour, which encourages fast work without regard for the welfare of the sheep. Says one eyewitness: "[T]he shearing shed must be one of the worst places in the world for cruelty to animals...I have seen shearers punch sheep with their shears or their fists until the sheep's nose bled. I have seen sheep with half their faces shorn off..."
--In Australia, the most commonly raised sheep are Merinos, specifically bred to have wrinkly skin, which means more wool per animal. This unnatural overload of wool causes many sheep to collapse and even die of heat exhaustion during hot months, and the wrinkles collect urine and moisture. Attracted to the moisture, flies lay eggs in the folds of skin, and the hatched maggots can eat the sheep alive. To prevent this so-called "flystrike," Australian ranchers perform a barbaric operation-called "mulesing"-where they force live sheep onto their backs, restrain their legs between metal bars, and, without any painkillers whatsoever, slice chunks of flesh from around their tail area. This is done to cause smooth, scarred skin that can't harbor fly eggs. Ironically, the exposed, bloody wounds themselves often get flystrike before they heal. Within weeks of birth, lambs' ears are hole-punched, their tails are chopped off, and the males are castrated without anesthetics. Male lambs are castrated when they are between 2 and 8 weeks old, either by (I'm editing this section out because it is too gruesome). Every year, hundreds of lambs die before the age of 8 weeks from exposure or starvation, and mature sheep die every year from disease, lack of shelter, and neglect.
--When sheep age and their wool production declines, they are of no use to wool farmers and so are discarded for slaughter. This results in the cruel live export of 6.5 million sheep every year from Australia to the Middle East and North Africa, where sheep are crammed aboard multitiered open-deck ships. Nearly 800,000 sheep enter the live export trade from the U.K. and are slaughtered abroad. Australian and New Zealand sheep are slaughtered in the Middle East, after enduring a grueling, weeks- or months-long journey on overcrowded, disease-ridden ships with little access to food or water through all weather extremes. Many sheep fall ill, many become stuck in feces and are unable to move, and many are smothered or trampled to death by other sheep trying not to fall or trying to reach water when it is available. Shipboard mortality ranges up to 10 percent. When the survivors arrive at their destination, they are dragged from the ships and thrown into the backs of trucks and cars, eventually to have their throats slit while they are fully conscious. In the Muslim nations of North Africa and the Middle East, ritual slaughter is exempt from humane slaughter regulations. Some sheep are slaughtered en masse in lots, while others are taken home, often in the trunks of cars, and slaughtered individually by the purchasers.
My intention with this blog post is not to freak you out and send you running for the hills, but simply to draw attention to this issue and encourage you to consider supporting this cause in whatever way you are able. You'd be joining the likes of Joaquin Phoenix, Pink, and Alicia Silverstone if you do! Not to mention one sexy Annalise...or two :)
