or so I thought...

I was very proudly in my one year and ninth month of vegetarianism last week. I was thinking to myself how glad I am that I became vegetarian and how it isn't really that difficult to do. I WAS thinking all of these things until Levent read an article to me from the Turkish newspaper. This article was about how the Muslim leaders in Turkey are asking people to use soap from now on to wash their hair instead of shampoo. Why, what a silly suggestion one might think. What could be the reason for this one might ask. The article went on to tell us that apparently pig fat is used in the making of shampoo and is therefore forbidden to Muslims (who as you might know do not eat pork, ham, bacon or participate in the usage of any pig products).

Then, I started to do some more of my own research into this subject, and from my research I found out that not only is animal fat used in shampoo. It is also used in the making of soap, conditioner, make-up and quite a few other beauty products.

I also very recently found out that cheese is not a vegetarian product. Parts of calves' stomachs are used in the process of cheese-making.

A few months ago I stopped eating gummy bears, marshmallows, and jello because these all contain a product called gelatin which is not technically considered to be an animal product, but it is made from animal bones.

So, no I do not eat chicken, beef, pork, duck, etc., and I do not wear leather shoes or carry leather handbags, but an animal did die for the shampoo I just used to wash my hair.

Of course I began to research companies which use natural ingredients for their beauty products, but in Turkey I am not sure where to find them. I will get to the bottom of this though no matter how many stores I have to interrogate.

This being said, the question that I pose is as follows: If you can make these products without a death, why would you not?

Why does an animal have to die so my hair can be shiny and bouncy, so that my shoes can be more stylish than someone else's, so that my lips can appear more luscious?

In whom should I be more disappointed? In them because they did not tell me? In them because they made no rule about informing customers what does and does not have a piece of dead animal in it? In myself because I washed my hair tonight, put lotion on my body and ate cheese this morning?

Can I still call myself a vegetarian? Can I still call myself a good creature of this earth?