I live in the Midwest and am thin. I get cold in the winter. I also stand/walk outside daily through the winter getting to/from the bus and train that get me to and from work and I wear a real fur coat when the daily high is below 20 degrees.

I wear leather shoes, leather belts and have leather furniture in our home. I'd never spend my money on a leather coat because, to me, they aren't warm.

On this subject, I ignore other's opinions and it appears that my fellow work travelers do as well because I'm not the only one wearing real fur.

I've tried them on but I think I'm too short and dumpy and I can't see spending that much money to look even more unattractive. However my daughter wears her frequently - but she's also in Manhattan where there are many furs.

I had my mother's mink recut and updated for me last year. I don't wear it often but when I need real warmth (and I'm not going to the gym in my down parka) I put it on. No one has ever said anything to me, I've never felt evil eyes and would have no problem telling someone to MYOB if it did happen.

I wear leather shoes, have a leather jacket and wear it frequently in the fall (lesterd is right about the lack of warmth but with a sweater it's perfect for all but the coldest autumn days) and leather seats in my car.

I'm curious who on earth is making you feel self conscious and/or bullying you? Strangers? Friends? Family?

I don't think peta has anything to do with my decisions however they do often help keep the public informed.

I don't wear fur but I do eat meat but not veal or foie gras (I am a foodie so it is something I have opportunities to eat).
I also use leather and animal products.
My choices are not consistent I admit, but I do what I can.

If we eat it, I think we should wear it,not waste it! :0) I have leather hiking boots, dress boots & shoes, leather purses, sheepskin boots & jacket. Oh, and a black rabbit fur ear band. I also waterproof our leather hiking boots with mink oil.

Peta is a great organization! Shark & dolphin slaughter in the world is out of control!

I have leather things but nothing real fur. I've also wondered about people that were against the fur if they wore leather. I've tried some fur coats on but think I looked goofy in them.

However, even if I looked good in one I don't think I could bring myself to wear it since it's a hot topic to many. I think the main reason being is because I know how it became the fur whatever and I'd rather not think about it because it bothers me. It's not something I'm all ok with. Kind of like I could never watch the process of slaughtering for meat. I like meat.

All that being said, I would never say anything to anyone that did wear fur.

What most people don't realize is that the vast majority of leather products (especially leather used on furniture) come from India cows - not slaughterhouse cows that are consumed as food. These are cows that are raised solely for the purpose of being turned into sofas, chairs, belts, jackets and shoes, and the conditions that they endure are beyond deplorable.

I highly recommend the documentary series "Earthlings" that you can view in its entirety on Youtube. After watching the horribly graphic images there, I became even more resolute in my vegetarianism. No animal flesh for me, thank you very much. I realize that the graphic nature of such documentaries are revolting to most people; however, I think it's vital that we understand the truth about where our food comes from, and exactly how it gets to our table. The "Happy Cow" is a myth.

I would personally never wear fur. I do have several leather items that I'm not about to throw out at this point - but in the future I will endeavor to make purchases that are more in line with my conscience.

It is a practical impossibility to live a completely cruelty-free lifestyle, but I think we should listen to our inner voices and do as much as we can to eliminate the suffering of other sentient beings. For me personally, that primarily means not consuming meat and most dairy products. For you, it may mean something else entirely. I do hold strong convictions in the area of animal rights, but at the same time I don't believe that anyone has the human right to browbeat others who hold a different mindset into following the same path. It's all about our own inner convictions, as far as I'm concerned.

When we were going through my mom's things after she passed away I briefly considered keeping her mink scarf/stole, but there was something about those heads and tails, (including the feet) that just gave me the creeps.

I don't have any leather furniture, but I do wear leather shoes and carry leather purses.

I eat meat. I wear and use leather and animal products. The only reason I don't wear fur is that I gave my fur coats to a girlfriend when I moved from Montreal to Atlanta.

I remember as a child all the women would have these fur coats and I'd love to roll around on them on the bed at parties. Kind of odd, since we lived in Southern California, but in those days I guess it was THE thing to have.

I don't live a fur coat lifestyle, but if I did, I still think I'd go with faux or an alternative. I get a bit creeped out by the thought of real fur. But as others have said, I wouldn't take a stand against anyone wearing it. Leather doesn't bother me. I do wear and use it.

I guess I don't mind if an animal is raised for fur, but I do take offense to wild animal fur. I mean, no one eats lynx meat, and I don't think it's used for pet food.

But then, on the other hand, other cultures eat critters we would never think to, so if I get off my Americanized ideals, my perspective changes. However, I will say that recently I had a change of heart when it came to eating meat from fur bearing animals. If given the choice, I'll choose a vegetarian alternative.

Well, being a GUY, I wouldn't wear much FUR!
DW...Yes. She'd wear REAL fur any chance she got!
Screw PETA.

Leather shoes...Oh yeah.
Leather jackets/gloves...whole family has at least one.
(hell...EVERYONE up here wears leather!)
Big black leather sectional in Fam-rm., and a couple other leather chairs.
Leather in DW's car.

Faron

No fur - I think my grandma's coat in my closet is fake, not my style anyway. Just hang onto it for sentimental reasons. But leather (sofa, car, shoes, etc.) yes. I never realized that cows are raised specifically for their hides, but I'm sure the meat doesn't go to waste?

Coming from a long line of dairy and beef farmers, I have no problems with raising animals to be used for food and other things. Mink are raised for their pelts (nasty little things). Now, I'm not going to tell my uncle he can't hunt on our land, I eat venison too. There are problems with deer overpopulation in this area. If they ever became endangered, I'd change my mind. What I don't agree with (though I won't tell him this, it wouldn't do any good) is hunting for trophies or hides - what a waste! He took a trip to Africa a few years ago - the trip of a lifetime for him. While I'm sure it was legitimate, and maybe people there regard their wildlife (not endangered) as we do the deer, and welcome hunters to control predators that prey on their livestock or animals that damage their crops, the whole thing disgusted me.

BTW, faron, don't those leather seats get *cold* in the winter? Or are they heated? I'll never have a car with leather again. Even starting to think the leather sofa was a mistake (comfort-wise, though I'm sure it will hold up longer than our microfiber in the FR).

I'm a big girl - I don't wear fur because I am more than a little afraid of looking like a Sasquatch, LOL. I'm a suburban hockey mom, so fur doesn't really fit my lifestyle, anyway. I'm all good with meat and leather.

And now that I have had leather upholstery in my car, I'll never go back to fabric - especially with kids! My seats are heated, which is a nice luxury, but the wipeability of leather beats fabric any day. I wish I would have had leather when my kids were younger!

Carrie

There is a huge difference between a hunter shooting a deer roaming out in the woods (that later his family, in most cases, eats) and the inhumanity of fur farms (and plenty in the USA) that exist only for vanity products.

I forgot leather car interiors. If I have a choice I'll never go back to cloth. Not much need for heated seats down here, but they were part of the special deal dh got on his Odyssey. Boy were they nice when we were in Indiana last winter and temps were in the teens!

I ignore PETA, but I think most fur just makes the wearer look old and dumpy. Even in Russia, where you see beautiful young women in very luxurious fur coats--they age 20 years just by putting the things on. I'd love to have a fur bedspread, and I'm not very goo-goo about nasty little minks, but I'm not going to wear them.

Would love to have a real beaver coat, but have a very good faux that I love.

We have leather furniture and I do wear leather shoes. Not a fan of leather outerwear as it doesn't provide warmth. Love leather seats in the car especially with the dog hair that flies around during a visit to the vet.

Never been a big meat eater, and when we do purchase any type of meat, we buy certified organic.

A good source for information about buying meats obtained from animals treated in a humane manner, as well as where all of our food comes from can be found by googling "Food Inc."

Just such a hot button topic. I think each person has to follow their conscience, and eat, wear and buy whatever makes you comfortable.

If I could I would. My DH has long thought it horrible-before PETA and their blood tossing. And my DD agrees with him. But OMG it feels sooooo goooood. I remember I had a coat with a real beaver collar and it was glorious.The fur coats piled on the bed is a memory I have as well and I grew up in AZ.
Anyway it is not my style- I have always been an outdoorsy girl with freckles- not the glamour queen. And I too don't need any additional thickness on my body right now.
Definitely love meat and have no prob with wearing/using leather or furs. To each his own.

Have any of you seen the faux furs on the Fabulous Furs website? I have no connection to them other than having bought yardage from them years ago to make my own raccoon-look and mink-look coats. They are very real looking and feeling and satisfy my desire to own and wear a 'fur' coat.

I have my mother's old fur coats - a silver fox chubby, 2 persian lambs and i have never had any desire to put them on my body. I only have 1 pair of leather shoes - to tie into the other posting - but quite a few made of faux leather and fabric. And yes, I mostly eat vegetarian.....

Helene

Here is a link that might be useful: fabulous furs website

I've been a vegetarian for about 20 years, but I'm still OK with fur for OTHER people. Ditto for leather coats. I wear leather shoes but I only have a few and I wear them out.

I think (1) what you wear is your business, (2) as horrible, horrible as animals abuse is, there are much worse crimes being committed (um, child abuse, anyone?), and (3) to pour paint on fur is completely and utterly wasteful and disrespectful of the lives of the animals.

BTW, one of my main reasons for becoming a vegetarian is not so much that I don't think we should eat animals, but rather the treatment that animals get (in this modern age)while waiting to die. The idea of people hunting for just what they need, using every part of the animal, and then honoring/thanking/respecting the animal is completely fine by me.

My meat come from a local farm, as does all of my milk and yogurt. Those animals are humanely raised and carefully harvested and that matters to me.

I would never wear fur. It is just too much like having a dead animal hanging around my neck.

I do eat fois gras.

Go figure.

I have a couple minks and ds has a fur parka (fox and rabbit) as well as a few pair of mucklucks and slippers (seal and fox). I can't tell you how many fox collars, squirrel and chincilla coats I have (I collect antique clothing and all are used often). I have a large collection of eskimo yoyo's which include seal fur and polar bear. So obvioulsy a purse and sofa aren't going to upset me.

I have difficulty with slautering an animal and not using the whole animal. I have almost more difficulty with anyone who would throw blood at a 3 year old who is in a fur parka made with furs from an eskimo tribe in the arctic (which ours was). Subsistance living includes berries and meat....like it or not, humans were made to eat meat folks. So using the whole animal is right to me verses being wrong.

I have difficulty with peta, who cause significant damage to animals in their BS efforts to "save" them and their complete comfort at throwing blood at people who wear fur..much more than anyone who would wear fur. They're uneducated dorks with little brain power.

Umm ya what were we discussing...oh ya this:

{{gwi:1495091}}

I'm ok with it

I don't have any real fur, but my fake fur-lined coat is real suede. I also wear leather and eat non humane meat on a regular basis. There isn't a reason I don't wear real fur except the price.

...like it or not, humans were made to eat meat folks.

There are actually differing schools of thought on this, so to state it as an indisputable fact is something I don't agree with. Just sayin'. ;-)

Igloo what is an eskimo yo-yo? like a fur covered duncan yo-yo or like a yo-yo used in quilts??
And your little guy is an adorable eskimo!

I had a patient who was a vegan raw foods chef. (No heating of food over a certain temperature to maintain protein and vitamin integrity). She smoked like a chimney. So much for consistency.

I have been vegetarian and I have tried foie gras and have been everything in between.I currently eat some meat. I felt that it was very hard to eat a diet that worked for me without some meat, because soy contains estrogen, and estrogen contributes to one storing fat.

I think you have to be careful in the interpretation of what free range and organic and all those terms mean. It can mean that instead of thousands of chickens walking around on chicken wire in a huge chicken shed, there are thousands of chickens walking around in their own s--- on the ground in the chicken shed that has a big garage door on one end so they might see the sun. Unless you raise your own chickens, you are getting a pretty inhumane chicken all around. Doesn't stop me from eating them completely, but I don't eat it much...mostly because of estrogen and salmonella.

But as omnivores, we are designed to eat some meat, whether we choose to or not, unlike a dog who is an unsuccessful herbivore, or a cow, who would be an unsuccessful carnivore.

As far as leather and fur, the option for shoes then, is pretty much petrochemicals, if you don't wear leather so this is kind of a trade off. Fur...well fur does not look good on men IMO (nor does too much estrogen) so I tend to avoid it.

OK, since a couple of you want to insist that humans are "designed" to eat meat, here is another line of thinking. Food for thought, if you will. ;-)

Are We Natural Meat-Eaters or Are We Natural Vegetarians? Sink Your Teeth into This! Most nutritionists assert that we have definite carnivorous leanings, and some have even termed our incisor teeth fangs in defense of their erroneous position that humans are natural meat-eaters! If you look at the various species in the animal kingdom, each is equipped with teeth that are ideally suited to masticate a particular type of food. Herbivores (like the cow) have 24 molars, eight jagged incisors in the lower jaw and a horny palate in the upper jaw. Their jaws move vertically, laterally, forward, and backward, enabling the herbivore to tear and grind coarse grasses. Frugivores (like the chimpanzee) have 32 teeth: sixteen in each jaw including four incisors, two cuspids, four bicuspids, and six molars. The cuspids are adapted for cracking nuts, and the uniform articulation of the teeth enables the frugivore to mash and grind fruits. On the contrary, carnivores (like the cat family) have markedly developed canines that are long, sharp, cylindrical, pointed, and set apart from the other teeth. Fangs and sharp pointed teeth that penetrate and kill, that rip and tear flesh, are a feature of all true carnivores (except certain birds). The powerful jaws of the carnivore move only vertically, and are ideal for ripping and tearing flesh that is swallowed virtually whole and then acted upon by extremely potent gastric juices. Human teeth are not designed for tearing flesh as in the lion, wolf or dog, but rather compare closely with other fruit-eating animals. Human teeth correspond almost identically to the chimpanzees and other frugivores. The complete absence of spaces between human teeth characterizes us as the archetype frugivore. The canine teeth of humans are short, stout, and slightly triangular. They are less pronounced and developed than the orangutans, who rarely kills and eats raw flesh in its natural environment. Human canines in no way resemble the long, round, slender canines of the true carnivore. Human teeth are not curved or sharp like the wolves or tigers, nor are they wide and flat like the grass and grain-eating species. Human teeth are actually like the fruit-eating monkeys, and the human mouth is best suited for eating succulent fruits and vegetables. It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for humans to eat raw flesh without the aid of fork and knife. To term our incisor teeth fangs or even to liken them as such is outrageous. Scientists and naturalists, including the great Charles Darwin who gave the theory of evolution, agree that early humans were fruit and vegetable eaters and that throughout history our anatomy has not changed. The great Swedish scientist von Linnstates: Man's structure, external and internal, compared with that of the other animals, shows that fruit and succulent vegetables constitute his natural food. So it is clear from scientific studies that physiologically, anatomically, and instinctively, man is perfectly suited to a diet for fruit, vegetables, nuts, and grains.

Ok, how about as omnivores, we are not designed to avoid meat, we have the necessary physiology to digest and derive nutrition from meat as well as plant matter.

Cats, in their natural state are obligate carnivores, their digestive tracts are not designed to derive nutrients from fruits and vegetables; horses are obligate herbivores--not designed to digest meat, and cattle because of a symbiotic bacteria are able to digest cellulose, which humans (and many vertebrates, are not).

The human digestive tract is not as specialized as either the obligate carnivore, nor the obligate herbivore--that is why we are omnivores, we are not designed to eat only meat but since it is neither poisonous to us, nor passes through us non-digested, we are not designed to Not eat it. we may be suited physioligically, anatomically and instinctively to a diet of fruit, vegetables, nuts and grains, but not, necessarily, excluding meat.

Not to belabor the point, but I will continue to maintain that a plant-based diet results in a healthier human digestive system than one in which meat is consumed. Our bodies may permit certain behaviors - at least for awhile - but I believe that there is an ideal, and that's what I personally strive for.

Of course, as I stated above, everyone must reach his or her own conclusions. I was really just attempting to point out that there are alternate (and conflicting) points of view.

So it is clear from scientific studies that physiologically, anatomically, and instinctively, man is perfectly suited to a diet for fruit, vegetables, nuts, and grains.

And plenty of carrion, although our delicate modern minds don't want to think about that. Quite a few archaeological sites of extremely early human habitations (2.5-1.8 million years ago, Homo habilis and Homo erectus) have yielded bones showing marks of human teeth made AFTER marks made by teeth of other species, as well as marks of early stone tools (and the presence of such tools, often broken and so discarded) indicating dissection of those animals. Analysis of human coprolites, or what would politely be described as fossilized dung, from Homo erectus sites already shows evidence of extensive meat consumption (actually coprolites are really nifty once you get over the ick factor), and human-made stone tools purely for the use of hunting, such as spear tips, first appear approximately 1.5 million years ago. That doesn't even allow for animals intentionally killed by such things as thrown stones, wooden or unmodified-bone implements such as clubs or fish gorges made from thorns, trapping, hand-catching (such as fish "tickling", egg collecting, or hunting for animal dens to catch extremely young animals), as well as the "lucky find" of an animal that died of natural causes. Mollusc shells (snails, clams, oysters) abound in Paleolithic sites located near water.

As for the "impossibility" of eating raw flesh "without the use of a knife and fork", sorry Jen, but that's outright bunk. Hunter-gatherer tribes (what few survive Western, well, let's call a spade a spade, invasion and habitat destruction) do still do so - two of the anthropologists I studied under at university had spent many years in the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies living with hunter-gatherer tribes as members of the tribes would live, one specializing in the Kalahari and the other with tribes in New Guinea and the Amazon. A great deal of perfectly edible animal protein does not even require being so much as smacked with a rock, although most of us wimpy Westerners wouldn't consider grubs, insects, raw eggs from wild-bird nests, and such as "edible". For example, Australian Aborigines who enjoy "bush tucker" (their traditional - and we're talking a good 50,000 years here - foods gleaned from the wild) covet a large moth larva called a witchetty grub, which would have most North Americans barfing on their shoes. Even some of the survival training of the American military include obtaining and consuming raw animal protein with one's bare hands, the basic assumption of the course being that one has lost all of one's equipment and being in an situation where building a fire with the old spinning stick technique isn't practical. (Someone I know went through advanced survival training and absolutely loved to tell gross-out stories about his dining adventures.)

Personally, I agree with those who say that humans, like many of the other primate species, have evolved to be opportunistic omnivores - we as a species did and will eat pretty much anything we can get our grubby little hands on. It's only in relatively recent times that we've been able to afford to get as picky as we are now.

As for whether I wear fur, leather, etc., I used to have a mink collar for my peacoat but it was cut from a coat from the 1960s and just got too tatty to wear, I have had hats and mittens from the skins of rabbits raised as food, and I once had slippers made from moosehide from a moose hunted for food. My leather jacket wore out and I haven't replaced it because they're too expensive. I wear leather shoes (or fabric ones) because plastic ones make my feet stinky and prone to fungi like athlete's foot, and as a previous poster points out, there's the whole petrochemical issue to non-leather shoes (besides fabric and latex rubber, and I dare ya to go through a New England winter in canvas shoes LOL) so you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

IIRC, anti-fur groups typically throw red paint (PETA claims that they do not advocate nor do they sponsor such actions), not blood, on fur-wearers. One reason I have heard straight from the mouth of one of these eco-vandals is that paint cannot be removed without destroying the fur, while blood can be removed fairly easily. (And then there's that minor hypocrisy of using blood to protest killing, unless these folks are donating their own blood to do it...)

I think I've managed to remain respectful in conveying my beliefs on this topic. To be told that what I've shared is "outright bunk" doesn't seem to be conducive to further polite discourse, so I think I'm done here.
:-)

While I do come from a different perspective, a biblically based one, I also believe that humans were originally created to eat plants, nuts and grains and will one day return to that as a diet.

However, I do not care to argue with anyone and if I did I would post on the Hot Topics forum. I'm not sure why I am even posting this except to say that there are many different views here but on this forum only one topic really matters: Decorating! (and even decorating our bodies: scarves, shoes, hair)

I don't wear fur, but do have leather shoes and car seats. I do have two fur muffs discovered in boxes in the cedar closet when cleaning out my parents' home. One is leopard and one I am not sure about-dark brown and very soft,not mink for sure, maybe beaver or sable (haven't ever seen those). I may use them at some point-thinking about outdoor bus duty at school on those very bitter days-sort of fun since they are so old (probably late 1800s to early 1900s).

Really interesting views. I appreciate the varying opinions offered.

My DD loves to point out that cats are obligate carnivores, but we can't figure out why her cat LOVES peas, corn, and bread. It's odd. She isn't one to go after our food normally, either.

Jen, I do apologize - I was addressing the message and not the messenger, and did not intend to hurt your feelings. (And to think I toned it DOWN to "bunk" from other less-civil words I was considering! *chuckle*) Here's the wet noodle, forty lashes please.

Quick question on the biblical reference. Didn't the Bible say in Genesis that God gave men permission to eat flesh after the flood?

For believers, the change from being plant based to flesh is after the fall. God gave them animals skins to wear after they were cast out from the Garden and they now ate meat.
In the New testament, Peter is told that all forms of meat, not just the ones allowed in the dietary restrictions of the OT, may now be eaten by believers.