Green Your Diet Series V.6: Stearic Acid

I know that it doesn't always seem apparent why food ingrediants are on this environmental blog, I have been thinking about this a lot lately, and how I would explain myself. Well here it is:
I believe the following, what you consume, love, create, throw away and keep is what makes us who you are. Take that one step backwards and realize that everything you consume had a whole life before you came along to eat it.

I disagree with how animals in factory farms are raised and killed as well as what happens to them afterwards. I am not a vegetarian and don't plan on becoming one necessarily. What I consider myself is a 'ethitarian' (am I coining this term?), I care about what I eat and what it ate and how it was treated and so on.... It's easy to avoid a steak dinner, trust me, I've never had one. It isn't as easy to avoid the hundreds of products, both edible and non-edible that are in someway made from animal parts. Products you never imagined (I am sure many of you were shocked to learn that gelatin was made from animals!) are made from animal renderings.
So that brings me to the decision that this knowledge is vital to the health of our planet that we wake up and question the everyday norms, question where our ingredients are coming from and how they are made. We are putting some of these products in our bodies for god's sake!

To Summarize:

1.Factory farming not only treats animals with extreme cruelty but is environmentally damaging due to the use of chemicals, fertilizers, fuel, herbicides, antibiotics, poor waste systems in place etc.
2.The animals are turned into a products for humans consumption, beauty products, apparel etc. 3.Humans using products ignorantly thinking nothing is wrong.
4. Humans become generally unhealthy and watch as the environment deteriorates around them. (and all the while find someone or something else to blame other than what they eat)

All that said I believe strongly that each ingredient in our food and drink matters, and it is the responsible thing to do to learn what they are and if you want to put them into your body. A lot of times we make a bold statements while unknowingly still supporting the industry we are trying to stand up against.

So little by little I am trying to inform you all of what you are eating and small changes you can make that will make a huge difference. I believe strongly that eating mindfully will not only make you happier but healthier! The Green Your Diet Series is meant to help educate and give you the interest to question your ingredients and care about what you are eating. I hope it is working. Here is today's ingredient definition, I pulled this from a great site http://www.organicformulations.ca/know_no.htm check it out, it's a must! I will be posting from it again I am sure!

"Stearic Acid: Fat from cows and sheep and from dogs and cats euthanized in animal shelters, etc. Most often refers to a fatty substance taken from the stomachs of pigs. Can be harsh, irritating. Used in cosmetics, soaps, lubricants, candles, hairspray, conditioners, deodorants, creams, chewing gum, food flavoring. Derivatives: Stearamide, Stearamine, Stearates, Stearic Hydrazide, Stearone, Stearoxytrimethylsilane, Stearoyl Lactylic Acid, Stearyl Betaine, Stearyl Imidazoline. Alternatives: Stearic acid can be found in many vegetable fats, coconut."