[Seoul, December 9. Image via Getty]

A South Korean animal-rights activist in a costume protests against the sale of fur coats outside a department store in Seoul on December 9, 2009. The placard around her neck reads 'Animal life is unique and precious.' AFP PHOTO/JUNG YEON-JE (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)

[Seoul, December 6. Image via Getty]

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - DECEMBER 06: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protest against fur at a MyungDong shopping district on December 6, 2009 in Seoul, South Korea. The demonstration was organized by the PETA to protest against the use of fur in clothing. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

[Sydney, November 24. Image via Getty]

Tattooed model and supporter for the environmental group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia, Dani Lugosi, holds a sign reading 'Ink, Not Mink' drawing the attention of workers in Sydney's central shopping precinct on November 24, 2009. Covered in little more than tattoos, Lugosi was helping PETA to ask shoppers to 'leave fur to its original owners' and to draw attention to what they see as cruelty rampant in the fur industry. AFP PHOTO / Greg WOOD (Photo credit should read GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

Steiner argues that even "free range" chickens may lead miserable lives, and that the only truly moral response to widespread cruelty to animals is "to forswear the consumption of animal products of all kinds." But, he writes,

You just haven't lived until you've tried to function as a strict vegan in a meat-crazed society. [...] To be a really strict vegan is to strive to avoid all animal products, and this includes materials like leather, silk and wool, as well as a panoply of cosmetics and medications. The more you dig, the more you learn about products you would never stop to think might contain or involve animal products in their production - like wine and beer (isinglass, a kind of gelatin derived from fish bladders, is often used to "fine," or purify, these beverages), refined sugar (bone char is sometimes used to bleach it) or Band-Aids (animal products in the adhesive). Just last week I was told that those little comfort strips on most razor blades contain animal fat.

In his expression of how difficult it is to lead a truly ethical life, he has an unlikely companion: designer Todd Lynn, who has used fur in his collections. Lynn says,

I don't have a problem with people following their principles, but what bugs me is when people pick and choose. People are really misinformed about the products they wear. Nobody argues with the pesticides used on cotton plants that will kill wildlife. To think that silk or cotton doesn't do damage to the environment is a lie.

The difference between the two men is that Steiner views the sheer difficulty of a vegan lifestyle as a problem with society, while Lynn seems to be excusing fur on the grounds that other products are just as bad. But both underscore the fact that if you want to be a truly ethical consumer, it's extremely difficult to live in the modern world. It's an argument I used to hear all the time when I was a strict vegetarian — that soy cultivation was just as toxic to the environment as livestock, and that if I really wanted to be consistent I would have to eat only unprocessed, unpackaged, organically grown foods. Of course, this argument conflates environmental degradation with morality — if what you really care about is animal welfare, then it doesn't really matter if soy farms use a lot of petroleum. On the other hand, it's absolutely true that if you want your eating and buying habits to be both morally correct and healthy for the planet, your life will be very, very hard.

There are a number of possible solutions to this problem. One is to throw up your hands and not worry about ethics, which The Observer's Elizabeth Day, who interviewed Lynn, says more people are now doing with respect to fur. She points out that former PETA supporter Naomi Campbell now stars in an ad campaign for a furrier. And she quotes a spokesman for a fur trading group who says,

Fur has never been more popular. From 1998 to 2008 there has been year-on-year growth in global sales for fur. People now are more comfortable showing their love of fur.

Given the economic climate, though, fur-love may not be the biggest obstacle to ethical consumption. Rather, many of us may be too cash-strapped and stressed out to consider the larger implications of what we're buying, eating, and wearing. Steiner's solution to the difficulty of living morally — sucking it up, potentially losing friends, and making your life a rebuke to a system that thoughtlessly exploits animals and the earth — is the most ideologically consistent one. But it's also the most difficult one to sell to people who already have a lot of problems. We may need voices like Steiner's to remind us of the problems of consumption, but when it comes to advice for living, we might require a softer touch.

The question of whether radicalism or moderation is better at effecting social change is an age-old one. But in the case of our personal habits, swift, radical change on a large scale may be an unachievable goal. Steiner seems to disdain a dining companion who says, "I'm really a vegetarian - I don't eat red meat at home." This position can be annoying for vegetarians, as it leads them to be served chicken at dinner parties or pressured to eat "just a little" meat. At the same time, people who give up red meat do reduce their carbon footprints, as do people who avoid all meat one or two days a week. For those who believe meat is murder, giving it up sometimes probably doesn't seem like much of a compromise. But people who do so have given some thought to their consumption practices, and may be open to more. They may be the early adopters of a system which, while not perfect, cares more about animal welfare and environmental conservation than the old one that put animal fat in razors. Strict vegans might do well to treat these occasional vegetarians not as enemies, but as allies.

Animal, Vegetable, Miserable [NYT]
Would You Rather Go Naked? Not Any Longer [Observer]

MEOUCH!!!! OH NOES! DIS MODDLE HAZ NO CAPSHUN!!!!! USE TEH AMAZIN ROFLBOT! AN POST SUGGGESSHUNS IN TEH COMMINTZ!!!!

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[London, November 15. Image via Bauer-Griffin.]

"Part of the problem lies in semantics," writes Thompson.

Words such as "charity", "cause", "development", "human rights" and "activism" can all become skewed with misuse. At best, overuse renders them banal. But at worst they become counterproductive. Say "human rights activist" and increasing numbers of people will just slam their hands over their ears. There is causeweariness even before you prefix "human rights activist" with that extra soul-sapping tag "celebrity."

Thompson continues: "The question I dread most is: 'What's your favourite charity?' You might as well ask: 'What's your favourite war zone?' To talk about charity in this way compartmentalises it, separates it from the day-to-day stuff of life."

[Emma Thompson is a Greenpeace activist, a patron of the Refugee Council and wrote her Times of London essay as an aside to her work for the Helen Bamber Foundation, a human rights organization which supports survivors of gross human rights violations.]

But let's be honest: It's a double-edged sword, isn't it? Being a Celebrity with a Cause? If you're an actor, people are interested in you for your ability to portray a character and speak lines someone else has written. If you're a singer, people want to hear you sing. They don't necessarily want to hear about your dedication to cancer research or impoverished children. Entertainment, after all, is an escape.

And yet: With money and power and influence, celebrities have the ability to make an impact for a campaign or cause. Sometimes "awareness" is part of the battle. But what are the ultimate results? Does it work? Does the fact George Clooney and Ryan Gosing care about what's going on in Darfur — or Mia Farrow's hunger strike — affect your feelings about Darfur? spoken Does Khloe Kardashian stripping for PETA make you less likely to wear fur? And what about when Naomi Campbell posed nude for PETA, and then was seen in stuff like this?

The Power of Youth And the Winnable Battle Against Global Hunger [Huffington Post]
Emma Thompson: Conscience, Celebrity And Me [Times of London]
Do-Gooder Celebs Can Aid -and Irritate [Newser]

Tim stars in a new anti-fur video for PETA, and even though there's a CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES warning, the fashion guru has such a irresistible allure, you may find yourself watching anyway. The video will be launched during New York Fashion Week in February, and — good news — Tim Gunn has announced that the embattled show Project Runway will, indeed, be filming during Fashion Week.

Tim told New York magazine: "I'm making my home visits to the finalists starting on Sunday. It's an incredible season. It really is. And I just want people to see it. And I want the designers on the show to get the exposure." Hopefully they will! But since we still don't know which network the show will end up on or when the show will air, we'll just have to be patient. To kill time, we'll imagine what would happen if Tim Gunn styled a professional basketball team. Oh, wait! The Onion beat us to it.


Video below, view with caution.

Project Runway mentor, Tim Gunn, fronts new PETA campaign [Telegraph]
Tim Gunn: Project Runway Will Shoot at Fashion Week [New York Mag]
Tim Gunn Takes Wizards Shopping For Less Hideous Uniforms [The Onion]

• Authorities in South Florida say they've solved the 1981 killing of a boy whose father, John Walsh, is the host of America's Most Wanted. The man who killed the boy died in prison a decade ago. • A Chicago woman alleges that a doctor inflicted hellish and unnecessary pain on her while she was giving birth to her fifth child. • A new scientific report has found that the normal muocosal lining of the female genital tract is not a foolproof barrier against contracting HIV. • A new Danish study reports that girls have a better sense of taste than boys but boys have a bigger sweet tooth. • A 60-year-old man died at his retirement party in Japan after his colleagues failed to properly catch him after they threw him in the air as part of the celebration. • A young Minnesota woman was arrested for drunk driving after she ignored a police officer's honking as she waited in a McDonald's drive-thru line. • Dutch researchers report that it is safe for girls to undergo surgical reshaping of the nose for facial clefts at 16 while boys can undergo surgery safely at 17. • On Monday, a German court ruled against a woman who wanted her insurance to pay for her breast reduction surgery. • Aw: a nerdy dad-to-be wrapped his wife's pregnant belly with sensors to tweet the unborn baby's kicks on Twitter. • Good or bad idea: vibrating body jewelry. • A new study reveals that the most commonly prescribed medication for Aussie women is antidepressants. • A Nevada woman brought home 27 dogs from the pound but was forced to give up most of them after her neighbors complained about the barking. • The Palazzo Versace fashion house, a luxury hotel in Dubai, plans to create the world's first air-conditioned beach. • A Bangladeshi woman who lived and worked in the UK as a doctor has returned to London after being held captive by her parents in Bangladesh who wanted to marry her off. • A 12-page Skoal ad in Playboy promotes dipping with nearly nude women.

[Image via Getty]

[New York, December 9. Image via Splash.]

[Los Angeles, November 24. Image via x17]

OMG. OH NOES. THIS MODDLE HAZ NO CAPSHUN. RITE A SUGGESSHUN IN TEH COMMINTZ!!!11!! TEH WINNR GITZ A CHEEZBURGR. SRSLY.

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[New York, April 30. Image via INFDaily.com.]