This is what happens to the animals who were euthanized in shelters.

[tommyjake]

Have you ever wondered what happens to all those hundreds of unfortunate dogs and cats who are euthanized every day in animal shelters? ....Well heres the answer..

[quote]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. [Quote/]

sick isnt it!

[ChiChi]

OMG!! EWWWW! where dod you find this out?? got a site that we can go to?? gosh i thought that they were burned after euthanization!! goodness, but is there a site?

[Future Veterinarian]

ewwwwwww

[oc_spirit]

Ewwwww that's so gross!!! Oh and the rest of the dogs and cats not used for this get sent to the IAMS company to be made into dogfood *wretch*

[PitBullie09]

Gross.

[Ritz459]

Ew. That is just too gross..... *gag*....

[cragarmom]

While that is quite disturbing, I must say, as a chemist...

Many times chemicals like this are lab-synthesized, not naturally extracted. I don't know specifically about stearic acid, but generally, it's far less expensive to make a chemical in the lab from other chemical starting materials than it is to extract and purify a "naturally orccuring"chemical. Think of vitamins - you can get naturally derived vitamins, or synthesized vitamins. Naturally derived vitamins are always more expensive.

Like I said, I don't know specifics, but just because stearic acid may be in cosmetics, etc, it doesn't mean it's the naturally extracted form. Depending on the extraction procss, it may be too expensive to manufacture that way.

Sorry if I sounded clinical, I would just hope no naturally derived stearic acid is used in this stuff.

But on another note, though, given its (or a derivative of it) prevalance in almost all shampoos, deodarants, etc - would anyone actually forego using that stuff because of it (with little to no alternative?)

Just curious...
Joanne

[ChiChi]

THANK YOU CRAGAR!! LOL now i may still be able to wear my eyeshadow! LOL

[cragarmom]

I originally posted this on the wrong thread... I'm an idiot!!!

OK - I just looked into it a little bit...

While stearic acid is a fatty acid derived from animal fat, it can also be synthesized from hydrogenating certain vegetable oils.

Hydrogenation is the process of forcing hydrogen atoms into the "holes" (double bonds) of unsaturated fatty acids. It's usually done with hydrogen gas and a metal catalyst at higher temperatures.

For example, one can hydrogenate alpa-linolenic acid (one of the good omega-3-fatty acids in fish)to get stearic acid.

Of course, a drawback to manufacturing stearic acid this way may be traces of the metal catalyst used in hydrogenation that cannot be removed.

I really can't find anywhere (at the moment) any definite answer about the manufacturing process used to make stearic acid for cosmietic/emulsifier purposes.

[sunny98]

kinda yucky to think about but I guess it is better to use already deceased animals than breeding them just to use to make the things we all use everyday.

[WingedFoal]

Wow I really hope I'm not bathing and wearing dead animals on my face....

[oc_spirit]

kinda yucky to think about but I guess it is better to use already deceased animals than breeding them just to use to make the things we all use everyday

I agree!!! I feel so sorry for all the horse foals that are born each year and just go to slaughter because the owners of the mares wanted to produce pregnant horse urine to be made into perfumes and colognes....

[tommyjake]

Ok heres the website I got the info from,this is why im considering becoming a vegan!

http://www.caringconsumer.com/ingredientsfactsheet.html

btw this is the most gross one there - Its about the perfume Musk

[quote]Musk (Oil).
Dried secretion painfully obtained from musk deer, beaver, muskrat, civet cat, and otter genitals. Wild cats are kept captive in cages in horrible conditions and are whipped around the genitals to produce the scent; beavers are trapped; deer are shot. Used in perfumes and in food flavorings. Alternatives: labdanum oil (which comes from various rockrose shrubs) and other plants with a musky scent. Labdanum oil has no known
Quote/]

[tommyjake]

Ive even started looking at all the ingredents on food products i eat every day, and then when i look on that site at what they are made of - its sick! ewww to think we are eating pigs stomachs, crushed bone, boiled skin and ligaments. And wearing otters genitals as perfume every day of our lives! gross!

[cragarmom]

The first paragraph on that page says,

Furthermore, many ingredients known by one name can be of animal, vegetable, or synthetic origin. If you have a question regarding an ingredient in a product, call the manufacturer

It's possible a manufacturer may use truly animal-derived products (as in extracting the chemical from an actual animal source as opposed to synthesizing it in a lab), but generally not everything that contains an "animal product" contain actual animal extracts.

As for the musk oil, again, the development of chemistry over the years has pretty much relegated the practices you list obsolete. More info on musk here

Sorry I don't mean to be so picky on this, but as a chemist, I see a lot of misconceptions chemistry in today's society. There's one side where using "natural means" is considered bad, due to using up plant and animal "resources", and then the other side says "synthetic means" are bad, given chemical pollution. I've personally had to drive through Greenpeace picketers at an old place of employment because we burned hazardous waste. Something like that irritates the heck out of me, because what did they use to write their signs? Markers. That need solvents. That need to be manufactured. Where the manufacturing process generates waste. Ya know???

Again, I'm not meaning in any way to jump on you, but just want to put my (probably overstated) opinion out there...

Joanne