Veganism and the Question of Natural Sea Sponges

During my web wanderings this morning, I began to wonder, do vegans use natural sea sponges? While browsing the net I found an interesting article about Tarpon Springs, Florida being the "sponge capital of the world." Because I had vegan recipes on my mind at the time, I began wondering if vegans used real sponges in their daily lives. Sponges, after all, are animals, not plants. Strict vegans do not use any animal products. I began wondering the the sea sponges used as beauty aids, and in art, were harvested while live, or simply "found." I began to wonder if vegans use natural sea sponges or not.

Note: This is meant as merely an inquiry and a discussion, not as judgment on anyone's decisions to eat meat or not, or to use animal products or not, or to be vegan or not.

The Vegan Lifestyle

First, a person's decision to become vegan or vegetarian is highly personal. It can be for social reasons, animal rights reason, religious or spiritual reasons, environmental reasons, health reasons, or any combination of these reasons. I have lived both as a vegetarian, a meat-eater, a part-time meat eater, a "fruit-tarian" and as a vegan. The decision to not eat meat at different times in my life has been social, environmental, financial, for health benefits and for spiritual reasons.

Any person who has tried vegetarianism or veganism can tell you that it comes with challenges. It is not easy to be the only non-meat eater in a household. Not every place you go to eat at school or work will have suitable and nutritious options for you.

The other tricky part about living a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle is knowing which products may contain animal by-products. This takes constant awareness, self-education and diligence.

Animal products and by-products are not always as obvious as the leather in a wallet or a pair of shoes. In my recent research, I realized that even honey is considered off-limits to a strict vegan because it is an animal-derived product. Note: there is debate in the vegan community about honey being acceptable in a vegan diet or not.

Where to Draw the Line with Being a Vegan

There is a long-time conflict that fur-wearers pose to meat-eaters who are against fur. This argument has been played out in the media, by PETA, and even on Seinfeld. Why is one use of animal product okay and another not okay?

The answer? There is no concrete answer.

Every person, vegan, vegetarian or otherwise, needs to decide where to draw their own line. When I read about the sponges, I was concerned that the sponges most often recommended in a watercolor class are real, animal sponges. I had not considered that these sponges were harvested, and the idea began to bother me.

The Natural Sea Sponge is an Animal

Some people do not consider a sponge to be as important in the animal kingdom as a cow or a chicken. A sponge is a very simple life form. They are invertebrates and have no nerves, brain or tissue, as other animals do. Yet, the sponge is not considered a plant. Since a sponge is an animal, shouldn't it be receiving the same respect as the animals that walk and have a face? Maybe it's their lack of face that makes it seem inconsequential.

Yet, the commercial aspect of the harvesting of sponges still bothers me. In a Buddhist sense, respect for all living creatures is just that, regardless of how simple or evolved the animal is or where it finds its place in the animal kingdom. Does that mean that using anti-bacterial soap or Clorox Anywhere spray and killing germs makes me a bad Buddhist? A germ is a microorganism, and some microscopic creatures including dust mites are classified as arthropods. (USDA)

I guess I draw my line above the microscopic level, because I have no problem trying to rid my house of microscopic creatures and germs. The natural sea sponge, however, is a different matter.

What are Sponges Used For in Daily Life?

Natural sea sponges are not used for human sustenance. They also have no use that is essential to our survival.

Natural sea sponges may be useful as sponges for the shower, but so are man-made mesh sponges.

They can also be used to apply cosmetics. But so can man-made brushes and cosmetic sponges.

The natural sea sponge is also a perfectly acceptable tool used in watercolor painting, acrylic painting, pottery, and decorative home painting.

While living a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, or any other lifestyle which tries to minimize impact on the natural world, do we really need to use natural sea sponges?

While the natural sea sponge may be useful and some may superior than man-made sponges for these purposes, the are not necessary. Vegans and meat-eaters alike do not actually need to use these natural sea sponges. In each instance, an alternative can be used by the meat-eater, vegetarian or the vegan.

The next time you assemble a gift basket for a vegan or vegetarian, or are doing somou may want to skip the natural sea sponge.

Sources for Do Vegans Use Natural Sea Sponges?

Sea Sponges, http://www.seasponges.com.au/products/cosmetic-facial/
Tarpon Springs, http://www.tarponsprings.com/sponge.html
USDA Agricutlural Research Services, http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/suburb/story2/mites.htm