Its been a really long time since I wrote something. And THAT is an understatement. It isn't that I didn't have anything to write about; I suppose I needed something that would snap me out of the self-imposed lethargy from the written word. And today it simply happened.
It started innocently enough... I shall join the hordes of Engineers who leave their motherland for the Land of Dreams- USA. Being the total consumerist that I've become, I bought myself a travel pillow from Samsonite (No, I'm not rich and spoiled... just made use of the discount coupon some clever marketing manager foisted upon me). As is my habit, I christened it with what I thought would suit the worm-like convertible pillow- "Silkie". (Okay laugh all you want).
Then as is obvious, I wikied the "silkworm" and that lead me to the article that shocked me senseless.
They KILL silkworms while they are in their cocoons.
Boil them alive.
And exploit them mercilessly for the silk we treat as a luxury item. That is simply so barbaric and filled with the inhumanity we humans are so capable of.
Apparently if the silkworm is allowed to come out of the cocoon as a moth (as it should be) the fibres are broken and length of the fibre (around 900m from a single cocoon) is gone.
Would we like it if some other species did this to us?
Reading more of the article simply increased my nausea. The Bombyx mori has been modified so much genetically that it simply cannot survive in the wild anymore. Every aspect in which in commercial value can be increased- from increasing its silk output ten times to rendering the adult moth incapable of flying, has been done.
An average wedding in India, especially in the south, allots thousands of rupees in its budget on scores of heavy silk sarees, 5.5 m long each (if not 9 yards). Quoting a few numbers, 15 silkworms are killed for 1 g of silk and around 2,000 to 3,000 cocoons are needed to make a pound of silk. 1,500 worms killed for a metre of silk. 50,000 silk worms are killed to make one silk saree. (courtesy- ahimasilks.com and wikipedia page on Bombyx mori)
I started wondering if there wasn't a way to get around all this. Can't silk be "green"? After all with green concrete, green roads, green eggs and ham, couldn't silk be green too? Thanks to the wonderful capabilities of google, I immediately stumbled on "ahimsasilks.com". Thanks to a Kusuma Rajaiah, I can now be glad there is a positive answer to the question "Can't silk be produced without killing silkworms?".
Granted, its more expensive and the silk has lesser sheen. I think its a small price to pay for the lives of millions of silkworms that will be spared.
Think about it, and do the right thing.
Spare the innocent silkworm, its life.
