Pearls are jewelry accessories that are commonly sold under the name of elegance, status, and power. However, the practice of pearl farming is not free of animal cruelty, and in fact, there is a lot of controversy surrounding their use.
They may look very stylish in accessories such as chokers, bracelets, and earrings, but the story behind such elegance is full of cruelty. Pearls are not precious stones that come from geological processes. In reality, as you may know, these small stones come from oysters.
How are pearls naturally formed?
Pearls are stones created by two types of mollusks: saltwater oysters and freshwater mussels. When an irritant, such as a parasite, a small rock, or sand dust, infiltrates an oyster or mussel, they react in defense. The stress generated by the intrusion of a foreign agent into their shells causes these mollusks to secrete a crystalline, iridescent liquid called nacre made from aragonite. Thus, they coat the intruder with thousands of layers of nacre until they form a pearl.
Of course, it is a very long process that does not take place overnight, not to mention that during all this time, the animal suffers stress. A pearl takes between two and four years to form inside the oysters, a moment in which the harvesters extract them to sell them later. However, it is an extremely slow process that does not occur naturally in all others (only in 1 out of 10 thousand). Harvesters devised a process to obtain pearls massively: pearl farming, which is nothing more than the massive exploitation of these mollusks, and less expensively than harvesting.
What is pearl farming?
Pearl farming involves surgically opening each oyster shell to insert an irritant into them. According to PETA, freshwater pearls are cultured by inserting the mantle tissue of another mussel. Whereas in saltwater oysters, beads are inserted with oyster tissue. Growers further stress these small aquatic animals by constantly changing the water temperature to generate more nacre. Once the beads are extracted, one-third of the oysters are ‘recycled’ and are subjected once again to the intrusive process. The rest are killed and discarded.
Millions of mollusk lives are lost for the banal satisfaction of hanging a pearl accessory on our bodies. Nowadays, it is easier to find alternative ways free of animal cruelty to wear elegant accessories. So the use of pearls can no longer be justified under the name of elegance. The decision is yours.
Text and photos courtesy of Ecoosfera
Translated by María Isabel Carrasco Cara Chards
