Banning Animal Testing: Not as Easy as It Seems
Jim Loran and Paul A. Locke’s article published in the Scientific American, “Beauty and the Beasts: The U.S. Should Ban Testing Cosmetics on Animals,” is a significant piece focused on the enormous lack of utilization of alternatives to animal testing in manufacturing. Loran and Locke argue that such alternatives are much more ethical as well as entirely feasible, due to the fact that they possess the ability to garner the same data that would be collected if animals were utilized in the experiments. Furthermore, the authors emphasize the necessity of passing several acts to ban the usage and distribution of products that have been tested on animals from the market in general. Although Loran and Lock assert
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Loran and Locke begin their article by explaining some of the immoral practices present in animal testing. As stated, “The question alluded to the use of the Draize Test, which involves dripping substances such as toluene into rabbits’ eyes, causing pain and sometimes blindness” (2). Through this meticulous description, it is quite evident that the animals’ lives are put in danger through nonstop inhuman practices. After revealing the horror that these animals survive, the authors then transition to how to alleviate the issue specifically. As explained, “Eliminating animal testing of cosmetics is entirely feasible. In the part three decades, scientists have developed many advanced alternatives to animal testing... methods that use human blood, cell lines, artificial skin or computer models... As a result, they cut costs and save
Some might ask what cosmetic animal testing truly entails. Companies use small animals such as mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs to test the safety and hypoallergenic properties of their products before releasing them to the public. Numerous tests are run for a singular product, such as the Draize test, the Acute Toxicity test, and the Skin Irritation test. The notorious Draize test shows the “irritation or damage caused by chemicals by putting them into the eyes of rabbits” (Abbott 144; Mcnamee et al.). After the substance is applied onto or into the eyes, they wait and see if there is any sign of eye irritation, corrosion, or permanent blindness. The Acute Toxicity
While the pros to animal research are positives on humans, it is negatively affecting the animals themselves. Using animals for medical research is inhumane because they are left in these awful conditions. These animals are being mistreated in captivity because humans need them for their own research. The animals used in these experiments are treated very poorly because, they are subjected to force feeding, forced inhalation, deprived of food and water, excessive physical restraint, and may acquire infections and other wounds while in captivity (“Animal Testing”, 2017). Animals like these are burned, choked by CO2 and even left days without food or water. Sometimes we just test to see what the LD50 is for these animals, over 97,000 animals were killed just testing to find the LD50 from these animals. The LD50 is just a test to find out how much of one substance will kill 50% of the population. These animals are harmed for no reason because, most of the time it does not even help humans.
Utilizing animals as a part of research and to test the safety of items has been a subject of intense arguments for a considerable length of time. Individuals have distinctive affections for animals; numerous look upon animals as partners while others see animals as a methods for propelling medical research or encouraging exploratory research. However people see animals, the reality remains that animals are being misused by research offices and cosmetic organizations across the nation and all around the globe. In spite of the fact that people frequently benefit from effective animal research, the agony, the suffering, and the death of animals are not worth the hypothetical benefits for humans. Thus, animals should not be tested on for product safety or research.
As technology is advancing there is alternatives that are actually more precise in the results and it does not require the use of an animal. Humans and animals do not carry the same genes that result in cancers, heart disease, or Parkinson’s disease ("Against Animal Testing"). An animal researcher stated that,“The new systems the agencies hope to use rely on human cells grown in test tubes and computer-driven testing machines.” “ They allow the scientists to examine potentially toxic compounds in the lab rather than injecting them into animals” (Weise). In other words, an alternative to testing is growing human cells in test tubes and simulating it by computers. Alternative practices that have been proven successful include synthetic membranes, and computer models (McKay).
Each year, thousands of animals are brutally tortured in laboratories, in the name of cosmetic research. A movement to ban animal testing for cosmetic purposes has been gaining popularity, with many companies hopping on the bandwagon against this research. New alternatives have been developed to eliminate the necessity to test on animals. This is only a small beginning of what is necessary to end these immoral acts. Animal testing in cosmetics is useless and cruel, and can be accomplished by other methods of research to end the suffering of animals.
Most companies use animals to test their products. There are different sides of the argument about companies doing animal testing. The two sides are the people who want it to stop since its against animal rights and it’s inhumane but the others say that it helps majorly with making medical breakthroughs on products and cures. “This topic first started around 400 B.C. and was used by Aristotle and Erasistratus” (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
“Each year, more than 100 million animals—including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds—are killed in U.S. laboratories for biology lessons, medical training, curiosity-driven experimentation, and chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics testing” (PETA 1). For a countless amount of years companies, scientists, biology teachers, and plenty of other people have been using animals for animal experimentation. There are many people are for animal testing when it comes to testing for medical reasons, but when it comes to testing for cosmetics several people oppose animal testing. Tons and tons of animals are killed each year due to animal experimentation, and it is time to put it to an end. When it comes
Animal testing is not a recent occurrence. According to Nohynek et al. (2010) animal testing has been conducted since the 1930’s in order to evaluate the toxicity of consumer products. Animal testing began to attract attention when a woman became blind as a result of applying mascara that had a high level of toxicity, causing her to go blind (Nohynek et al., 2010). As a result of the incident, The Food and Drug Administration passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which gives authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to watch over the food, drugs, and cosmetics (Evans, 2012). Considering how cosmetic manufacturers are held responsible for ensuring that their products will not harm their consumers, it is of the utmost importance that products are adequately testing; and for those products that
while there are many controversial thoughts on many different factors that apply to animal testing, I find it to be that many of the pros outweighs the costs that comes animal testing such as the ethical or moral reason. Although when including the ethical or moral consequences that comes with animal testing, the benefits to mankind and improvements to our societies and sciences in many diverse ways. Which leads me to strive towards the many benefits that comes with animal testing even with some of the consequences that comes with the testing. Many people will jump to the conclusion that animal testing is always done in a harsh manner, how the morals and ethics have been the same since way back when, and how the outcomes that occur when testing on animals isn’t worth the chance of them getting hurt. Yet this is not the case.
As you walk into your nearest CVS Pharmacy or Walgreen’s to pick up that bottle of shampoo, your medication, or the makeup brand you may use, have you ever stopped to consider what may have happened to innocent animals in order for you to be able to purchase these products? Many people see animals as companions; however, according to a 2013 Gallup Poll, 56% of the U.S. sees them as a means to further scientific research. (Gallup Poll) Yet, the fact remains: animals are being tested on by a myriad of cosmetics brands and research facilities. Animal testing is unethical and needs to be banned, as thousands of animals suffer serious injuries due to the process of experimentation, as well as the fact that American taxpayers pay millions for research purposes that may not be applicable to humans.
This reluctance to change is especially unforgivable considering the current wide availability of superior non-animal tests. Instead of measuring how long it takes a chemical to burn away the cornea of a rabbit’s eye, manufacturers can now drop that chemical onto donated human corneas. Human skin cultures can be grown and ordered for irritancy testing. These and dozens more tests now in use today are cheaper, faster, and more accurate at predicting human reactions to a product than the old animal tests ever were.” With other alternatives available to test for irritation and chemical exposure, there is no explanation for the United States to still be using live animals for cosmetic testing. With some countries banning the use of cosmetic testing on animals, there is hope that other countries will begin to as well. The countries who still use animal testing as a way of testing products might recognize why the countries have banned such an act. When the cruelty of animal testing is recognized, countries who still testing with
The ethical treatment of animal testing is a controversial topic in the field of zoology. Different aspects on animal testing range from positivity to negativity. Animals such as dogs and rats are used for experimental trials because they have been found to have psychological and genetic correlations that relate to humans. Although the benefits and improvements to modern medicine made it possible to ban animal experimentation completely, animals are still the main subjects in cosmetic industries. Something important to keep in mind when it comes to animal experimentation is that, “Most experimentation has nothing to do
Animal testing has long played a part in the science of testing, and it still plays a very important role in the medical world. Testing on animals in order to create a cure for AIDS is one thing, but testing on animals for human vanity is another. Animal testing is used to test the safety of a product. It has kept some very unsafe substances out of the cosmetic world. However, in this day in age, animal testing is not the only way to test the safety of a product. Animal testing in cosmetics has decreased over the years. However, it is still used by many companies in America. Animal testing is not only cruel, but it is also unnecessary in today’s advanced scientific world.
Millions of animals are being unneedlessly tested on for cosmetics, even though there are plenty of alternatives available and most of the results are unreliable or not applicable to humans. Although the fight against animal testing has made huge progress recently, America has yet to stop this cruel practice and chooses to torture animals while other countries are making a stop to the testing (“Animal Testing 101”).
Throughout history, animal testing has played a monumental role in leading to new discoveries and human benefits. However, what many people tend to forget are the millions of animals that are tortured and killed during these painful, deadly experiments. Imagine being a family pet, but instead of living in a warm home with a caring family, living locked up in a small metal cage, only being let out to swallow harmful chemicals, to be poked and prodded with needles, and to be injected with chemicals. And after the animal’s use for testing is over, they are either killed or die because of their injuries. This is an impractical, unsafe way to find out the safety of everyday products. Animal testing is an impractical, inhumane method of cosmetic testing not worth the resulting multitude of animal deaths when humans could easily be substituted as the test subject.