The Literal Guinea Pigs of Our Society By: Lee Ann Higgins
Our daily lives are filled with products. Items that are for everyday use, without any thought of how us humans decide the ingredients. Animals are widely used to detect any defect of a product, whether it causes irritation, numbness, or mental ailments. There are two distinct reasons animals are used for testing, commercial and scientific.
Commercial testing is used to evaluate products that will be sold in the market. Scientific testing is to test out other harsh chemicals or doses of medications. These tests may include: vaccines, over-the-counter medications, antibiotics and more. Some animals are used in what is called “factory farming.” According to Sentient Media.org, “...this turns animals into pieces of the assembly line in an efficiency-obsessed society bent on increasing production and profit maximization.” There are corporations that branch off into commercial testing. Commercial testing is one of the most highly exploited fields. Cosmetics are part of that branch, due to maneuvering ways to ensure the customers safety. This occurs because the processor must have the product done and human friendly.
Big organizations such as, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has expressed their allowance of animal testing. They claim that animal testing can be practiced certifying the products usability with being useful and non-harmful. Another expressed value was, if the business does not find any other utilized function that is non-harmful, they may stick to animal testing. Along with the FDA, there has been speculations that the government is behind the allowance of animal testing. These people are not the only ones who think this. A tenth grader from Hillgrove High School named Myah Santana states, “Scientists are often under the government's supervision, so yes, the government should be held responsible. They allow certain products to go onto shelves, so they would support the making. Most of the money profit goes to the government.” Even though animal testing has been around for a while, it can also be applied in an effective way.
These benefits can outweigh the bad depending on what the individual feels. Some express that animal testing is a way of saving lives. They see it as giving the product a free trial where anything could happen to the animal minus a similar outlook for a human. A few sites explain the importance of animal testing while others disagree. For example, a site called ConnectUsFund.org quotes, “People can run computer simulations and make their own projections, but this information does not substitute for actual testing.” Technology has evolved, but an electronic device cannot substitute the full effect it could have on human beings. Not only do they agree with this statement, but tenth grader Kaylynn Clervaux at Hiram High School has similar thoughts, “I think they can keep some. The ones that don’t cause any harm to the animal, they can keep, because there are some products that you can’t test on a human because they don’t know how it’ll react to them. So, they need something to test it on.” Animal testing has brought ways to allow products that are harmful to humans vanish, while the good items stay due to finding how it affects an animal to transfer that to a human.
The alternatives to animal testing have been a bit overlooked throughout the years. These alternatives might benefit everyone without harming a living organism. According to Cruelty Free International.org, “Replacing animal tests does not mean putting human patients at risk. It also does not mean halting medical progress. Instead, replacing animal testing will improve the quality as well as the humaneness of our science.” There are a couple of ways to slow the works of animal testing. One is using cells. Cells could enable a way to “grow” a biological structure. Transferring the chemicals to be tested onto those structures could bring more liable information forward. Another way is using our species to test these products out. Humans are subjecting an animal, which is also a living being to try out different chemicals. A tenth-grade student named Charity Webb that attends Mooresville High School also agrees with this statement by stating, “If humans would just step up, animals would be okay. Also, humans have a larger survival rate.” There are a couple more examples of alternatives, but these are two main ideas that have been brought forward.
No matter if it is commercial or scientific testing, animal testing is unavoidable. Although, some individuals have brought up how inhumane it is and the animal’s pain along with suffering. Sure, the animal is housed and is given the necessities, but the practical care it is given is not a substitute for immortality. Humans have long since taken advantage of this process, all to ensure our safety. Humans could find more ways as an alternative to animal testing. That would bring a better lifestyle for both animals and humans. Having hope for these animals is all that is left to do.
Commercial testing is used to evaluate products that will be sold in the market. Scientific testing is to test out other harsh chemicals or doses of medications. These tests may include: vaccines, over-the-counter medications, antibiotics and more. Some animals are used in what is called “factory farming.” According to Sentient Media.org, “...this turns animals into pieces of the assembly line in an efficiency-obsessed society bent on increasing production and profit maximization.” There are corporations that branch off into commercial testing. Commercial testing is one of the most highly exploited fields. Cosmetics are part of that branch, due to maneuvering ways to ensure the customers safety. This occurs because the processor must have the product done and human friendly.
Big organizations such as, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has expressed their allowance of animal testing. They claim that animal testing can be practiced certifying the products usability with being useful and non-harmful. Another expressed value was, if the business does not find any other utilized function that is non-harmful, they may stick to animal testing. Along with the FDA, there has been speculations that the government is behind the allowance of animal testing. These people are not the only ones who think this. A tenth grader from Hillgrove High School named Myah Santana states, “Scientists are often under the government's supervision, so yes, the government should be held responsible. They allow certain products to go onto shelves, so they would support the making. Most of the money profit goes to the government.” Even though animal testing has been around for a while, it can also be applied in an effective way.
These benefits can outweigh the bad depending on what the individual feels. Some express that animal testing is a way of saving lives. They see it as giving the product a free trial where anything could happen to the animal minus a similar outlook for a human. A few sites explain the importance of animal testing while others disagree. For example, a site called ConnectUsFund.org quotes, “People can run computer simulations and make their own projections, but this information does not substitute for actual testing.” Technology has evolved, but an electronic device cannot substitute the full effect it could have on human beings. Not only do they agree with this statement, but tenth grader Kaylynn Clervaux at Hiram High School has similar thoughts, “I think they can keep some. The ones that don’t cause any harm to the animal, they can keep, because there are some products that you can’t test on a human because they don’t know how it’ll react to them. So, they need something to test it on.” Animal testing has brought ways to allow products that are harmful to humans vanish, while the good items stay due to finding how it affects an animal to transfer that to a human.
The alternatives to animal testing have been a bit overlooked throughout the years. These alternatives might benefit everyone without harming a living organism. According to Cruelty Free International.org, “Replacing animal tests does not mean putting human patients at risk. It also does not mean halting medical progress. Instead, replacing animal testing will improve the quality as well as the humaneness of our science.” There are a couple of ways to slow the works of animal testing. One is using cells. Cells could enable a way to “grow” a biological structure. Transferring the chemicals to be tested onto those structures could bring more liable information forward. Another way is using our species to test these products out. Humans are subjecting an animal, which is also a living being to try out different chemicals. A tenth-grade student named Charity Webb that attends Mooresville High School also agrees with this statement by stating, “If humans would just step up, animals would be okay. Also, humans have a larger survival rate.” There are a couple more examples of alternatives, but these are two main ideas that have been brought forward.
No matter if it is commercial or scientific testing, animal testing is unavoidable. Although, some individuals have brought up how inhumane it is and the animal’s pain along with suffering. Sure, the animal is housed and is given the necessities, but the practical care it is given is not a substitute for immortality. Humans have long since taken advantage of this process, all to ensure our safety. Humans could find more ways as an alternative to animal testing. That would bring a better lifestyle for both animals and humans. Having hope for these animals is all that is left to do.
