Being vegan isn't solely about keeping animals off your dinner plate, it's much more than that. It's about being aware of the treatment of animals in all settings. Many don't consider how their wool jacket or leather sofa was made or what it took to develop the tube of mascara that you apply to your eye lashes every morning. Most of these things are "out of sight, out of mind," when they should be the forefront of your local news report. The simple fact is that over 100 million animals are poisoned, abused, burned and more in labs all over the United States each year. And all for what? Here are a few things I've learned about animal testing:
Approximately 92% of experimental drugs that are effective in animals fail in human clinical trials. Human's think the biological makeup of mice, rats, birds, etc is close enough to ours to adequately depict whether a drug or substance would be safe. In actuality, 92% of the time, the tests are a waste of time, money and most importantly end hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stated, "Currently, nine out of ten experimental drugs fail in clinical studies because we cannot accurately predict how they will behave in people based on laboratory and animal studies." (1)
Before their deaths, animals are forced to inhale toxic fumes, some are immobilized in restraints for hours, others have their skin burned off or their spinal cords crushed, whereas others have holes drilled into their skulls {{most without anesthetics}}. In addition to the torment of the experiments themselves, lab animals are deprived of every natural need and anything that is important to them. Most live their entire life in barren cages, where they are socially isolated which brings on a whole different set of traumas.
The public are ultimately {{knowingly and unknowingly}} the ones who are funding animal experimentation. Taxes, charitable donations, purchase of lottery tickets, certain consumer products, and various others all make up a percentage of the funding for animal testing. Even if you are aware of where every penny you spend is going it is close to impossible to get up to date information regarding the experiments. "State open-records laws and the U.S. Freedom of Information Act can be used to obtain documents and information from state institutions, government agencies and other federally funded facilities, but private companies, contract labs, and animal breeders are exempt." (2)
THE REALITY IS that the majority of animal experiments do not contribute to improving human health and the value of the role that animal experimentation plays is questionable at best. So what exactly should you do?
A good friend of mine always says, "When you know better, you do better," and I completely believe her. Starting TODAY, make the decision to buy ALL cruelty free products. There are literally thousands if not hundreds of thousands of options when it comes to health and beauty products, household cleaners, medications, etc. {{I wrote a blog awhile back about cruelty free makeup brands.}} The leapingbunny.org is a great site that lists everything imaginable from aromatherapy, deodorant, shaving cream to fruit and veggie wash, laundry detergent and MORE! You can even download the app or their "Cruelty-Free Pocket Sized Shopping Guide." Also look for their logo on products to certify they are cruelty free. Although some products do not have their logo and are still cruelty free.
LET'S ALL be more aware of these issues and "Do Better!"
P.S. Keep an eye out for a future post on my favorite cruelty free household brands.
Sources:
1. U.S Food and Drug Administration, "FDA Issues Advice to Make Earliest Stages of Clinical Drug Development More Efficient."
2. Deborah Ziff, "On Campus: PETA Sues UW Over Access to Research Records."
3. Earthlings, The Documentary
Approximately 92% of experimental drugs that are effective in animals fail in human clinical trials. Human's think the biological makeup of mice, rats, birds, etc is close enough to ours to adequately depict whether a drug or substance would be safe. In actuality, 92% of the time, the tests are a waste of time, money and most importantly end hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stated, "Currently, nine out of ten experimental drugs fail in clinical studies because we cannot accurately predict how they will behave in people based on laboratory and animal studies." (1)
Before their deaths, animals are forced to inhale toxic fumes, some are immobilized in restraints for hours, others have their skin burned off or their spinal cords crushed, whereas others have holes drilled into their skulls {{most without anesthetics}}. In addition to the torment of the experiments themselves, lab animals are deprived of every natural need and anything that is important to them. Most live their entire life in barren cages, where they are socially isolated which brings on a whole different set of traumas.
The public are ultimately {{knowingly and unknowingly}} the ones who are funding animal experimentation. Taxes, charitable donations, purchase of lottery tickets, certain consumer products, and various others all make up a percentage of the funding for animal testing. Even if you are aware of where every penny you spend is going it is close to impossible to get up to date information regarding the experiments. "State open-records laws and the U.S. Freedom of Information Act can be used to obtain documents and information from state institutions, government agencies and other federally funded facilities, but private companies, contract labs, and animal breeders are exempt." (2)
THE REALITY IS that the majority of animal experiments do not contribute to improving human health and the value of the role that animal experimentation plays is questionable at best. So what exactly should you do?
A good friend of mine always says, "When you know better, you do better," and I completely believe her. Starting TODAY, make the decision to buy ALL cruelty free products. There are literally thousands if not hundreds of thousands of options when it comes to health and beauty products, household cleaners, medications, etc. {{I wrote a blog awhile back about cruelty free makeup brands.}} The leapingbunny.org is a great site that lists everything imaginable from aromatherapy, deodorant, shaving cream to fruit and veggie wash, laundry detergent and MORE! You can even download the app or their "Cruelty-Free Pocket Sized Shopping Guide." Also look for their logo on products to certify they are cruelty free. Although some products do not have their logo and are still cruelty free.
LET'S ALL be more aware of these issues and "Do Better!"
P.S. Keep an eye out for a future post on my favorite cruelty free household brands.
Sources:
1. U.S Food and Drug Administration, "FDA Issues Advice to Make Earliest Stages of Clinical Drug Development More Efficient."
2. Deborah Ziff, "On Campus: PETA Sues UW Over Access to Research Records."
3. Earthlings, The Documentary