A Step Backwards: Animal Testing

[Animal Rights]

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/natural-beauty-fashion/blogs/avon-este...

[Kerry Baker]

There is an argument that animal testing is bad science.  The basic unit of life is at cellular level, and it is only necessary to determine if there is cell damage to identify harmful products.  other animals however don't necessarily metabolise or react to products as we do and it is erroneous in that regard to apply what happens to a rabbit or a art to humans.  The use of animals in experiments is primarily as a protection for companies should they ever get to court.  products that don't use animals on the other hand are more likely to be safe because they have to be.  I wonder if the Chinese government would accept testing on humans to satisfy their requirements, and why these companies are unable to convince that they have sound research practices that negate the need to continue testing.  Not much effort going into this I suspect.

[Kerry Baker]

Yes I agree but it is apparently not an argument that the Chinese accept.  So I think there needs to be a challenge on scientific grounds, although I would prefer to have governments recognise the wrong in using animals in this way.  Much of what medical science knows today was derived from horrible experiments during the wars, terrible tortures meted out to prisoners and possibly also by our own countries in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I recall a couple of years ago reading an item in the newspaper that a teaching hospital had fire for using patients in a vegetative state for students to practice lumbar punctures.  When it was revealed there was a public outcry.  Can't remember if it was here in Oz or in the UK.  But I think there is this notion of being trapped and unable to voice your pain that is behind the fear of things like stroke, which is why Voiceless is so named.  We need to be their voices.

[Siddharth Iyer]

I think this is a great example of the inadequacy of consumer based veganism. Vegan enlightenment is majorly a developed nation phenomenon and the corporations in these countries are exporting their products and research, be it meat or to carry out testing, to developing nations. Huge private owned corporations would undoubtedly come up with ways for such practices to continue and thrive even with a reduced demand for their products in their home country. Furthermore, the same corporations evolve to cater to the vegan crowd as well, thus legitimizing their brand to these crowds and deflect being questioned. The focus of veganism should be to question the current capitalistic culture and not limit our efforts to boycotting certain products and supporting certain others.

[Siddharth Iyer]

Thanks, Roger!

Roger Yates said:

I also think that the "vegan future" will need a healthy hatred from the capitalist mode of production.

ARZone Podcasts have explored this theme in podcasts 9, and 19 (parts 1 and 2).  http://arzone.ning.com/page/podcasts

Siddharth Iyer said:

I think this is a great example of the inadequacy of consumer based veganism. Vegan enlightenment is majorly a developed nation phenomenon and the corporations in these countries are exporting their products and research, be it meat or to carry out testing, to developing nations. Huge private owned corporations would undoubtedly come up with ways for such practices to continue and thrive even with a reduced demand for their products in their home country. Furthermore, the same corporations evolve to cater to the vegan crowd as well, thus legitimizing their brand to these crowds and deflect being questioned. The focus of veganism should be to question the current capitalistic culture and not limit our efforts to boycotting certain products and supporting certain others.