By: AB G
Many companies are using animals to test their products, as they feel that humans are superior to all other species and do not deserve to be hurt. Although many claim animal testing is necessary to cure diseases, animal testing is largely unethical due to its high death toll and use for mainstream cosmetics. Humans and animals do not deserve to be wounded or killed for testing purposes. [Your intro is much better now that you’ve reordered your thesis and given previews of your subpoints!]
Animal Testing in the United States is controlled by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), a federal law that allows the use of lab animals. This law was passed in 1996 and allows any warm-blooded animal to be tested on, excluding farm animals used for food. Over 110 million animals are killed each year due to research and testing. Animal Testing can be traced all the way back to around 500 BC, over 2500 years ago, when ancient Greeks wrote descriptions about dissecting live animals. Queen Victoria was one of the first people to dislike this idea: “The Queen has been dreadfully shocked at the details of some of these [animal research] practices, and is most anxious to put a stop to them,” her secretary wrote in a letter. Now 70% of people want animal testing abolished and gone.
Out of the 50 most popular cosmetic brands, 88% of them are not cruelty-free. Many people do not realize that every time they use toothpaste, put on makeup, or wash their hair, the product has most likely been tested on an animal. Famous brands like L’Oréal, M.A.C., Neutrogena, Pantene, or Maybelline, are not cruelty free. Although many of the paramount companies use lab animals, Elf, Burt’s Bee’s, Lush, and Urban Decay don’t. Many benefits come with using cruelty-free products, such as saving money, having healthier products because they do not contain certain chemicals that need to be tested for, and obviously saving animals. Next time you think about buying a non-cruelty free product, think of the tortured bunnies, rats, guinea pigs, etc. that sacrificed themselves. [This is all great information, but I would orient this paragraph more toward why the makeup industry’s use of animal testing is unethical. Is it because of the scale of the testing? Is it some kind of testing that is specific to the makeup industry? Because this could just be an extension of your first body paragraph’s argument, I would think about how to differentiate it.]
Many people believe that animal testing is crucial to finding a cure or a vaccine for a disease, which is false. The recent pandemic, Covid-19, proved this theory wrong, as scientists tested a vaccine on a human and observed how the human body reacts to it. This method is way more effective. Not only is animal testing wrong, it also is not very operative. Paul Furlong, Professor of Clinical Neuroimaging at Aston University (UK), states that “it’s very hard to create an animal model that even equates closely to what we’re trying to achieve in the human.” Animals have different anatomic, metabolic, and cellular differences therefore this testing is not very accurate. [I would actually consider making this one of your body paragraphs and including it in your intro’s preview since it introduces another strong subpoint in your argument. Once you’ve done that, I think you could use a new conclusion paragraph that sums up the big picture of your argument!]
Sources:
https://animal-testing.procon.org/history-of-animal-testing/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/23/science/what-do-we-owe-lab-animals.html