Animal Testing and Alternatives for Developing Cruelty-free Makeup

8th Grade Argumentative Essay Outline

Introduction

• Introduction to the issue of animal testing in the cosmetic industry
• The ethical concerns surrounding animal testing

Benefits of Animal Testing

• Arguments in favor of animal testing, including potential medical advancements
• Counterargument that cures developed through animal testing may not always benefit humans

Limitations of Animal Testing

• Differences in anatomy between animals and humans
• Inaccuracy of test results
• Historical examples of ineffective animal testing

Ethical Considerations

• The capacity for animals to feel pain
• The moral implications of using animals for cosmetics
• Arguments against the mistreatment of animals for human benefit

Alternatives to Animal Testing

• The availability of non-animal methods for testing cosmetics
• Challenges posed by countries with mandatory animal testing laws

Call to Action

• Encouraging consumers to support cruelty-free cosmetics
• Advocating for changes in laws and regulations regarding animal testing in the cosmetic industry

8th Grade Argumentative Essay Example

Cruelty Free Makeup: A Moral Positivity

So many people do not realize how many animals are killed each year in the cosmetic industries. Each year over 100 million animals are tested in the United States, and the numbers of the companies that do animal testing are increasing; Alternatively, many have teamed up together aiming to stop animal testing as well. Many people believe that animal testing might allow us to provide new products, however animal testing for cosmetic should be banned because animals have different anatomy than a human’s body, and animals can feel pain when we put them through these tests, but the most important part is that we do not need to sacrifice animals’ lives for something unnecessary such as makeup when there are alternatives for developing cruelty-free makeup.

Researchers believe that animal testing allows them to collect data which will bring improvements in people’s lives. Without animal testing we might not have the treatments, and cures that we have today. This is not to say I agree with using animals in order to improve our lives, but rather disagreeing with the fact that animals are not here for us to use them as objects for research. Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interested to know that in many cases cures have been developed only for animals, and this shows that these testing are not so beneficial either.

Animals do share some similar genetics, but they do have different anatomy that could make animal testing not so affective. Due to these issues many test result cannot be accurate. Helen Martson the author of “Is Animal Testing Necessary Advance Medical Research?” claims in her article that, “The human body–indeed most living systems–is extremely complex. This complexity and intricacy is precisely why animals are not good models for human medicine. “Humans differ from other animals are not good models for human medicine” (Marston). The data from the testing are not reliable because we are not actually testing on the human body. There are many examples that show how products that were developed through animal testing were not affective. In her argument, she gives an example where she says that, “Medical advances should be weighed up against the delays and tragedies caused by reliance on animal experiments–the thalidomide disaster whereby tens of thousands of children were born with severe deformities not predicted in animal tests” (Marston). There have been cases where these experiments were not affective for humans, and testing on animals may not have the same result when tested on the human body. Therefore, testing on animals that gives you inaccurate results are unnecessary, and for the sake of animals should be abolished.

If we are able to feel pain, animals are not any different, and when animal testing is done to them, we treat them like they cannot feel pain like we do. As Giorgia Della Rocca the author of “Diagnosis of Pain in Small Companion Animals” asserts in her article, “Animals are able to experience pain in a similar way to humans. Acute and/or chronic pain is associated not only with many surgical procedures, but also with various medical diseases, where pain may increase morbidity and mortality” (Rocca 58). In so many companies animals do not receive any pain medication and different chemicals are injected into animal’s eyes or rubbed on their shaved skin. I am sure that many of us would not use any make up if we saw how animals are treated in the process of making cosmetics every day. Animals can feel pain just the way we feel pain. Would you do such horrible action just to get that mascara that gives you the longest lashes? I hope not, and I wish that many of us would stick to the cruelty-free makeup products.

We are sacrificing animals for our own benefits. What have animals done to us that we take their lives like that? For example, in the book Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat Linda, an English professor whose writings focus on inequality and oppression satates that “I do not believe that the lives of human beings are more valuable than the lives of other animals. But mice?” (Hezorg 234). Many of us would agree that mice are disgusting, and we would kill them if we found them in our house, despite I disagree that animals have the right to live freely in their natural habitat. It is just wrong to raise them, and do all sorts of procedures on them, causing them to die or just simply kill them. They were not definitely created for that life, and we need to do everything to stop these actions. There are many cosmetic companies that are cruelty free, and if they are able to make their products without testing animals, I do not see any reason why any other company should continue animal testing.

There are tons of makeup companies that do not use animal testing for their products. There are alternatives for makeup ingredients that could bring an end to animal testing. As Rachel Hajar says in her article, “Although many key questions can still only be answered by animal studies, non-animal methods now account for 90% of medical research” (Hajar). Animal studies are not necessary in the cosmetic industries, and if we are able to find non-animal methods in medical research I am sure that we can find ways to stop animal testing for make up as well. For instance, we are able to manufacture products that have natural ingredients in them, which are always safe to use. Also, since we have so many results from these tests, we are able to distinguish what chemicals are safe to use, therefore, there is no need for us to do new tests every day.

By focusing on how we are able to find alternatives for animal testing, Zhu overlooks a deeper problem of countries that are not able to do such thing such as China. As she states in her article, “China is one of the world’s largest beauty markets, but also one of the few countries where the law requires animal testing for cosmetics” (Liu). Although many countries have banned animal testing for cosmetic over the past decades, China is one of the countries that requires companies to show their result for animal testing to the government. With the law requiring you to do animal testing you are not capable of alternative options that are available to you, however I think if companies stopped selling their products in china or other countries they have the option of making cruelty free cosmetics. By doing this we are pressuring such countries to change these laws as well.

Everyone needs to take actions in order to stop companies from doing animal testing for their products. If we keep buying from such companies we are saying that it is right to continue doing what they are doing. Every dollar we spend on their products it is more profit for them, and they would never stop their animal testing. We need to create a better world where animals do not suffer for humans. From now on when you are buying cosmetic products please rethink your decision, and see if any animal were involved creating that product. With little things like checking if the company makes cruelty free make up we are able to bring an end to animal testing for cosmetics.

Works Cited

1. Hajar, R. (2011). Animal testing and medicine. Heart Views, 12(2), 42-44. https://doi.org/10.4103/1995-705X.86023
2. Hezorg, J. (2010). Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals. Harper.
3. Marston, H. (2006). Is animal testing necessary to advance medical research? BMJ, 332(7534), 649-650. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.332.7534.649
4. Rocca, G. D. (2017). Diagnosis of Pain in Small Companion Animals. In Pain in Animals (pp. 55-77). Springer.
5. Monamy, V. (2010). Animal Experimentation: A Guide to the Issues. Cambridge University Press.
6. Olfert, E. D., & Cross, B. M. (2010). Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals. Wiley-Blackwell.
7. Taylor, K., & Gordon, N. (2012). Reducing the use of laboratory animals in the biomedical sciences: Problems and possible solutions. Alternatives to Laboratory Animals, 40(5), 269-277.
8. Linzey, A. (2009). Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
9. Regan, T. (2004). The Case for Animal Rights (Updated Edition). University of California Press.
10. PETA. (n.d.). Companies that don't test on animals. https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/beauty-brands-that-you-thought-were-cruelty-free-but-arent/