Is it morally OK to test cosmetics on animals?

No

1 of 72

by Teresa Weimer

• 

Write now Print Invite a writer™ Add to Favorites RSS Feed Contact this writer

Is it morally OK to test cosmetics on animals?

To me the question of morality as it relates to animal testing delves far deeper than its razor thin surface and reaches into the core of human perception. Animals feel pain and sense fear based on their awareness of life and their instincts for survival. Animal suffering isn't any less traumatic or less intense than human suffering since our will to survive is the same. An autistic child doesn't experience pain or fear to a lesser degree than a fully functioning child with strong mental agility simply because their level of intelligence differs.

People choose to believe animal pain is less significant as a means of justifying the inhumane things we do to them to absolve us from guilt. Is the morality of animal testing based on the fundamental principles of right and wrong or is it really a question of our attitude based on the human perception of superiority combined with our indifference to a life that is not our own? If using animals for experimental testing was simply a matter of right and wrong, then the question wouldn't need to be asked. It's wrong on every level, but we choose to be ambivalent in order to continue serving our own purposes.

Humans as the dominant race are the planet's primary keepers. We frequently abuse our power over other life forms because we can. The human attitude is one of elite supremacy as we regard ourselves masters of the planet rather than its humble nurturers. We do not consider ourselves as the blessed care takers of earth's vast fortune of resources instead we are conquerors squandering its treasures. Does our intelligence make us incapable of true compassion for anyone but ourselves? It's sad that as a race we are often frivolous and wasteful rather than grateful or appreciative.

Is our indifference to the pain and suffering of lab animals any different than our past indifference toward Native American Indians? It was the superior attitude of a people that decided another race of people was less important once they decided that their own needs were greater. Do we feel the same way about testing eyeliner in the eyes of our family pets? Lab animals and house pets feel the same pain yet it is our regard for them that makes a difference just as human regard once made Jewish children less human in the eyes of Nazi Germany.

Even when there is no threat to our power we can create one in order to justify our needs while diminishing those of others. We claim to be civil and moral yet we often behave like self indulgent robots wrapped in our own bubble of ignorance using our intelligence to promote our beliefs abusing whatever we want in the process. Cosmetic testing is superficial at best since it has no value in terms of human preservation and serves no greater good from the human race. We're not talking about animal testing to cure cancer or save lives; we're talking about shaving rabbits to burn their skin so wealthy celebrities can look younger longer while business turns a profit.

Isn't a better question is it OK to torture, abuse, mistreat and kill animals for superficial things such as wanting to look or smell better? Humans are the only living beings that destroy and abuse other forms of life for purposes outside of a genuine need for survival. We are the biggest offenders of abusing the earth's resources yet we are quick to hunt for sport once we've decided another species has overpopulated. So who decides if or when the human race is overpopulated, God? How would we feel if God executed such an order with total disregard for human pain and suffering? What if he decided to experiment on us to see if he could make the planet look or smell better? Would our opinions change once the power had shifted? We should be thankful that the only thing more powerful than the human race has more compassion than it does too. We should also be glad we are not valued with the same indifference we have for beings less powerful than ourselves.

Our abuse is often disguised behind our attitudes of inflated human importance. Cosmetic testing isn't based on a human need for survival it's a misuse of power driven by false bravado and ruled by the almighty dollar. Is it right that we torture animals for human cosmetic experiment? I suppose that depends on who you ask. If you were to ask the CEO of Proctor and Gamble or L'Oreal they might justify animal testing based on a need for continued business, but business is not humane nor is it moral or ethical. Business does not operate based on conscience it operates based on profit.

If you approach a woman in a pharmacy offering a free mascara she would likely accept it without hesitation and respond with gratitude. If you then told her that 600,000 rabbits died last year to produce that mascara and ask if she still wants it, how do you think she might reply? If the reality was printed on the label it would be difficult to give the product away since people have a conscience where business doesn't. Most women would likely forgo longer eyelashes or buy fake if they had to work in the labs where the animals were being tested. Yet we continue to turn a blind eye pretending it does exist so that we can have what we want without a fear of conscience.

We should be embarrassed by some of our petty priorities and the toll they take on our planet, its animals and its resources. Physical strength; superior intelligence and a lack of any formidable predators have enabled us to make choices on how we treat other living things. It is our misuse of power and intelligence that allows us to harm for the benefit of beauty. If we lived in fear like the animals we test we would not have time to worry about the glow of our skin. I'm glad that at least the vast majority of people fear God; otherwise we would have nothing to fear but each other. Will we ever stop abusing our power and choose instead to embrace it for the greater good of all beings not just ourselves? Now there's a good question.

Learn more about this author, Teresa Weimer.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.