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Product that require animal testing are becoming rarer and rarer. Why? Because it is now becoming sociably unacceptable to do frivolous testing on animals. Frivolous testing means testing things such as fingernail polish by putting it in the eyes of rabbits. Hopefully those days are long gone and will never return! What are some of the products that still involve animal testing?

Vaccines still require animal testing, especially in the development stage. This is because you can often develop cross reactions with other vaccines or even body parts that can be detected no other way. Some streptococcus bacteria have the same antigen as human heart tissue. Make the vaccine with those antigens present and you will prevent the illness, but can also cause the body to attack itself and slowly destroy the heart tissue! There are other complicating factors such as conflicts with other vaccines, and these cannot be determined by in vitro tests or using computers. The testing has to be on either animals or humans, and if it is an animal vaccine a human won't work!

Medicines are the same, most require animal testing, usually mostly in the developmental stage. With out the testing in animals, you can't detect "unknown factors". What are "unknown factors"? Things such as how a liver cancer drug effects the kidney or if a new brain cancer drug might interfere with nerves in the spine or feet. Computer and many tests can only work with what is known, not the unknown!

Then there is food and food additives that are still tested on animals. Again it is the unknown factors and often poisons that are being determined. There is a plant in the Caribbean and Africa, Leucena lephicephala that is 70% protein and an excellent balance of amino acids. Bacterial tests and such were done with no carcinogenic compounds or problems being detected, then it was fed to animals. Seems the protein destroyed the hair producing cells, all the animals became bald! They didn't get cold as it was the Caribbean, but they did get badly sunburned and were more likely to get skin cancer!

Products that involve animal testing, there are some and there always will be. Mainly for medical use and researching new food stuffs, both are essential for human and animal survival. We just need to take care that the animals are well treated and that is is only for things which can be tested no other way!

Learn more about this author, James Johnson.
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