criticalthinkingpaper-4

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Critical Thinking Paper: Animal Cosmetic Testing

Rachel Martin

Red Group

3-19-16


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Rachel Martin

Red Group

3-19-16

OUTLINE DUE

Thesis Statement Worksheet

I. What is your thesis?

Because of the unnecessary torture of innocent animals, and the amount of alternate ways

of testing that have been discovered in the past few years, the government should follow the

steps of Europe and make animal testing illegal.

Test your thesis. Does your thesis:

____Make a claim with which a reader can agree or disagree?

____Include a call-to-action?

____Reflect knowledge of the source material?

____Pick out an idea that can be defended in the space allowed?

____Limit the kinds of evidence you can use to defend it?

III. What evidence, examples or arguments will you use to support your working thesis? You

should have at least three. What are your sources and annotate them here.

First argument: To test the eye and skin irritability of many cosmetic substances, products are

rubbed onto the shaved skin and dripped into the eyes of small animals. The consequences of

these tests can include blindness, swollen eyes, sore bleeding skin, internal bleeding and organ

damage, birth defects, convulsions and death.

Second argument: Over fifty alternative tests have been created in the past decade that could

replace animal testing, such as Using blood from human volunteers to test for the presence of

fever-causing contaminants in intravenous medicines can save hundreds of thousands of rabbits


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each year from traditional pyrogen tests and EpiSkin, EpiDerm and SkinEthiceach

composed of artificial human skin.

Third argument: (three arguments is the minimum number): As of 2009, the EU has banned

cosmetic animal testing and has begun using alternative methods, so why cant the United

States?

IV. What sources have you used so far to come up with these arguments? You must put these

in MLA style and annotate them below. Your Worksheet will be considered incomplete if

you do not do this.

1. MLA Citation: "About Cosmetics Animal Testing."Humane Society International. N.p., n.d.

Web.

1 Mar. 2016. .

Annotation here: I used this page to tell me consequences of animal testing on the animals

themselves.

2. MLA Citation: "Alternatives to Animal Testing." The Humane Society of The United States.N.p.,

n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2016. .

Annotation here: This site explained to me the many different alternatives there are to animal

testing.

3. MLA Citation: "EU bans sale of all animal-tested cosmetics."BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 1

Mar.2016. . Annotation here: This website

informed on the animal testing laws in other countries.

NOTE: I changed my thesis statement from my outline because one of my reasons changed.


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Red Group

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Because of the unnecessary torture of small animals, the genetic differences between

humans and animals, and the recent development of multiple alternative methods of testing, the

Animal Welfare Act (AWA) should be amended to make cosmetic animal testing illegal,

altogether.

To a mother, buying her daughter her first bottle of mascara, her first tube of concealer,

or her first blush pallette represents a rite of passage into adulthood and moment that the mother

will never forget. However, before arriving at the store to be sold in neat little packages, those

makeup products were being used to torture and permanently scar small animals. Approximately

100,000 to 200,000 animals undergo painful testing by scientists wishing to test whether

cosmetics from around the world cause,skin sensitization, skin irritation, eye irritation, acute

oral toxicity, acute dermal toxicity, acute inhalation toxicity, reproductive/developmental screen

(HumaneSociety.org). The procedures of these tests can range from painlessly rubbing vaseline

on the shaved skin of a rabbit to painfully dropping nearly acidic drops of shampoo into a

rabbits eyeball. Note that all animals are killed after being used in these tests.

Extremely popular cosmetic brands that almost every woman uses or has heard of, test

their products on animals. MAC cosmetics was recently removed from the cruelty free list by the

people for the ethical treatment of animals (PETA). MAC is one the worlds most popular

makeup brands with its vibrant lipsticks and eyeshadows but MAC is just another makeup

company contributing to the torture and killing of thousands of small animals. Another company

that uses animal testing is Dove. Dove shampoos and conditioners are sold in 54 countries and in

almost every drug store. While plenty of women have beautifully clean and healthy hair, Dove is


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on PETAs list of companies that use animal testing. Finally Aveeno, one of the worlds largest

producers of lotion is also on PETAs list. During the cold winter months, one might want to

slather on a layer of lotion to battle dry skin, while a scared animal cowers in a cage and is

forced to consume that same lotion to test how its body will react.

Concerns for the housing of animals have come up which have led to Congress passing

the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), the only Federal law in the United States that regulates the

treatment of animals in research, exhibition, transport, and by dealers (USDA.gov). The AWA

was originally passed in 1966, but has been amended often after that. The AWA has regulations

for the housing and treatment of animals such as,

For indoor housing of animals, regulations

specify minimum and maximum temperatures, lighting, and ventilation Animals kept outdoors

must be sheltered from the elements Animals must be offered food and clean water regularly . . .

Circuses must not use deprivation of food and water or any kind of physical abuse for training

purposes . . . (and) review research proposals to minimize discomfort, distress, and pain to the

animals (About.com). The AWA is enforced in all facilities that sell, test, breed, or publicly

exhibit animals. While this act did make animal fighting and certain animal testing illegal, it has

been criticized for not covering all aspects of the issue that it should.

The biggest criticism that the AWA has encountered is that the act excludes birds, rats,

mice used in research . . . (as well as) reptiles amphibians fish and invertebrates

(About.com). Although not related to cosmetic testing, it is necessary to know that the act also

excludes livestock, which leads to the exclusion of farm animals. No laws exist today that have

any regulations regarding the treatment and housing of animals raised specifically for food. The

AWAs regulations for marine animals have been criticized for being insufficient since the


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smallest a tank for porpoises and dolphins can be is 24 feet long and 6 feet deep. In the wild,

marine mammals are used to swimming thousands of feet deep into the open ocean. Finally, the

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which is the committee which enforces

the AWA, includes people who are affiliated with the organizations that are being reviewed for

animal neglect, therefore a great deal of corruption occurs in the process of checking animal

holding and processing facilities for their safety.

There are 13 types of animal testing that the The Humane Society of the United States

has identified as the most common tests in the country. The Humane Society has also stated that

Pain relief is rarely provided and the animals used are always killed at the end of each test.

External experiments test how much irritation, corrosiveness, and toxicity that a product can

have on the animal after being applied to the animals skin for predetermined periods of time.

Depending on the specific experiment, the product can cause varying levels of redness, ulcers,

scaling, inflammation, itchiness . . . rash, lesions . . . and/or other signs of damage

(HumaneSociety.org).While these effects can put the animal under a moderate level of distress,

they are nothing compared to the internal tests that are forced upon these small animals.

Internal tests check the oral, inhalation, repeat dose, subchronic dose, carcinogenicity,

reproductive and developmental toxicity of certain products by forcing animals to eat, inhale,

and be exposed to substances that can greatly damage their internal organs. To test for the acute

oral toxicity of a product, The test substance is forced down a rats throat using a feeding tube.

She may experience diarrhea, convulsions, bleeding from the mouth, seizures, paralysis, and/or

death(HumaneSociety.org). The results of this test will determine how much of the substance

can be swallowed before death occurs. At least half of the rats must die before getting the final


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results. To test for birth defects by certain products, A pregnant female is exposed, usually by

force-feeding, starting at the initiation of pregnancy and continuing throughout the pregnancy.

She is then killed on the day before she is expected to give birth. Her pups are extracted and

evaluated for signs of developmental abnormalities (HumaneSociety.org). This test would be

necessary if it were testing medication that humans needed to survive, but its actually a cosmetic

product. Companies are inseminating and then killing the mothers of certain animals for testing.

If these tests were to be administered on humans, it would be considered torture.

Testing on animals often makes no sense considering that animals like rabbits and mice

are nothing like human beings. Why should an organism that is molecularly constructed

differently be used to study a human bodys reaction to certain substances Animals have

proven to be poor models for human disease research. Because they are genetically different

from humans, studying diseases in animals can give us inadequate or erroneous information.

(Neavs.org). Animals are therefore not subjects that will give one hundred percent accurate

results on how the human body will react to certain cosmetic products.

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Act FD&C) prohibits adulteration, which

refers to violations involving product composition (FDA.gov), in the manufacturing of

cosmetics. Act FD&C clearly states that a company will be found guilty of adulteration if its

product contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to users

under the conditions of use prescribed in the labeling thereof, or under conditions of use as are

customary and usual" (FDA.gov). Animal testing may be the least expensive method to test a

products composition and side effects, but it is certainly not the only method. The Bovine

Corneal Opacity and Permeability uses cornea tissue, a slaughterhouse byproduct, in place of


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live rabbits. The tissue is treated with a sample chemical and then light is transmitted through it.

An undamaged cornea remains virtually transparent, whereas those affected by a test substance

will appear opaque. The cornea is also tested to see if a fluorescent compound is able to permeate

the tissue. These measurements determine the level of irritation (Friendsofanimals.gov) This

test could completely replace The Draize Eye Test, created in 1944, which consists of dropping

different chemicals into the eyes of animals, usually rabbits. Scientists have also found a way

reduce the use of animals in cosmetic tests by grow(ing) two- or three-dimensional models

made up of one or many kinds of human cells, which are then used to test chemicals for toxicity.

For example, a few human skin cells can be grown into skin tissue which is very useful for

assessing the potential skin irritation potential of a chemical (PCRM.org). By using this method

hundreds of animals could be saved without any chance of incorrect results since actual human

skin is being tested on. The AWA does in fact state that all alternative methods should be

considered before the commencement of the test, and hopefully, in the near future, no animal

testing will even be considered.

As time goes on, technology and methods of research continue to improve. Because of

the rapidly developing world around us, conventional laws created over fifty years ago are

having to be rethought and enacted differently, for example the Agricultural Marketing Act of

1946, which was amended on November 22, 2000. If Congress amended the Animal Welfare Act

to make animal cosmetic testing illegal, thousands of animals would be spared from unnecessary

pain and suffering. Testing animals solely for human vanity is unneeded and unethical. One

might say that looking good is a major part of living, but its not worth taking anothers life.


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Works Cited

- "Cosmetic Tests That Use Animals." The Humane Society of The United States.

N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

- Animal Welfare Act and Regulations." United States Department of Agriculture,

National Agricultural Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

- Overview of the Animal Welfare Act."About News. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

- "Biomedical Research."Neavs, Since 1895. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

- FDA Authority over Cosmetics."FDA. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

- "Cosmetic Testing and Non-Animal Alternative Methods."Friends of Animals. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

- "NonAnimal Teting Methods."Physicians Committee. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
http://www.pcrm.org/research/animaltestalt/tailtox/nonanimal-testing-methodshttp://www.friendsofanimals.org/magazine/http://www.neavs.org/research/biomedicalhttp://animalrights.about.com/od/animallaw/a/AnimalWelfareAct.htm


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Annotated Bibliography

- "Animal Welfare Act and Regulations." United States Department of Agriculture,

National Agricultural Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

. This site provided me with information about the

Animal Welfare Act that I needed to complete my paper. This website is

owned by the government and is therefore one hundred percent reliable.

- "Biomedical Research."Neavs, Since 1895. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

. This site helped find a

quote that worked perfectly with the reason I was trying to convey. This is

an organization owned website which isn't as reliable as a government owned

website, but it's better than a commercially owned website.

- "Cosmetic Testing and Non-Animal Alternative Methods."Friends of Animals. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. . This

site provided me with specific types of alternative methods besides animal

testing in cosmetic testing. It is organization owned website and is

therefore reliable.

- "Cosmetic Tests That Use Animals." The Humane Society of The United States.

N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. . I used this

website in a large portion of my paper because it explained in detail

specific types of tests administered on animals and what those tests are

testing for. The Humane Society is a well-known animal shelter that is


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extremely trustworthy when it comes to animals.

- "FDA Authority over Cosmetics."FDA. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

. This site helped me better understand a specific aspect

of the Animal Welfare Act that was crucial in explaining my third argument.

The FDA is a part of the government and can therefore be considered

reliable.

- "NonAnimal Teting Methods."Physicians Committee. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

. This site helped me understand another

alternative method that could replace animal testing in all of cosmetic

testing. This site is owned by an organization and can therefore be

trusted.

- "Overview of the Animal Welfare Act."About News. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

.

This site helped me understand the Animal Welfare Act without actually

having to read the act itself, which would have taken a really long time.

This is a commercially owned website but from the looks of it , the website

seems fairly reliable.

- "About Animal Cosmetics Testing." The Humane Society International. N.p., n.d.

Web. 20 Mar. 2016. . This site gave me an overview of

what animal cosmetics testing is like around the world and was very helpful

to read before doing any research for my paper because it provided me


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insight on what I should be looking for. The Humane Society is a well known

animal shelter and is very reliable.

- "MAC Cosmetics Is No Longer Cruelty Free."Logical Harmony. N.p., n.d. Web. 20

Mar. 2016. . This site gave

me information on how MAC has recently been taken off of PETA's list of

company that don't use animal testing.

- "Shipping."Dove. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. . This

website told me how many countries sell Dove hair care products which are

being tested on animals.


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