Woman Chooses Torture To Raise Awareness About Something Important

She was tortured in a high street shop window as onlookers watched in horror. This is one of many examples of performance artists going to great lengths to raise awareness about an important issue — one that has been changing for the better as a result of people raising awareness and sharing this kind of information. She endured 10 hours of experiments, which also included (apart from what’s mentioned above) shaving her hair and having irritants squirted in her eye. This is part of a worldwide campaign by Lush cosmetics and The Humane Society. It took place in Lush’s Regent Street store, one of the UK’s busiest shopping streets. The tests performed include: forced chemical exposure, oral force feeding, skin and muscle injections, physical restraint, food and water deprivation, surgical procedures, and infliction of wounds and burns.

They also include manipulations to create animal models of human diseases such as cancer, strokes, and depression, among many others. I wrote an article earlier this year about this subject, some of which I am sharing below. As with many other issues, ranging from GMOs and pesticides to fluoride and much more, the collective voice of the world protesting animal testing has increased dramatically over the past few years. In March 2013, the European Union (EU) banned the sale of any cosmetics or cosmetic ingredients that have been tested on animals. This was huge. It meant that all companies around the world had to stop animal testing for cosmetics if they wanted to sell them in Europe.

The United States, however, is a different story. Companies still participate in animal testing for cosmetics despite the fact that non-animal tests are widely available. Can you believe that? As PETA reveals: Instead of measuring how long it takes a chemical to burn the cornea of a rabbit’s eye, manufacturers can now drop that chemical onto cornea-like 3D tissue structures produced from human cells. Likewise, human skin cultures can be grown and purchased for skin irritation testing. Read more here about these and dozens more non-animal tests currently in use that are faster and more accurate at predicting human reactions to a product than animal tests ever were. It’s not just these companies doing the testing, either. Many ‘environmental’ and ‘conservationist’ organizations use animal testing for numerous reasons. One example is the testing of chemicals and other harmful chemicals that are already known to be toxic. “Several well-known environmental groups are directly responsible for the creation of what have become the most massive animal testing programs in history.” (source) Things are changing. Although there are still organizations and scientists that participate in animal testing, the number of people refusing to do so continues to increase. Other options are widely available, making it simply ridiculous that animal testing has not already been banned all over the world. Here is a giant database of cruelty-free companies for you to check out. Related CE Article: It’s Time To Put An End To Animal Testing And Here’s How You Can Do It .

Read the full article at the original website

References:

• https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/cosmetic-household-products-animal-testing/
• https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/skin-irritation/
• https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/alternatives-animal-testing/
• http://www.peta.org/features/green-meanies/
• http://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-search/index.aspx