Going the extra mile towards kindness to animals

In my public talks, I am sometimes asked about vegetarianism and whether it is a necessary practice if one professes to be an animal-lover. There is no right or wrong answer to this. It is all up to one’s own conscience and personal interpretation. However, I have learnt that when it comes to food and matters involving the tongue, it often becomes a highly sensitive issue and it touches a raw nerve in some people. That is why I’ve long adopted a moderate stand – just eat less meat if you do not want to be part of that chain from the factory farm to the slaughterhouse, the market and our cooking pot. That would be more doable and more easily accepted.

This article (http://www.care2.com/causes/animals-helped-make-your-medicine-what-can-a-vegan-do-2.html) brings the discussion to another level, ie. there is animal in our medicines. It talks not only about animal derivatives in our medicines but also about animal-testing.

If you’d like to go that extra mile towards not contributing to the industry of animal-testing, the article might be of interest to you.

Here is an excerpt:

We are dependent on animals for many products that we rely for our health. But if you are vegan and prefer to avoid using any products that involved animal testing, what can you do?

As the U.K.-based Vegan Society observes,

…we live in an imperfect world. … In The Vegan Society’s Memorandum of Association, veganism is used to denote a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude- as far as possible and practicable– all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to animals. You yourself know best what your own particular situation is, what efforts you can make and what possible and practicable means for you.

While it is very likely impossible to have truly vegan medication, there are ways to minimize this, says VeganWoman.com, noting that you should take medications if not doing so would endanger your health. But you can eat healthfully (avoiding processed foods and animal products in your diet), exercise and do all that you can to maintain your health.

The use of animals in manufacturing medicine poses an ethical quandary for anyone who chooses not to eat meat and prefers to avoid using animal products. But it is also a wake-up call about how intertwined animals are in everyone’s life in ways we are not even thinking of. Certainly, it’s a huge motivation to advocate for researchers to develop alternatives to animal testing, such as using cell and tissue cultures and computer modeling, and all the more reason to campaign for humane treatment of animals in any and all settings.

Kudos to the “alternatives”! Hopefully one day, we will see the end of animal-testing.

Little by little, we minimise cruelty to animals.