Are there other ways to test chemical products beside animal testing?

Answer 1

Yes, click on the 'Centre for alternatives to animal testing' link further down this page. There are sophisticated, non-animal test methods available today, which range from cell and tissue cultures to computerized "structure-activity relationship" models.

Answer 2

Animal testing isn't the only way to prove that a product is safe and useable; alternatives have been produced to remove the mistreatment animals receive on a day to day agenda. * Synthetic skin called Corrositex * computer modeling * improved statistical design * The Murine Local Lymph Node Assay (LLNA) are just a few examples of the new technology created.

Answer 3

Alternatives for Testing Alternatives to the use of animals in toxicity testing include replacing animal tests with non-animal methods, as well as modifying animal-based tests to reduce the number of animals used and to minimize pain and distress. Non-animal tests are generally faster and less expensive than the animal tests they replace and improve upon. To date, several non-animal test methods have been formally validated and accepted by some countries as replacements for an existing animal test. Examples include: • An embryonic stem cell test, using mouse-derived cells to assess potential toxicity to developing embryos, has been validated as a partial replacement for birth-defect testing in rats and rabbits.(6) • The 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Phototoxicity Test, which uses cells grown in culture to assess the potential for sunlight-induced (“photo”) irritation to the skin. • Human skin model tests such as the validated EpiDerm™ test, which has been accepted almost universally as a total replacement for skin corrosion studies in rabbits.(7) • The use of human skin leftover from surgical procedures or donated cadavers can be used to measure the rate at which a chemical is able to penetrate the skin. • The use of a clinical patch test in human volunteers, which can confirm that a chemical will not cause irritation or allergic skin reactions.(8) For more detailed information about non-animal test methods that are available or under development, visit ECVAM.jrc.it and StopAnimalTests.com. This is, ultimately, a question of ethics. This ethical question is one that causes many to question what they think is "the right thing to do" and some may conclude that there is no alternitive to animal testing - some may conclude that the alternitive is not very nice! In the end, animal rights activists may not condone animal testing for the sake of human progress, but on an indivual and personal leverl, each and every one of us would know someone who would benift greatly from scientific progress made possible only by animal testing - people such as Peter Singer has discusses the ethics of animal testing, and animal rights in great deal. Singer basis his discussion around the fact that animals interests, wellbeing and consciousness should be taken into consideration and not completely ignored by people who would use them, eat them, exploit them and kill them for many reasons. As for your question - alternitives to testing on one living creature are obviously to test on another living creature - perhaps considering the animals cannot and do not volunteer themselves, the alternitive (ie human beings) can.

Answer 4

you could test on plants maybe.

testing on plants doesnt work because it isn't similar to human flesh, but animal testing is still wrong...scientists should test on objects that are similar...possibly tofu.

and others such as testing on computers too...

Answer 5

There is amazing software that has been developed, that can almost accurately predict the type of reaction that chemicals will have. A synthetic skin has also been invented. this is absolutely amazing, because even though it has no human or animal product in it, it behaves exactly the same way that human skin would when exposed to chemicals.

Answer 6

Using information I found on the Humane Society of the United States' web site I have come up with a list of alternatives to experimentation on animals. These alternative methods follow, what is being called, the "Three Rs" approach, this entails replacing animals in specific tests, (this is the ideal solution), or in the meantime, reducing the animal numbers in the scientific tests, or refining the tests to reduce suffering. Hopefully as the research into alternative methods progresses it scientists will be able to stop using animals in experiments entirely.

EPISKIN, Epi Derm and SkinEthics tests are being used to test for skin irritation and EPISKIN, EpiDerm, SkinEthic and Transcutaneous Electrical Resistance tests are being used to tesat for skin corrosion. 3T3 Neural Red Uptake is being used for phototoxicity tests. In vitro micronucleus test are being used in genetic toxicity tests. Colony forming unit granulocyte macrophage (CFU-GM) test for toxicity to the blood. There are 5 human blood-based tests for fever-inducing "pyrogens" in intravenous drugs. The "ELISA" chemical tests to measure the potency of human tetanus and erysipelas vaccines and the toxin binding inhibition (ToBI) test look into vaccine potency.

Answer 7

Revlon recently switched to testing on cells of plants, instead of animals, and it is just as knowledgeable.