ARCO's Abolitionists - A Vegan Forum

Had a discussion with a colleague at work today in regards to animal testing & vivisection for beauty products & / or medicine etc. I explained that my veganism is not just about the food I do & do not eat but also a life style ie what I wear, how I behave, what products I buy. This was a red flag for this colleague. He wanted to bring me down, to find fault.

No I don't wear leather
No I don't eat honey
No I don't fish????
Yes my dogs are vegan
No I only use cruelty free products

Ok then....the cruelty free products I use contain products that probably once were tested on animals when they were first approved for human use. The company may not actually test the product but it has been tested on animals at some stage.

As we all know getting pushed into a corner is a regular occurance & I had to decide how I was going to come out fighting but I couldn't. He was right. Is it right for me to justify this or should I just admit yes it is true but out of my control.

Help me out here as this guy touched a nerve & I have been rattling all day.

We don't live in the past. We live in the present. We care for the animals living and dying in the labs now. So when you buy a cruelty free product, you do not give financial support to the exploitation.

I'm sorry to be getting to this only now; I'm not a great manager of time! I'm glad teddy bear responded with a good reply.

We're not looking for purity. We're just doing our best not to participate in animal exploitation. Buying a product from a company that has changed its policies so that it no longer relies on animal testing does NOT fund exploitation.

There are many medical procedures that were developed through testing on Jews by Nazis. Does your friend condemn the exploitation of Jews by Nazis? If so, will he refuse whatever procedures were developed in this manner?

Hope you're doing OK. Don't get too rattled.