Oh I absolutely agree that it is extremely stupid that industry is allowed to move faster than what toxicologist can research. It makes me very angry but if I start telling people this I just get called a leftist nut. Everyone assumes that someone is making sure they’re safe. Well I sat in those people’s classes for six years and they do not get enough funding to live up to the publics expectation. Part of me thinks that’s by design, because poorly funded toxicology research is big businesess’ wet dream.
Regardless of how much you and I might want it to be different that’s not how it is right now and there are problems that need to be solved right now. It’s not an either, or, that’s a false dichotomy. Abandoning current toxicology research in order to prioritize advancing research methods means that until those research methods have matured, industry would have an opportunity to go without scrutiny. It’s bad enough nowadays when there is barely enough funding to pay attention, imagine a decade where no one is paying attention to the new things industry comes up with while those methods are developed.
I don’t like animal testing, none of my professors did either. Who do you think taught me to respect and understand why we test on animals. Some of them were doing research into new methods like you described, others were testing new chemicals with established methods. It isn’t a dichotomy, at least in-so-far-as toxicology research is concerned. I don’t have any experience in pharmacology or cosmetics.
This is a problem that needs to be solved right now, or as soon as possible.
As for letting businesses run rampant without testing or scrutiny, who says they’d be allowed to do new things? We don’t have to let them do whatever they want. Just put a pause on introducing new potentially toxic shit into our water and food and air etc.
But that would hurt the money’s feelings, so it won’t happen. Obviously.
If it were only as easy as flipping a switch. I wish I could be as idealistic as you are right now, I used to be. Part of my journey fighting injustice how I think I best can has been to learn how to hold my idealisms hand and let that lead me. Rather than listen to it’s endless screaming. If I didn’t I would have burnt out long ago.
I guess I just want you to understand that the people I’m speaking for, most of my former professors and my colleagues, share your concerns and are trying. They’re trying to stop testing on animals, they’re trying to stop industry from running ahead of them, they’re trying to protect the environment just as much as humans.
There is so much working against my professors from developing it, to myself and my colleagues trying to enforce the regulations proposed. In this system we need funding and government support to do any of that which we just don’t have. The only ones with enough money to do that are the ones who have the most to lose from us doing our jobs. So it just doesn’t happen.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I understand nothing I’m talking about is something that will realistically happen. I’m hardly idealistic about that.
My only point is that it’s something we, as a society, could choose to do. We simply choose not to, and choose instead to let business interests get away with everything.
It’s a question of political will, not technical feasibility.
Oh I absolutely agree that it is extremely stupid that industry is allowed to move faster than what toxicologist can research. It makes me very angry but if I start telling people this I just get called a leftist nut. Everyone assumes that someone is making sure they’re safe. Well I sat in those people’s classes for six years and they do not get enough funding to live up to the publics expectation. Part of me thinks that’s by design, because poorly funded toxicology research is big businesess’ wet dream.
Regardless of how much you and I might want it to be different that’s not how it is right now and there are problems that need to be solved right now. It’s not an either, or, that’s a false dichotomy. Abandoning current toxicology research in order to prioritize advancing research methods means that until those research methods have matured, industry would have an opportunity to go without scrutiny. It’s bad enough nowadays when there is barely enough funding to pay attention, imagine a decade where no one is paying attention to the new things industry comes up with while those methods are developed.
I don’t like animal testing, none of my professors did either. Who do you think taught me to respect and understand why we test on animals. Some of them were doing research into new methods like you described, others were testing new chemicals with established methods. It isn’t a dichotomy, at least in-so-far-as toxicology research is concerned. I don’t have any experience in pharmacology or cosmetics.
This is a problem that needs to be solved right now, or as soon as possible.
As for letting businesses run rampant without testing or scrutiny, who says they’d be allowed to do new things? We don’t have to let them do whatever they want. Just put a pause on introducing new potentially toxic shit into our water and food and air etc.
But that would hurt the money’s feelings, so it won’t happen. Obviously.
If it were only as easy as flipping a switch. I wish I could be as idealistic as you are right now, I used to be. Part of my journey fighting injustice how I think I best can has been to learn how to hold my idealisms hand and let that lead me. Rather than listen to it’s endless screaming. If I didn’t I would have burnt out long ago.
I guess I just want you to understand that the people I’m speaking for, most of my former professors and my colleagues, share your concerns and are trying. They’re trying to stop testing on animals, they’re trying to stop industry from running ahead of them, they’re trying to protect the environment just as much as humans.
There is so much working against my professors from developing it, to myself and my colleagues trying to enforce the regulations proposed. In this system we need funding and government support to do any of that which we just don’t have. The only ones with enough money to do that are the ones who have the most to lose from us doing our jobs. So it just doesn’t happen.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I understand nothing I’m talking about is something that will realistically happen. I’m hardly idealistic about that.
My only point is that it’s something we, as a society, could choose to do. We simply choose not to, and choose instead to let business interests get away with everything.
It’s a question of political will, not technical feasibility.
It’s important to keep the true ideal end goal in view when working on incremental shifts towards it.