These days there is an ongoing debate over whether there is still a need for excluding animals for humans, essentials such as food, clothing, and medicine. Given such a controversial theme, I advocate for a balanced approach, implying the need for using animals in medicine and food, but not in clothing.
Proponents of veganism assert that with the development of food industry there is already no inherent necessity to consume animals meat as there are now alternatives, predominantly plant-based ones, which can supply with the same protein and nutrients found in meat. While it is true, that proteins and particular elements can be found in , for instance, beans ,which are highly preferred by vegans the opinion that they can totally substitute nutritional value of beef is highly exaggerated. To explain, beef contains not only proteins, but also micro and macro elements such as iron, positively influencing our blood, and reducing the likelihood of anaemia – a condition, where people experience the lack of blood, which later precipitates comorbidity. Likewise, the use of animals in pharmaceutical sphere is still imperative and unprecedented. Initially , Guinea pigs were used since they have bodies inherently similar to humans, so if testing a newly developed medicament has a negative impact on rats, causing deviations or even fatalities, those drugs would never be applied on humans, thus saving millions of lives. Plants or other artificially built models are not suitable for such tests as there would still be an immense discrepancy between humans and synthetic models organisms, including organs cells, hormones, and immune systems. Such experiment have a higher predilection to yield many deadly aftermath.
Notwithstanding the need to use animals for consumption and medicine, utilizing animals for fashion industry cannot be equated here. While the former is vital for humans’ lives, the latter is no more but a matter of personal desire to impress others or indicate wealthiness, which should in no way be prioritized over sufferings of a living creature, since it is unethical. In addition, while cattle, mainly used for food production, and rats along with rabbits, harnessed in medicine, have faster breeding ability, thereby not undermining their population, rare species, including fox for fur and crocodiles for leather, have significantly lower breeding speed and poaching can only exacerbate the situation by diminishing their numbers.
To conclude, while the use of animals for food and pharmaceutics can be justified, there is no necessity to harness animals for attire and accessories, as it is unethical to prioritize personal desires, not related to own vitality, over someone’s life. Furthermore, some synthetic fabrics can be easily used today, having exponential resemblance to the real ones and, in addition, keeping rare species alive, without taking a toll on the world’s fauna.