Johnson & Johnson: Animal Testing

I have been a big fan of the Johnson & Johnson company for quite a while now because I use many of their products on a daily basis and that I really enjoy…until recently. Johnson & Johnson is a New Jersey based company that operates 250 companies in over 60 countries. Johnson & Johnson owns companies such as Clean & Clear, Aveeno, Listerine, Rogaine, along with several baby product companies, Skin and Hair Care Companies, over the counter and prescription companies and several others (Click here for a more extensive list). Like I said before, I use many of J&J;’s products but recently I found out that the company did animal testing which I try to avoid supporting as much as possible.

Animal testing has been an issue for many years. It’s estimated that over 100 million animals are tested annually worldwide. A majority of animals are euthanized after being used in experiments. The sources of most laboratory animals vary from country to country and from species to species; even though most animals are purpose-bred, many others unfortunately may be caught in the wild or supplied by dealers who obtain them from various auctions and pounds.

Splenda is the brand name for Sucralose, an artificial sweetener manufactured by McNeil Specialty Products, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. In the year of 2000, many reports by Permagon Press published the details of animal testing for Sucralose. These specific experiments were particularly brutal tests that were performed on dogs, monkeys, rabbits, mice and rats. Over 12,800 animals died at HLS because of these cruel experiments. The main objective was to observe the effects of excessive doses of sucralose on the animals’ nervous system. Despite the evidence that was already on the table of the heath dangers of sucralose, it is still available for consumption.

It was said that the profitable money maker British Sugar Giant Tate and Lyle funded the research. Several thousand animals including beagles, monkeys, rodents and rabbits were poisoned and killed in many different ways for the study that lasted 20 years on Sucralose (known as Splenda in the U.S.). Specifically, 32 beagles were locked up in metal kennel cages for a 1 year period in the McNeil Specialty Products Laboratories. While the studies were performed in the New Jersey location, the dogs had Sucralose mixed in with the dog food they were given on a daily basis. While they were feeding them the Sucralose and dog food mix, blood and urine samples were collected on a daily basis. Once the study was finished, the dogs were anaesthetized and had their throats slit open to bleed to death. They were then dissected to examine the toxicity levels in their organs. According to a report that was published in Food and Chemical Toxicology:

“Dogs were killed after 52 weeks of treatment by exsanguinations (draining of blood) while under anesthesia and examined.” See also Splenda: Sadistically Sweet.

It can be difficult to find companies that have actually have genuine cruelty-free testing policies. So many companies make countless misleading claims that are clearly designed to trick the average consumer into buying their products even though it is immoral. You can see How to Spot an Animal Testing Company for a guide to find companies that are cruelty free. If you go to http://www.uncaged.co.uk/crueltyfree.htm you can learn more about companies that are cruelty free.