Quote:
Originally Posted by Fledchen
I wasn't expecting there to be quite so much content about stuff done to living people and other animals. I was hoping for a book about research done with dead human bodies (which would not have upset me) but there was a lot of stuff about live human and non-human animal testing (which was upsetting). It seemed like a bait-and-switch.
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I find myself agreeing; I haven't finished the book yet, but Roach explained early on that she wasn't being disrepectful to the dead humans - yet she seems unnecessarily flippant about the suffering of live non-humans in research.
lene1949 says testing on non-humans is necessary; without wishing to turn this discussion into a debate on that thorny issue - I'd just like to say I disagree with that view.
Added: Finished the book and found it a very interesting read. I was surprised that the section on cannibalism implied it was a practice remote from us, Christian communion rituals (consuming the body and blood of Christ) are a normal part of many people's lives. Also, Roach's slightly sniffy attitude to environmental issues has dated horribly in the relatively few years since publication. But overall I thought it a good read; even though I have a different outlook to the author's in many respects.
It was a shame she didn't like the idea of being eaten by crabs; I think I'd quite like to end up as a meal for fellow creatures - Tibetan sky burials seem quite appealing.