Animal-Testing: Is it worth it?

Unfortunately in today's day and age, most things we use are a result of some kind of inhumane act. The food we eat, the leather we wear and the products we use are a result of cruelty inflicted on animals so that the dominant human can benefit. Although many people are aware of the cruelty inflicted on animals for food and clothing purposes, many are ignorant to animal-tested products like cosmetics and household items. 
 A few months ago I was online shopping for makeup and I saw a brand that said that it was "cruelty-free." At first, I wasn't sure was this meant. After some research, I discovered what not being "cruelty- free" consisted of. I saw hundreds of gruesome pictures of rabbits, mice, and other animals being poked with needles, their eyes burning and swelling. Their fur is shaved and chemicals invade their bare skin. And after the results of the experiment are recorded, the animal is killed. At first I tried to justify these actions. I thought, "they're doing this for my safety." But my justification proved to be useless because I could not help but cry. I felt so guilty because I had been buying animal-tested products for years. Before discovering this, I was blissfully unaware of the cruelty that was behind the mascara I was wearing. I realized that I had never heard about these actions because the media rarely covers stories about animal-testing because sharing these stories could result in multi-million dollar companies loosing millions of dollars. 

The photo above is simply a fraction of the companies that test on animals. Hundreds and thousands of companies test on animals to make a large profit, at the expense of innocent creatures. While one group suffers pain and cruelty, another dominant group benefits and profits because of the work of others. Needless to say, I no longer purchase animal-tested products and I try to spread the importance of buying cruelty-free products to others that are unaware.