DEBATE BIBLE Animal cruelty
DEBATE BIBLE
Animal cruelty: Animal testing and culture-bound traditions
Definitions
Animal Testing: Also known as animal experimentation, animal research and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study.
Culture-bound Traditions: Traditions from different countries that has to do with animals and culture. For example, offering animals to the gods.
Issues
Animal Testing
Testing Cosmetics and Household Products on Animals
In a huge victory for animals, the European Union (EU), Israel, and India have banned the sale of any cosmetics or cosmetics ingredients that have been tested on animals. These marketing bans mean that companies all around the world will have to abandon animal testing for cosmetics they want to sell in these huge markets. The bans follow vigorous campaigning by PETA, its international affiliates, and members and supporters that included public protests, phone calls, and tens of thousands of e-mails.
The Body Shop is aiming to change that with their Forever Against Animal Testing campaign.
Studies have proven that animal testing correctly predicts human reaction to cosmetics only 40 to 60% of the time, while alternatives are accurate 80% of the time. Not only is animal testing inefficient, it’s also expensive. Yet, 80% of countries around the world still do not have laws against animal testing in cosmetics. The Body Shop is aiming to change that with their Forever Against Animal Testing campaign. Launched last June, they have since collected 4.1 million signatures, making it the biggest campaign for the cause in history. Once they reach their goal of 8 million, along with their campaign partner, Cruelty Free International, the leading nonprofit working to end animal experiments, they will present the petition to the United Nations to request an international convention to ban animal testing.
Millions of Animals Suffer and Die in Testing, Training, and Other Experiments
More than 100 million animals suffer and die in the U.S. every year in cruel chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics tests as well as in medical training exercises and curiosity-driven medical experiments at universities. Animals also suffer and die in classroom biology experiments and dissection, even though modern non-animal tests have repeatedly been shown to have more educational value, save teachers time, and save schools money. Exact numbers aren’t available because mice, rats, birds, and cold-blooded animals—who make up more than 99 percent of animals used in experiments—are not covered by even the minimal protections of the Animal Welfare Act and therefore go uncounted.
Culture-Bound Traditions
Cock Fight
Bull Fighting
Culture vs. Cruelty
Animal-welfare advocates say culture isn’t an excuse for cruelty. And local leaders take the politically expedient position of doing essentially nothing. After a string of legal and political victories for markets in San Francisco, where the war has raged hotter than anywhere else, one California legislator has introduced a bill which would, if passed, clearly define what constitutes animal cruelty in such markets. Although activists’ hopes have been buoyed by the Feb. 24 introduction of Assembly Bill 2479, the bill and the case against the markets still face some major hurdles — as does the vexed cause of protecting the market animals.
Animals as Entertainment
Since 1958, the World’s Largest Rattlesnake Round-Up, an event that benefits local charities, has been held in Sweetwater, Texas. It takes place annually around the first of March. The rattlesnakes are displayed for entertainment and most are “milked” to obtain venom to be used in the manufacture of anti venom vaccine. Events include a parade, the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant, snake-handling shows, brisket and chili cook-offs, and plenty of fried rattlesnake meat to snack on. Animal rights activists and environmentalists from all over the world have protested and criticized this event for many years. However, the event continues and the local rattlesnake population seems to be very little affected by this human tradition.
Animals in Religion
Most of the world’s religions recognize the importance of animals and the animal-human interaction. However, few major religions hold ceremonies to mark the birth or death of animals that are the equivalent of ceremonies marking the birth or death of humans.
Olympics brings focus on South Korea’s dog-meat culture
This year, nearly 500,000 people have signed a petition against the Winter Olympics. Animal-rights groups are even offering a VR experience of dog meat farms to raise awareness. Almost 70 percent of adult Koreans said they do not eat dog, according to a 2017 survey, which also said more than 80 percent of teens said the same. More than half of the respondents, who did not eat dog, said they liked dogs as pets.
Evidence
Animal Testing
An estimated 26 million animals are used every year in the United States for scientific and commercial testing.
It is estimated that 50 to 100 million vertebrate animals worldwide are used annually in animal testing.
This has been used since 500 BC
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) endorses animal testing.
95% of animals used in experiments are not protected by the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which excludes birds, rats and mice bred for research, and cold-blooded animals such as reptiles and most fish
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported in 2016 that 71,370 animals suffered pain during experiments while being given no anesthesia for relief, including 1,272 nonhuman primates, 5,771 rabbits, 24,566 guinea pigs, and 33,280 hamsters.
Some scientists and animal rights organizations, such as PETA and BUAV, question the legitimacy of it, arguing that it is cruel, poorly regulated and that medical progress is being held back by misleading animal models among other reasons.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8485. AN ACT TO PROMOTE ANIMAL WELFARE IN THE PHILIPPINES, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT OF 1998”
Japanese nationals, every year, kill about 300,000 domestic cats and dogs in cruel ways. Such as poisoning them, or suffocating them, or just other ruthless ways. Some people even randomly throw cats and dogs in the river as if they are trash. They find peace in killing animals, and it sucks.
Culture-Bound Traditions
Matthew 10:29-31 in the Christian New Testament. For Christians, humans may have a soul but God still considers the life of a sparrow important enough to take notice of its passing.
For Jews, If there is any indication that the animal suffered unnecessarily, it is considered unclean (unfit for human consumption). There are exceptions to this rule for medical research. The Polish rabbi Moses ben Israel Isserles (1525-1572) taught that anything necessary for medical or other useful purposes is excluded from the prohibition of cruelty to animals
The Qur’an is neutral on the subject of the consumption of meat. If animals are slaughtered for food, the slaughter must be done in strict accordance with Islamic law and in such a way as to cause as little pain as possible.
Sample motions and their corresponding arguments and counter-arguments
Animal Testing
Culture-bound traditions
Mental health: Stigma on anxiety, depression, and OCD
Definitions
Stigma on anxiety: It’s what mental health professionals call “social stigma.” Essentially, social stigma is the negative view that others can project onto people who reveal particular imperfections or problems.
Depression: Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.
OCD: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder that affects people of all ages and walks of life, and occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings.
Issues
Stigma on anxiety
‘Grief and anxiety are not mental illnesses’
The forthcoming edition of an American psychiatric manual will increase the number of people in the general population diagnosed with a mental illness – but what they need is help and understanding, not labels and medication.
1 in 5 college students have anxiety or depression.
Excessive social media use also fosters a certain competition between one’s real life and one’s virtual life. That is, a tug of war between being engrossed in posting experiences on social media, sending texts and taking selfies instead of enjoying the moment for what it’s worth.
Depression
– Bullying
– Suiciding
Social Media Causes Depression
A small study conducted in the United Kingdom showed that Instagram by far linked the most with cases of disturbed mental health followed by SnapChat. The common thing in both of the platforms is that they are focused on photos. The research showed that people who used both of the apps not only had exacerbated feelings of depression and anxiety but felt more lonely had self-esteem issues, faced bullying/shaming, and had trouble sleeping due to constant comparison with lives of other people on them.
Test Used to Diagnose Depression May Not Work on Black People, Study Finds
A recent study from the University of Chicago Press found that the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the test widely used to screen people for depression, is much more effective at determining the mental state of white people than people from other backgrounds — particularly young black people. Researchers found that black youth, especially those living in poverty, express their depression differently from other groups — and that signs and symptoms experienced by white people may not effectively be used to measure the mental health of other demographic groups. They also found that young black people are more likely to report physical or interpersonal symptoms of depression than ones based on feelings.
OCD
nOCD gets $1M seed round to help people with obsessive-compulsive disorder
nOCD is an app created to help people treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, will launch an Android version and add more features after raising a $1 million seed round from early-stage healthcare investment firm 7wire Ventures. The free app guides patients through exposure and response prevention (ERP) exercises, a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that is especially effective for OCD. ERP carefully exposes suffers to stimuli, including images or situations, that trigger their symptoms and then guides them through exercises to help them manage anxiety and compulsive behaviors.
Brain scan and artificial intelligence could help predict whether OCD will improve with treatment
Now, UCLA researchers have developed a way to use brain scans and machine learning — a form of artificial intelligence — to predict whether people with OCD will benefit from cognitive behavior therapy. The technique could help improve the overall success rate of cognitive behavioral therapy, and it could enable therapists to tailor treatment to each patient. Using a functional MRI machine, or fMRI, the researchers scanned the brains of 42 people with OCD, ages 18 to 60, before and after four weeks of intensive, daily cognitive behavioral therapy. Researchers specifically analyzed how different areas of the brain activate in sync with each other — a property called functional connectivity — during a period of rest. Functional MRI does this by measuring blood flow in the brain, which correlates with neurons’ activity levels.
Evidence
Stigma on anxiety
Some 15% of the population suffer from pathological anxiety, making it the most common of all psychiatric conditions (Costa E Silva, 1998).
Social stigma includes all tropes, stereotypes, and negative prejudices surrounding clinical anxiety that are held by society at large. When people with anxiety are casually dismissed as ‘crazy’, that’s social stigma talking.
A 2010 survey of adolescents with mental health disorders found that 46% reported experiencing unfair judgment from family members because of their disorders, while 62% reported experiencing the same stigmatization from their peers. Social stigma is harmful for those with anxiety and is a significant catalyst for self stigma.
Self stigma occurs when those who suffer from anxiety disorders turn the criticism inward. When sufferers think less of themselves because of their disorder and when they assume others will see them negatively because of their mental health, it’s a self-induced shame
15-20% of the population who are highly sensitive, intuitive and empathic.
Depression
This failure is particularly important since black people are more likely to report serious psychological distress than white adults.
According to Mental Health America, more than 6.8 million black Americans had a diagnosable mental illness in 2014.
OCD
On average, people are diagnosed with OCD when they are 19-years-old.
In the U.S. 1 in 40 adults and 1 in 100 children face OCD.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and medication are two ways of treating OCD.
Sample motions and their corresponding arguments and counter-arguments
Stigma on anxiety
Depression
OCD
Gender equality: Wage gap and gender roles
Definitions
Wage Gap: The gender wage gap is unadjusted and is defined as the difference between median earnings of men and women relative to median earnings of men. Data refer to full-time employees and to self-employed.
Gender Roles: A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their actual or perceived sex or sexuality.
Issues
Wage Gap
-Discrimination: the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.
-77 cent myth: President Obama claimed that women earn 77 cents to a man’s dollar, he worked to close this gap. Mr. Obama’s statement is quite possibly true, but it does not give us the whole picture. This intentionally misleading claim gives the appearance that women make less than men for the same work, which is simply not true.
What Iceland can teach the world about gender pay roles
‘Iceland has made it illegal to pay women less than men!’ crowed headlines in January, to a huge collective cheer and social media high-fives.
But the reality is, in most countries it’s already illegal to pay women less than men. From the Russian Federation to Rwanda, it’s against the law. Most nations (and not just in the workers’ paradise of Scandinavia) have had some form of existing anti-discrimination laws in place for decades.
Gender Roles
-Stereotypes
Evidences
Wage Gap
According to WEF calculations, an average gap of 32% (up from 31.7%) still remains and the reversal is being driven in part by declining gender equality in the workplace.
In addition to women almost always earning less than men with the same jobs, college degrees neither work to increase women’s salaries as fast as they do for men, nor do they ultimately erase the gender wage gap in general, according to an analysis from the Center for American Progress.
Women are now more likely to have college degrees than men, yet they still face a pay gap in every single education level, as the American Association of University Women (AAUW) noted in its study on the wage gap.
Male elementary school teachers — who only make up 18.3 percent of the profession — earn a weekly average of $1,096 compared to most of their female colleagues who earn a weekly average of $956, according to the American Community Survey, which examined 3.5 million households. In other words, women who teach elementary school students typically earn 87 percent of what men doing the same earn. In nursing — a field that is 90 percent female — the gap still exists; in 2013, the median annual income for male nurses was $70,000. For female nurses the median was $60,000.
Gender Roles
1.
Sample motions and their corresponding arguments and counter-arguments
Wage Gap
Gender Roles
Education: K-12
Definitions
K-12: It comprises the sum of primary and secondary education in India, the United States, Canada, Ecuador, South Korea, Turkey, Philippines, Egypt, Australia, Afghanistan and Iran for publicly supported school grades prior to college. It includes Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School)
Issues
Academic standards
Dropout prevention and recovery: Participation rates from DepEd’s data revealed that 4.8 million were out of school in 2015-2016, an 11 percent increase in five years.
Education options
Teacher professional development
Turning around low-performing schools
Senior High School education
Low Enrollment: There are less students who enroll to high school than elementary. The number of elementary school-age children who are out of school has more than tripled, from around 431,000 in 2011 to 1.4 million in 2015. The out-of-school who are of high school age decreased, but remain high in 2015 at 3.4 million.
Insufficient budget for their maintenance and operations: There are 36,492 public elementary schools and only 7,677 high schools. ACT Teachers Party Rep. France Castro also said there is only one high school for every four to five villages.
Curriculum: As subjects meant for Grade 12 was already given to Grade 11. Quetua said as a result, students who wanted to return to Araullo High School as Grade 12 students cannot enroll because their subjects from their previous school are different.
New school year, same old problems: K to 12, shortages in classrooms, teachers
Members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) picketed the Department of Education (DepEd) central office in Pasig City on the first day of school, June 5, Monday, to call for higher education budget and for salary increase for teachers and employees. It is a new school year, with the same old problems, ACT said. “There are still no sufficient teachers, classrooms, facilities and equipment and other instructional and teaching materials. Several schools have double, even triple shifts!” Raymond Basilio, ACT secretary general said. Basilio stressed that the education budget for school year 2017-2018 may have increased by 17 percent, but this has not addressed the long time problem of shortages. He said the budget, which increased from last year’s P435 billion to P543 billion ($8.8 billion to $11 billion) this year, is still far from international standards, which sets the education budget to 20 percent of the national budget and six percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Evidences
Republic Act No. 10533, otherwise known as the “Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013”, was signed into law by President Aquino on May 15, 2013. With the passage of RA 10533, the K to 12 basic education program was formalized.
Voucher system: A system wherein the government funds the student to its own chosen school or the parent’s chosen school. Usually in a particular year, semesters or term.
Conditional cash transfer program: Program that aims to reduce poverty by making welfare programs conditional upon the receivers’ actions. The government (or a charity) only transfers the money to persons who meet certain criteria. An example of the conditional cash transfer program in the Philippines is Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program also known as 4Ps
There is a need to build more high schools as there are only 7,000 high schools that offer junior high school in the country. Most high schools are located in the urbanized areas, inaccessible to students from far-flung areas.
Arguments
K-12 revised curriculum isn’t the only cure for educational woes. Huge investments should be made on classrooms, text books, learning aids, teacher’s training, etc. Adding 2 years of education won’t repair the damage if in the first place, the foundation is weak.
Extra 2 years= more expenses. This is for both the government and the parents. Given that the government doesn’t have enough money for 10 years, how will they do when there are 2 extra years. DepEd must first solve the problem at hand such as equipments
Boredom. In this generation, we get easily bored. They have shorter attention span and will result to not paying attention. Given this situation, will they cope with extra 2 years of education?
DepEd should fix the current subject and not add new ones. The problem is the content not length. “Quality over Quantity”. We need to have a better education and not more.
Drop-out rates. Even though public schools are free, a students still needs about an average of ?20,000 per school year for their food, transportation, school materials and other school expenses. Based on the latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey, families prioritize food over children’s school needs. Adding 2 extra years of learning, may result to a higher dropout rate.
Counter-Arguments
E-Learning: If we don’t prepare for it now, when will we? The technology has been introduced to the public schools through Gilas, a public-private sector initiative that has been at the forefront of providing computers and Internet connectivity. An e-Learning program called Genyo has proven to be an effective tool in public school teachers and students. The software is currently being used in private schools and has been donated to public schools.
Although there are a lot of expenses, DepEd secretary brother Luistro Armin explained that we should not look at its expenses but rather more of an investment. Traditionally, poor families work after high school. On the brighter side, k-12 envisions that graduates of senior-high school have better job opportunities even if they won’t pursue college which means better income for the family.
Education: School policies
Media: Piracy (streaming culture) and general influence
Racial discrimination and regionalism
Child labor
Freedom of speech: Social networking
Artificial intelligence: Robotics
Transport regulations: Modernization and ride-sharing (Uber, Grab)
Nuclear power: Energy and/or Defense System
Territorial disputes: National sovereignty
Global Warming and other environmental concerns
Sources:
https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cultures-and-animals
http://listverse.com/2010/02/01/10-debated-acts-of-animal-cruelty/
https://animal-testing.procon.org
http://petsfans.com/top-10-countries-known-for-animal-cruelty/
https://www.care2.com/causes/5-cruel-animal-traditions-that-make-no-sense-today.html
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/ccdms/facts/121204.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfighting
http://www.medicaldaily.com/3-benefits-eating-meat-234798
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
http://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/hosp.2000.61.1.1859#/doi/abs/10.12968/hosp.2000.61.1.1859
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-20986796
https://www.forbes.com/sites/celiashatzman/2018/01/26/how-you-can-help-end-animal-testing-in-cosmetics/#73d1236a4ddc
http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-the-causes-of-social-anxiety-psychological-yes-or-environmental-no
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/test-used-treat-depression-made-for-white-people
https://medium.com/personal-growth/depression-a-blessing-in-disguise-f78fede568a3
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/brain-scan-AI-help-predict-ocd-improve-treatment
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-obsessive-compulsive-disorders-ocd
https://www.everydayhealth.com/anxiety-disorders/experts-do-neat-freaks-have-ocd.aspx
https://greatist.com/live/what-is-ocd-not-a-neat-freak
https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.htm
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_role
http://www.debate.org/opinions/do-you-believe-in-the-wage-gap-and-why
http://merionwest.com/2018/02/17/the-pay-gap-is-a-myth/
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180209-what-iceland-can-teach-the-world-about-gender-pay-gaps
https://www.bustle.com/p/8-wage-gap-statistics-to-shut-down-any-haters-48441
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%E2%80%9312
http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/k-12/
http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-we-have-gender-roles-in-todays-society
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantawid_Pamilyang_Pilipino_Program
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditional_cash_transfer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_voucher
http://bulatlat.com/main/2017/06/06/new-school-year-old-problems-k-12-shortages-classrooms-teachers/
https://studymoose.com/debate-about-k-to-12-essay
