Heaven forbid animals drink some soda! and then enjoy it! This is probably the least bothersome form of animal testing out there. Trust me... animals looooove sugar!
Here's the snippet from the NYT article:
Under pressure from animal rights advocates, two soft drink giants, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, have agreed to stop directly financing research that uses animals to test or develop their products, except where such testing is required by law.
Researchers at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sought the assurances after discovering studies financed by the companies that used animals like rats and chimpanzees to test taste perception and, in some cases, to bolster support for promotional health claims.
PepsiCo said that it would stop directly financing animal experiments, including some it had financed through grants given to graduate students through its Gatorade Sports Science Institute.
Hmm...health claims? you mean the animals live longer healthier lives? BAN THE ANIMAL TESTING!!!!
yeah, i bet the chimps in the coca-cola study that got their faces cut open loooooove sugar!
That study was basic science research - not to determine whether coke tasted good. Many corporations fund basic science that might one day benefit them as well as society at large.
My favorite part of the PETA quotes was the promotion of in vitro studies. I don't think Coke is going to go for the idea of doing food and taste research on cells in a dish. I can just see a corporate guy going to the CEO and saying, "We don't understand why Mango Coke isn't doing well. The HEK29 cells went wild for it."
And by the way, I'd still love chocolate even if my cheek was cut open. I'd love chocolate even without cheeks.