Dear Editor:

I am a Chandler resident and recently discovered that Covance is attempting to build an animal-testing facility at Gilbert and Ryan roads (just south of Germann).

As a pet owner, I decided to educate myself on Covance's mission and purpose. After accessing their Web site, I understand the importance of finding cures for diseases and testing consumer products.

However, I have a difficult time justifying the level of animal testing by Covance and the so-called positive impact on our society. For example, how many products are on the consumer shelf that contain aspartame? Too many to name all, but diet products and light yogurt come to mind, not to mention artificial sweeteners. Although aspartame has been clinically proven to cause cancer in lab animals, we still continue manufacturing products with aspartame. So, what does this say about the importance of animal testing? Nothing. No benefits, because we choose to buy such products with no regard to these findings.

I started thinking about other important questions; if we were a healthier society that didn't eat fast food or fat-free, sugar-free products, wouldn't our high levels of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke be significantly reduced? Would we then not depend upon drugs to sustain life? And, better yet, if we didn't live such fast-paces lives, could we depend less upon sleep aides and other products that require animal testing?

Seems to me, we focus on animal testing to find cures for self-inflicted diseases, along with: finding the "fountain of youth" (testing have to have cosmetics for looking younger) finding the cure for "fat" (testing consumer products that are sugar-free, fatfree, calorie-free).

I wonder... at the sacrifice of animal testing, we may have found a way to prolong life with newer drugs and treatments, but is the life we prolong now worth living longer?

My intent it not to condemn Covance, but hopefully bring to life these topics and cause Covance to build its facility elsewhere.

So sad, seeing ground broke on Gilbert Road for this facility.