Jessica Symczyk

About the author: Jessica Symczyk is a lab technician for a pharmaceutical company. She is also a volunteer spokesperson for Americans for Medical Progress, an organization that believes animal experimentation is necessary for medical research.

Being an animal lover and a medical researcher who uses animals does not present a conflict of interests. Working inside an animal experimentation laboratory dispels mistaken notions that research animals are treated poorly. These animals live in clean, well-lit environments and they are respected by their handlers. Furthermore, the work that is derived from animal research is important to medical progress.

I've been a vegetarian (an ovo-lacto vegetarian to be exact) since I was 13 years old. I...