© Robyn Mackenzie/ Dreamstime.com

"If shopping could cure breast cancer, it would be cured by now," says Think Before You Pink, an organization dedicated to ending "pinkwashing"—slapping pink ribbons on products in order to convince consumers that they can end breast cancer by buying pink products. In truth, reports Forbes, corporations seek to profit off consumers' strong feelings about breast cancer while simultaneously marketing products that actually contribute to the disease.

Such was the case with KFC's cancer-linked chicken, sold in "Buckets for the Cure," which, adding insult to injury, didn't really raise much money for cancer research, either, as is often the case with pinkwashing campaigns. And what little money makes it to breast cancer research frequently goes to support antiquated, unreliable experiments on animals.

I lost the person I was closest to in the world—my grandmother—to breast cancer, but I know that no matter how many pink sun visors I buy, it is unlikely that I am doing much to help with the search for a cure. Women deserve better than greedy corporations throwing a few pennies at a charity in exchange for huge profit margins. We deserve better than having our money spent on experiments that have proved to be useless. We deserve a cure, and the only way to find one is to stop buying pink doohickeys and start supporting breast cancer research that works—cutting-edge, effective, non-animal research.

For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, please look at PETA's list of cruelty-free charities and join us in supporting breast cancer research that really works.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Watching my cherished grandmother suffer through breast-cancer surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, then pass away, was the hardest thing that I have ever gone through. I felt so helpless—then I became determined to help find a cure. For me, that meant participating in walks and other fundraisers for breast-cancer charities that are actually helping us get closer to a cure by funding cutting-edge, effective, non-animal research.

After decades and billions of dollars spent tormenting and killing dogs, cats, monkeys, rabbits, mice, rats, and other animals, we still have no cure for breast cancer. Experiments on animals are unreliable because of the significant genetic, cellular, and physiological differences between species. Former National Cancer Institute Director Dr. Richard Klausner has stated, "The history of cancer research has been the history of curing cancer in the mouse. We have cured mice of cancer for decades, and it simply didn't work in humans."

While every 12 minutes in America, another woman dies from breast cancer, organizations such as the Susan G. Komen Foundation waste money on cruel, archaic animal experiments, and people are starting to say "Enough." The Seattle Veg Singles group was set to do a charity walk for Komen, but when the group learned that the charity funds experiments on animals, it immediately canceled its plans.

If you want to help raise money for breast cancer research, do women a favor by supporting one of the many charities that don't fund experiments on animals, including the American Breast Cancer Foundation, the Keep A Breast Foundation and the Breast Cancer Fund. And let the Susan G. Komen Foundation know that it won't be getting a dime from you until it stops funding animal experiments.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

© Joshua Katcher

Just so you know how low KFC will stoop to make a sale, the company has started selling its cancer-linked chicken in pink buckets to raise money for breast cancer research. This is almost beyond belief, considering that among the secret ingredients in KFC's Kentucky Grilled Chicken are PhIP and other chemicals known as heterocyclic amines, which have been linked to several types of cancer, including breast cancer. And a recent study shows that eating fried chicken significantly increases the odds of bladder cancer.

Now the company is concerned about fighting cancer? I don't think so.

You might think that because many people are going to buy this nonfood anyway, the proceeds may as well go to cancer research, but it turns out that's not even the case. Some small print on KFC's Web site reads, "Customer purchases of KFC buckets during the promotion will not directly increase the total contribution." But were you expecting anything else? Check out KFC's shameful history of cruelty to animals.

It's a slap in the face to cancer survivors too. When I mentioned KFC's new pink buckets to my best friend—a breast cancer survivor who went vegan after having a mastectomy and who now staunchly encourages other women to eat healthy plant-based foods and to support clinical research methods—she shuddered and said, "Oh, my God! Disgusting!"

A longer version of this blog originally appeared on Care2.

Written by Heather Moore