I'm sure I'll be ganged up on here, but I gotta ask...
For the people that don't eat meat because of the pain it inflicts on animals... how do you know plants don't feel pain too?
Just because plants aren't as developed enough to run around or as cute as animals doesn't mean they don't feel pain. And last time I checked, no one has been able to prove that plants can't feel pain, I bet they do and they cry in pain when you boil them!
Plants don't have receptors, nerves and brains which are all necessary to feel pain or emotions. No nerves = no pain. I have never heard a plant cry, but I have heard pigs cry when they got slaughtered.
Yours is a naive logic. It's YOU who is claiming that plants feel pain, so the burden of proof lies on YOU. What are your sources backing up your claim?
Besides, even if plants would feel pain, much more plants die for a diet with meat (because of all the animal feed), than for a plant based diet. What do you say to that?
God left meat off the garden menu and said "it was good", humans historically and biblically didn't eat meat until the fall of man. If God says it's good, I'll take his word.
I also cosider the squeemish factor to be a powerful indicator of what is right and what is wrong. And I feel pretty good when im in my garden collecting my veggies. I'm not sure I could handle slaughtering an animal, even if it didn't make a sound, theres still the squeemish factor for me, it's just not right. God loves animals and their existance glorifies god, but when we humiliate them and treat them as "units of production",rather than the beautiful creatures of god they are, something has gone wrong, terribly terribly wrong.
Zapmama - The squeamish factor definitely comes into play for me. I can grow and pick vegetables and plants, no problem. But I could never ever slaughter an animal. Hell, I almost start crying on roads with dead animals on them, and I loathed Biology dissections.
Even if plants do feel pain, vegans kill fewer plants. But plants do not feel pain; there is no evidence to suggest they do and no adaptive reason why they would.
If you want to be super pragmatic about it, figure it this way (although everyone is spot on already, and Oatmeal once again has said everything that is necessary to make the point solid), humans can exist quite well without eating meat. But, remove vegetable matter from your diet entirely and you're heading for a world of physiological hurt. Scurvy anyone?
i am glad that someone asked this question actually. most of the omnivores that argue with me end with this argument, and i never know quite how to counter it. (you cant reason with the illogical). so i am glad to see how others counter it. thanks
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