4 ms·

Where do you draw the line though? Because plants themselves (DNA-beings) are also alive. Unless you decide to go on a full mineral diet.

• alpineman 2mo ago
  It's not about being alive, it's about having emotions and the ability to feel pain. Plants don't cry out for days when their children are taken away from them. Plants don't remember your face, come up to you and want attention. Plants don't scream when they are killed (no matter what some edgy research shows). Or to put it more simply, would you feel bad pulling a plant out the ground? I would imagine probably not. Would you feel bad pulling the lever and watching as a pig is lowered into a gas chamber? Or while slitting a cow's throat? I would imagine probably yes (hence why slaughterhouse employees have so many mental health issues and there is such high turnover).
  • csomar 2mo ago
    > it's about having emotions and the ability to feel pain That's just a random line you have drawn. > Plants don't cry out for days when their children are taken away from them. Plants do feel pain and react to their surrounding. They are more primitive creatures though. > would you feel bad pulling a plant out the ground? Yes, I wouldn't do it and I am from a country where pulling an olive tree is illegal (with a jail sentence).
    • alpineman 2mo ago
      Plants don't feel pain as pain is generally understood. They don't have neural circuits, nociceptors, or brains. We have all those things. Cats, cows, and pigs have all those things. That said, plants do have defense mechanisms, of course. But that's not the same thing as pain or emotions. In any case, generally strawberry pickers aren't traumatised in the same way as slaughterhouse workers. Even if one were to view animal and plant lives as equivalent, around 40% of all crops are grown to feed animals. Needless to say, it's a lossy conversion. Calorie-wise it's far less efficient for an animal to eat the food and for us to eat the animal, than for us to just eat the plant directly. So if you really want to reduce un-necessary plant deaths/suffering, then ultimately eating less meat is the way to do it.
      • sajithdilshan 2mo ago
        > Plants don't feel pain as pain is generally understood. we don't know that for sure. just to be safe don't eat plants or plant based products too. Eat dirt, that's 100% safe and also feed your children dirt too. The evolution would do the rest and rid your genes from the gene pool
        • alpineman 2mo ago
          Absurd example, dig at my kids, no counterargument. That's the online equivalent of conceding the argument. Nice one.
          • sajithdilshan 2mo ago
            that's actually an advice. Please don't hurt the plants and their emotions. Keep on eating dirt
            • alpineman 2mo ago
              >> that's actually an advice. Please don't hurt the plants and their emotions. Keep on eating dirt Thank you Sajith Dilshan
              • sajithdilshan 2mo ago
                You’re welcome Al Pine Man
• boogieknite 2mo ago
  with most plants its more like were eating their eggs. Not many plants require eating the whole thing instead of the fruiting body. i think an argument to stop uprooting plants entirely makes sense but really the impact of going from beef to just vegetarian is much more drastic than cutting out plants which are destroyed by harvest not accusing, but in case any commenter is going down a slippery slope: what produces the most harm? people! why dont we just kill ourselves instead of cutting out beef? vegetarian options have never been more accessible, and increasingly so its certainly regional and cultural in the US. there are many towns and cities i visit where its quite difficult to find menu items without meat. i expect it will change over time
• sir_brickalot 2mo ago
  Your argument sounds like the nirvana fallacy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy