Plant Rights
I only talk about my veganism if questioned directly. I have no desire to inadvertently offend others by my very personal choice. Many people assume that I’m secretly judging them as they sit and eat their hamburger in front of me, and that assumption is only magnified when I talk about why I’ve become vegan.
Nonetheless, as situations arise, people do sometimes confront me directly. Most people are understanding, and they immediately gather from my tone and word choice that I have no intentions of hating them for eating something that my internal sense of ethics causes me to avoid. There are always those, however, who feel a need to defend eating meat even though I’ve made no motions to attack. After a few failed attempts to bait me into an emotional response that only results in me laughing at myself and the absurdity of the situation, they inevitably break out the perceived conversation winner.
“You eat vegetables, so you’re still consuming living things. You kill millions of bacteria just by living.”
The clear implication here is that I might as well just eat a steak if I’m going to slaughter all those plants and microorganisms. This position always entertains me a great deal because suddenly I’ve got some who eats meat taking a position in favor of not just plant but also bacterial rights. It makes me smile, and I always take moment to relish the moment.
For me, one of the key differences between plants and animals is that animals are aware when you’re trying to kill them, and they instinctively use whatever natural defenses are at their disposal to avoid their demise. When you cut the throat of a cow, it screams in pain and goes absolutely bonkers in its last moments trying to avoid what has become an unavoidable fate. Even a fish struggles to get free of an angler and flops around wildly trying to breathe in our gaseous atmosphere. When you spear a shrimp on a hook, it flinches. When I pick an apple, the tree doesn’t do anything. I’m taking that plants seeds and spreading them farther than the plant ever could. Plants don’t have pain receptors, you see. It wouldn’t make solid sense for them to have them since they’re rooted to one spot. An animal feels pain in order to avoid or escape dangerous situations. A plant needs no such awareness because there’s no escape response for the plant.
I have absolutely no problem with someone else’s support of plant and/or bacterial rights, though. I’m a pretty easygoing guy who doesn’t try to convince others to change their dietary choices based on my beliefs.
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