PETA says animals are not ours to eat and Beatle Paul McCartney tells us if we want to save the planet, we should stop eating meat.
But we keep hearing how plants and vegetables have feelings, so maybe we shouldn't eat them either.
THE DEBATE over whether plants and vegetables have feelings is something worth looking at.
Even the Swiss have gotten involved. At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the "dignity" of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated.
A few years ago the Swiss added to their national Constitution a provision requiring "account to be taken of the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms."
A few years ago the Swiss added to their national Constitution a provision requiring "account to be taken of the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms."
A "clear majority" of the panel adopted what it called a "biocentric" moral view, meaning that "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive." Thus, the panel determined that we cannot claim "absolute ownership" over plants and, moreover, that "individual plants have an inherent worth." This means that "we may not use them just as we please..."
Additionally, plant and vegetable findings suggest that under threat, plants communicate the danger to other plants nearby; and also call in help from other creatures.
Biologists at the University of Turin and the Max Planck Institute in Jena reported to have found evidence that plants sensed — and reacted to — the presence of hungry, leaf-chomping enemies. Their response was to emit an odour similar to lavender. This alerted other plants to the presence of a predator.
But it also served to call in what modern military planners would term air support. Wasps, the natural enemies of many predators, were drawn by the odour to the plant where they either devoured the intruder or injected it with eggs that later killed it.
Biologists at the University of Turin and the Max Planck Institute in Jena reported to have found evidence that plants sensed — and reacted to — the presence of hungry, leaf-chomping enemies. Their response was to emit an odour similar to lavender. This alerted other plants to the presence of a predator.
But it also served to call in what modern military planners would term air support. Wasps, the natural enemies of many predators, were drawn by the odour to the plant where they either devoured the intruder or injected it with eggs that later killed it.
Then there is the music aspect. For decades, people have been experimenting with music and plant growth. Many amateur plant growers claim that classical music helps their development.
That proves there is some kind of intelligence, but until we know for certain we have no right to eat them.
Really now, with all this evidence mounting how can we eat plants, vegetables and to be on the safe side, even fruits?
Perhaps we would be wise to eat nothing until all the evidence is in.
