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 Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:09 pm
Well, mainly one in particular. Here, let me give you an example conversation between a classmate and I:
Random classmate: So, you're vegetarian?
Me: Yes.
R.C.: You eat no animals whatsoever, not even fish?
Me: None at all.
R.C.: Why?
Me: Because I think it is wrong. They are living things, and we are taking their lives to feed us when we could just let them live, and be healthy and happy without the loss of life.
R.C.: But you eat plants, right?
Me: Uh...yeah. (duh!^^)
R.C.: Well, they're alive, too! Why do you eat them if they are alive?
Me: Uh.....cuz....they can't feel it?
stressed Yeah, I have never been able to answer that last question well. I have tried to explain that it is different, that they do not actively think, nor do they have nerves which feel the pain of death, nor do they have feelings, so it does not matter, but that's just not the right way to answer, as I have always felt. I just can't come up with a good response to that kind of question.
Any ideas? How do you respond to the question of why you eat plants, even though they are alive, when your reason for not eating animals is that they are alive?
Thanks!
~Wickedawesome1
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:58 pm
The problem with the 'alive' argument, is that plants ARE also alive, and there is a growing body of research that shows that they are much more complex and responsive than previously thought. A lifestyle that follows that argument to it's logical conclusion is called Frutarian, where you only eat already-dead plants or parts of plants that the plant shed or grew with the intention of having it eaten. All grains, all traditional fruit, many vegetables and most nuts and seeds are Fruitarian.
However, intuition in general tells us that chopping up a head of broccoli is drastically different from chopping off the head of a chicken. There is no real reason to feel guilty for eating broccoli.
The flaw is not in your logic, but in your choice of response to the question. When someone asks why you don't eat animals, respond that the act is inherently cruel and inhumane, as well as unnecessary. If asked why you eat plants, respond that it is not cruel, and it is necessary.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:00 pm
It's not the fact that animals are alive, it's the fact that they are sentient
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