Gizmodo just ran a story featuring a Vimeo Video stating -with scientific proof- that plants are aware. Now, whether this meant the plants are “sentient” is a whole different ball game.
Sure, meat is murder, but we butcher the animals and they’re dead, they aren’t mercilessly tortured over their entire lifespan (most of them, anyway, i like eggs). From the explanation of the videos, scientists at Missouri University recorded the sound/vibrations made by caterpillars chewing on a plant using a cool laser mic. They then played that sound for plants for an hour, miraculously the plans began to produce oils that were toxic to the offending animal. Defense mechanism? Sentient life-force of plants trying to connect to each other and teach humans how to harvest energy from the sun? Perhaps it is just “nature”, I know some botanists that say plants respond to music just like babies in the womb. They require attention, nutrients, somewhat constant care or they’ll die.
I’m not a vegan, nor am I terribly partial to carnivores, I just enjoy seeing both sides to an argument. Yep, treatment of animals at many facilities is awful, our teeth were made for the ripping and tearing of flesh, we don’t need our pinky toes, pate is delicious, big is beautiful, yoga pants are the best invention since Otto Frederick Rohwedder (google it), salad is probably my favorite food group, i love dogs, bacon on everything, I see all sides.
Soy-based and genetically modified protein liquids, powders and pills will probably make up the food source for space travel and long-term habitation. I’m guessing the world will probably create an alternate food source until we run out, until then let’s all agree that being the top of the food chain, where we can eat dead plants and dead animals, is where we’d all like to be.