Cruelty to vegetables versus cruelty to animals?

June 28, 2007

Being a recently converted vegan, my family and friends are by turns

nonplussed and aggressive towards my new found philosophy. The rather

specious, not to say stupid, arguments about lions walking down the

street(would I allow it the freedom to attack humans or would I have it

shot?) are easy to field. However, those to do with vegetables having

feelings and therefore just as many rights as animals (and by turns

jsut as few rights regarding their mass production and consumption by

us humans)I find harder to answer with the eloquence I would wish to.

I would appreciate help with this sticky question,

thanks, KYM

June 28, 2007

it's not sticky to any thinking, normal person. but to sarcastic,

mean, evil ones, it's their only retort. just don't play the zappa

tune " call any vegetable " for them:

(This is a

song about vegetables, they keep ya regular

They're real good for yo)

Call any vegetable Call it by name

Call one today When you get off the train

Call any vegetable And the chances are good

Aw, The vegetable will respond to you

(Some people don't go for prunes...I

don't know, I've always found that if they...)

Call any vegetable Pick up your phone

Think of a vegetable Lonely at home

Call any vegetable And the chances are good

That a vegetable will *respond* to you

Rutabaga, Rutabaga,

Rutabay-y-y-y...

(A prune isn't really a vegetable...

CABBAGE is a vegetable...)

No one will know

If you don't want to let them know

No one will know

'Less it's you that might tell them so

Call and they'll come to you

Covered with dew

Vegetables dream, Of responding to you

Standing there shiny and proud by your side

Holding your hand while the neighbors decide

Why is a vegetable something to hide

Being a recently converted vegan, my

family and friends are by turns

nonplussed and aggressive towards my new found philosophy. The

rather

specious, not to say stupid, arguments about lions walking down

the

street(would I allow it the freedom to attack humans or would I have

it

shot?) are easy to field. However, those to do with vegetables

having

feelings and therefore just as many rights as animals (and by

turns

jsut as few rights regarding their mass production and consumption

by

us humans)I find harder to answer with the eloquence I would wish

to.

I would appreciate help with this sticky question,

thanks, KYM

June 28, 2007

Ah, that old gem............like a desperate last attempt to discredit us by the concience pinched carnivore............well, there are more knowledgable and eloquent members, but my take is that vegetables are not sentient beings and have no nervous system, just auto responses to stimuli such as light water etc......... The Valley Vegan..............kymontrip <kymontrip wrote: Being a recently converted vegan, my family and friends are by turns nonplussed and aggressive

towards my new found philosophy. The rather specious, not to say stupid, arguments about lions walking down the street(would I allow it the freedom to attack humans or would I have it shot?) are easy to field. However, those to do with vegetables having feelings and therefore just as many rights as animals (and by turns jsut as few rights regarding their mass production and consumption by us humans)I find harder to answer with the eloquence I would wish to. I would appreciate help with this sticky question,thanks, KYMPeter H

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June 28, 2007

The claim that plants feel pain is so ridiculous, I thought it best to refer you to a couple websites (below) that answer this claim. But, here are a couple of facts that come to mind:

1) More plants are killed to feed animals than to feed humans. The meat & dairyconsumed by humans is responsible for more plant death than the veggies consumed by vegans.

2) Plants don't have the nervous system/pain receptors or brain required to "feel" anything. Their responses are all autonomic, unconscious.

3) Humans eat veggies as part of the lifecycle. All herbivores are part of the lifecycle, and we are herbivores too.

http://www.veganoutreach.org/starterpack/qa.html#plantsfeeltoo.

http://www.islamicconcerns.com/plants.asp

http://www.vegsource.com/jo/qa/qaplants.htm

The internet is a great resource for anti-veg arguments. Peta is another resource, but you can find their websites easily, so I didn't include it here.

Good luck and don't lose faith. You are doing the right thing by going vegan.

What better support for going veg than Frank Zappa?