The Next Step for Vegans
Vegans know animals have thoughts and feelings similar to humans. Most of them accept that these creatures have a nervous system, eyes, noses, ears, and awareness of their internal and external environments, including of course, physical sensations. This knowledge is a key reason that fuels their compassion and motivation to adopt a vegan lifestyle.
Most non-vegans refute this perspective. They agree that animals have sense organs and an ability to perceive, but they assume there is no conscious entity existing as a subject. As if those animals were soulless, unaware of their own experience and existence.
The lack of a central nervous system is the main reason vegans struggle to accept plant sentiency. Plants having the experience of thoughts and feelings similar to those of humans seems inconceivable for most people..
Skepticism often evolves into mockery, leading to statements such as “if plants could feel pain when you cut them, they would have legs to move away from you”. We must consider that plants have structures similar to our nervous system, and can experience pain-like sensations. The inability to step away from harm doesn’t deny plants capacity to sense, respond, and react to their environment.
Opening our minds to these ideas are useful in the progress from a vegan and raw vegan diet, into a fruit based diet. The lack of research in this topic makes it a tricky road to navigate, the following sections will expand on these theories, aiming to get closer to the truth about plant consciousness.
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Acknowledgments