The-Truth-About-Pet-Foods

can try to avoid this by creating arbitrary definitions, for example,
condoning the killing of non-“sentient” creatures and those without a
“brain and nervous system.” But who gets to decide what “brain,”
“nervous system,” or “sentient” is, and who gets to be lucky and fall
under these rubrics Who decides how to draw lines when in reality
there are no clear demarcations among life forms True, a blade of
grass appears clearly different from a cow, but the spectrum of life
must be looked at in its entirety. It is one thing to say we “feel” that
this or that food is ethically wrong, a purely subjective decision. It is
quite another to attempt to justify that choice by creating objective
physical distinctions which do not exist.
Quanta, subatomic particles, atoms, molecules, prions, viruses, bacteria,
protozoa, plankton, plants, insects, invertebrates, fish, reptiles,
amphibians, and mammals are a continuum in form and function. Pain
and fear do not suddenly appear with one certain creature along the
“simple” to “complex” scale of living creatures, so that we can easily
decide what can be killed and eaten without cruelty. Cognizance of
and reactions to stimuli (another way of saying fear and pain) exist
throughout life in a variety of forms and degrees. If this were scaled
from 1 to 100, would a 46 be okay to eat but not a 47, a 12 but not
a 13, a 74.965 but not a 74.966
There are no clear separations except those we artificially impose.
The more we learn, the more it becomes impossible to unequivocally
classify. Without classification, it is impossible to assign right versus
wrong in order to eat based upon physical criteria.
All living creatures show mental characteristics: the ability to react to
stimuli, process information, and be self-corrective. A brain and
nervous system is just one means. Those who study plants closely
conclude that they too have the ability to react to stimuli (sentience),
and although they cannot move, do produce a complex array of chemicals,
(more complex than humans, in lieu of mobility) in response to
danger and can even communicate this over distance to other plants
that likewise respond.* Does anyone really know what goes on in the
* J Chem Ecol, 2001; 27(11):2233-52. Science, 1999; 284(5414):654-7. Plant
Physiol, 2002; 128(1):271-81. Curr Opin Plant Biol, 2002; 5(1):43-8. Curr
Opin Plant Biol, 1999; 2(1):65-70. Novartis Found Symp, 1999; 223:74-109.
PAGE 148