In a pondering mood I guess?!
These are not silly questions I'm asking. Just what are the ethics of it all? I'm vegan and I havn't thought of these things before.
Is it a question of evolutionary status? As in, it's ok to eat a carrot but not a dog because dogs are higher on the Darwinian scale.
Is it a question of pain sensation? As in, if the organism can feel pain, it's wrong to make it suffer?
Is it a question of degree of "use"? As in, is it worse to farm an animal than to hunt one because the wild animal at least had it's personal sovergnty for part of it's life?
Is 'being used' a frame of mind and has nothing to do with the 'user'?
Answers: I guess there really is no real vegan lifestyle. We all use organisms. Does an ameba suffer when we eat it with a bite of seaweed ect? Does the seaweeed suffer? Was a worm 'used' by eatting a carrot that was fed by a nutrient that was the waste product of a worm? When you walk on a sidewalk, was a construction worker 'used' in the making of this sidewalk?
These are not silly questions I'm asking. Just what are the ethics of it all? I'm vegan and I havn't thought of these things before.
Is it a question of evolutionary status? As in, it's ok to eat a carrot but not a dog because dogs are higher on the Darwinian scale.
Is it a question of pain sensation? As in, if the organism can feel pain, it's wrong to make it suffer?
Is it a question of degree of "use"? As in, is it worse to farm an animal than to hunt one because the wild animal at least had it's personal sovergnty for part of it's life?
Is 'being used' a frame of mind and has nothing to do with the 'user'?
From what I understand it's all about effort.
It's not the pain and suffering because animals like oysters and clams don't feel pain because they don't have brains to process the sensation like more sophisticated animals do. They have "reactions" to stimuli that are closer to plants than to other animals.
It's not evolutionary status because you can't compare carrots to dogs on an evolutionary scale. That's worse than apples and oranges.
I think degree of use is somewhat involved but in the end, the vegan doesn't condone either of your examples even if one would be better than the other.
I think "being used" is definitely a frame of mind but it has EVERYTHING to do with the user and little to do with the used. It is the perspective of the person using, not the entity being "used".
The vegans here have spent much time telling me that a vegan is one who excludes the exploitation of animals, as much as is possible. But do not define what, "as much as is possible" means. I guess it means something different for each of them then, each defining their own unique experience.
well i guess we cant eat anything any more! jk
i do admire vegans and vego's though i dont think i could do it!
Everything is a frame of mind. Your mind. So be conscious of what you are doing, thinking, feeling, and hoping for in every breath. This practiced properly is the answer to every question.
Well, you would certainly suffer if you ate an amoeba. It would give you dysentery (painful diarrhea).