Can a vegetarian that doesn't eat animals because they don't like the thought of causing the animals pain,!
Animals such as clams, oysters and scallops can NOT feel pain. In order to feel pain an animal has to have a brain to process the sensation. If they don't have a brain they can't "feel" pain. Clams, oysters and scallops don't have brains.
So, if a vegetarian who doesn't eat animals because they don't wish to cause them pain won't eat these bivalves, what would the reason be?
Answers: eat animals that don't "feel" pain.
Animals such as clams, oysters and scallops can NOT feel pain. In order to feel pain an animal has to have a brain to process the sensation. If they don't have a brain they can't "feel" pain. Clams, oysters and scallops don't have brains.
So, if a vegetarian who doesn't eat animals because they don't wish to cause them pain won't eat these bivalves, what would the reason be?
If pain was the only reasoning a person decided to become a vegetarian... sure, they could eat clams. Although the hardcore veggies might show up to picket their house. I can see the signs now "Go to Shell : Leave Clams Alone!" and "The World is Your Oyster, The Oyster is NOT Your World!"
I think this is why some people are pescetarians... they don't think fish feel pain, so they go ahead and eat it.
it depends on what kind of vegitarian you are, if you don't mind eating it then you can
some people just don't like eating any animals at all
like,maybe 'cos theyre squshy and yucky and slimy and smell bad.
i'm a vegetarian.
it's not all about IF the animal feels pain at all. in general its just the thought of killing another living thing and eating it when there's so many other things available like fruits and vegetables. so to answer your question, no i wouldn't eat those seafoods either.
well, if you're a vegan, no, but otherwise, you're a great loophole finder!!
They just don't want to eat the flesh.. I think people who ask questions like this just shouldn't...
They dont like the thought of killing animals for food when there r plants to eat.
This is a difficult Question. I once asked a buddhist friend of mine if she realised that every morning when she cleans her teeth she kills around two million bacteria. At what order of magnitude or complexity does a thing become a sentient being? Vegans eat only vegetables, but they are living things too. Does a lion consider how much pain a zebra experiences when killed and eaten?
Obviously there are more reasons to be a veggie than political ones!!!!
How about living healthier???
I have been a veggie my entire life...so I have not ever been on the "band wagon" of respect of animal life etc...
so my answer would be no because I don't eat them because I prefer not to eat them...
PERIOD
Although sea creatures were the last animals I stopped eating when I went veg, I stopped eating bivalves b/c they *are* in the animal kingdom & although they have a very different physiology than other "food" animals, I can't be cetain that they don't feel pain/can't enjoy their existance. Maybe there's a reason behind the phrase "happy as a clam,"
;-)
I'm a vegan because of the reasons you describe. I don't like clams, oysters or scallops so it's not really an issue for me. If I did though, I still wouldn't eat them because I don't want to support the fishing industry... they cause pain to other sealife which can feel it. I don't like the thought of us humans trawling through the oceans like we own them and destroying everything in our path. I suppose it may be a different story if I went out and got them myself but whether they feel pain or not, I still see them as alive and wouldn't want to kill them.
Interesting question... I appreciate how you've asked it. Most people attack but you seem to genuinely be interested in what people have to say so good for you!
In response to: "Isn't it ironic that vegetarians won't eat animals because of causing them pain? Yet, they have no problem causing pain to things they don't plan to eat, like unborn babies, dogs, people, rodents, roaches, spiders, and snakes. More ironic is that those same vegetarians will wear leather belts, shoes, jackets, and carry a leather purse without blinking an eye. Where do they think leather comes from?"
I'd love to know how many of "these vegetarians" you've actually met. Cuz I've met very few, if any. The ethical vegetarians as opposed to the health vegetarians I've met have NEVER used leather or anything else the animal had to die for. I'd also love to know how many unborn babies, dogs, people, rodents, roaches, spiders, and snakes I, or other vegetarians, have hurt, not to mention HOW? I call bullshit. You're just instigating with nothing backing it up.
So if you put a person under anesthesia, you could kill and eat that person because it wouldn't cause him/her any pain?
OK, shellfish are gross, but they play an important role as water filterers and food for, say, cute sea otters.
Technically, you could anesthetize any animal you wanted and kill it with "no pain." Technically, animals are supposed to be stunned when they're slaughtered...not that it always happens, but it's SUPPOSED to.
I don't think most vegetarians/vegans are worried about the pain of an animal's death so much as the other issues involved with eating animals.
Like wasting resources for food, damaging wild animal populations, fouling the environment for fish/shellfish farming, eating something that could very easily make you very sick (red tide, anyone?) or just not wanting to eat something slimy and squooshy.
I think your question is kinda moot because I doubt that's what motivates most veg-eaters.
First, i think u need to define your definition of pain instead of putting it into quotes. Even though these animals don't have brains, they still have the ability to move away from harm and respond to noxious stimuli. They retain their ability of perception. This might be hard to believe but the brain can serve a variety functions in different animals in addition to its main role. Organisms have evolved to adapt to the environment for the sake of survival. Keeping this in mind, Perception is present in these animals w/o brains. They do have the ability to recognize a stressor (harm) and move away from it. Technically, this type of differentiation plays a role in other animals (with brains) in recognizing pain.
Now if you don't eat animals because of pain causing reasons, think about what helps them perceive pain-its not their brain alone. Other sense organs work too-in animals without a brain sense organs still work to help their survival.
In my opinion this isn’t really an issue of what the animals feels but what u consider to be pain. To a certain extent it is pain, not significant and not in terms of modern society. But from a biological pt. of view : if an animal can recognize harm, make a goal directed judgement and action to move away, then of course the “brainless” organism is displaying a response similar to a pain response
Its up to you to draw a line differentiating what you want to recognize as “pain”. But don’t try to impose your view of “ since they don’t have a brain they can’t feel pain” on others. This interpretation is totally up to the individual.
I hope this helps. I understand these types of decisions are hard since there are no definite answers.
P.S i'm a vegetarian who doesn't eat meat because of the pain it causes. and i don't eat seafoods. Or wear leather . Bacteria is another issue that i won't get into unless u want me too.
For veggies, the issue here is eating something that is classed as an animal. Veggies don't want animals to die. Some people call themselves veggies when actually they eat chicken, fish, various animals, but not red meat. For them it's a health issue. For others it's ethical.
A vegetarian is someone who does not eat any animals/animal by products.
Your question is like a double negative. People that don't eat animals because they do not want to cause anything pain may eat clams, oysters, etc. However by eating these animals they are no longer a vegetarian(since they are now eating meat). People can eat anything they choose, I'm sure there are people out there that follow this method of thinking, they are not vegetarians though.
It reminds me of a question I heard once which was, "Does it make you mad when guilty people are let free?"(they were referring to when someone gets off with no jail time, despite the fact it appears they did the crime) Why does this question remind me of yours? Simple because, if a person is let free, they are not guilty, by definition. In the U.S everyone is innocent until "proven" guilty. Therefore if the person is found innocent, then a guilty person was not set free. If a person chooses to eat seafood that feels no pain, they are no longer a vegetarian.
I believe there are people like this. Didn't they make up the word pescaterian for themselves. Most of these people don't think fish/seafood suffers like cows, pigs, etc do.
EDIT:
"are milk and eggs considered "products" and not "by products""
I was trying to be more concise with my explanation by just putting vegetarian and not vegan as well. So to clarify for you, a vegetarian/vegan is someone who does not eat any animals/animal by products. Next time I will make it easier for you to comprehend. And before editing and asking about leather, etc. I am only talking about what would not be eaten.
Its a shame that out of the whole thing I wrote, you didn't seem to take anything from it. Which is the exact reason I usually do not answer your questions, as you are not actually looking for an answer, but rather a way of making yourself appear superior to others. You do not take anything from the answers people write, you just try and find ways to belittle their answers, harass people, and try and make yourself look as if you know what you are talking about(which may appear that way to you, but not to most other people.)
That's a really interesting question.
Most people don't go veg just for that reason only, so it's somewhat hypothetical, but I'm not sure most veggies who did avoid meat simply because of the pain involved would eat the bivalves. First, it's an easy cutoff to simply say - nothing in the Kingdom Animalia is going to cross my lips. Second, the fact that bivalves have some sensory system, though primitive, would probably be enough to convince them to avoid bivalves, simply because you can't be totally certain that they feel no pain.
Hey,
Would you mind explaining why you find sweetpea's analogy "bizarre"?
that is like sayin if i wanted to know if you tasted good would it be alright if i gave you a shot that let you painlessly die would it be ok if i eat you that is just wrong
I have always wondered this because of the whole pescitarian thing. Veggies always claim they "do not eat anything with a face". Well, can someone point out the face on a mussell, clam or oyster?
I have yet to see one of these guys grin!
They could eat them with whatever reason that they come up with, but they wouldn't be vegetarian......unless the scientific community decides to move them into their own kingdom.
Hmm, but would it not matter because they were part of the kingdom:Animalia when the word was created. I have no fuckin clue nor do I care all that much.
well ur not a vegetarian if you clams or oysters...so there is no conflict. your a meat eater if you do that.
Not eating meat isn't going to stop animals from feeling pain. It's not like you eat them when they're alive.
How about beef if they knew the cow lived in an open pasture without fences or restraints but got hit by lightning.....in the head.....twice? Surely it never knew what happened, and it was an act of God, so how about then?
And would the steaks already be medium-rare?
Added: But think of what a treat it would be for the veg's. Ethical vegetarian approved beef!!!
It's Friday, I'm just not feeling too serious.
Addendum: Back to school for me, eh? Let's see, I hold a Ph.D in Psychology (Clinical--- ohmygosh, I'm a doctor!) I stand by my statement that the things listed below are crustaceans. I even checked it out with Wikipedia and they said the same. Based on your responses you appear to be a person who thinks they are "The Great Superior." You need to lay off that "stuff" it's causing you to hallucinate.
Clams, oysters and scallops are NOT animals. Neither are shrimp, lobsters, crawdads, or barnacles, etc. They are crustaceans.
Isn't it ironic that vegetarians won't eat animals because of causing them pain? Yet, they have no problem causing pain to things they don't plan to eat, like (killing) unborn babies, dogs, people, rodents, roaches, spiders, and snakes. More ironic is that those same vegetarians will wear leather belts, shoes, jackets, and carry a leather purse without blinking an eye. Where do they think leather comes from? Don't they know an animal had to die before they could get the leather?
I'm not a vegetarian and I eat anything and everything that I choose, without a twinge of guilt. Certain animals were meant for food.