Pain, Plants and Veganism: The Happening and What Can Happen

 

Consuming food is very important for the survival of some living organism. It is essential for energy, growth, repair, immunity and vital functions of the body such as breathing, digesting food, and keeping warm. You must have heard and studied about herbivores, carnivores and omnivores in your schools. Human beings are considered omnivores because we have the ability to consume both animals and plants for survival. However, not all humans consume animals to source nutrients, some people consume plants. People who do not eat any animal flesh such as meat, poultry, or fish are known as vegetarians and people who avoid consuming animal flesh, dairy, eggs, and any other ingredients derived from animals are known as vegans.

Veganism goes beyond what one eats and drinks, it essentially a lifestyle. According to The Vegan Society, vegan lifestyle focuses on avoiding any exploitation of animals. From accessories and clothing to makeup and bathroom items, animal products and even products tested on animals are a big no-no for vegans. The Vegan Society, also provides easy access to vegan products and services that are registered with their Vegan Trademark which helps people to embrace the vegan lifestyle with greater ease.

                                               When people think eating vegetables is boring

But you must be wondering why I tried to establish some understanding about veganism before introducing the main focus of the blog. It was important to do so because the idea behind veganism is based greatly based on avoiding animal pain, one of the main motivations to become vegan, and consuming plant-based products. Yes, animals are sentient being that feel pain, but what about plants? Just because they do not express pain like humans and animals do, would it be okay to assume that they do not or has science not advanced enough yet to understand plants?

Let’s try to explore the world of plants. The Happening, a 2008 movie, is an attempt to illustrate what plants are capable of. The movie depicts that trees release deadly neurotoxin as self-defence mechanism. The release of such toxins affects human and is believed to be a response to the years of pollution and global warming. Once a human is exposed to the neurotoxin, their mental state starts to deteriorate. It starts with mild confusion which then progresses to mild confusion, memory loss progressing towards complete disorientation. Eventually the individual ends up taking their own life. What we learn from the movie is that plants have self-defence mechanisms that have evolved over time to respond to any danger.

                                           Scene from The Happening, plants are everywhere

Now that we have establish some understanding about plants, veganism and plants’ self-defence mechanism let’s try to understand how these are connected. One of the reasons that motivate people to turn vegan is animal welfare. When people refuse to pay for animal products, there is a fall in demand which ensures fewer animals are bred to suffer and die on farms and in slaughterhouses. The alternate is to consume plant-based products, instead, be it food, cosmetics, even clothes. People express great satisfaction is knowing that what they are consume is not breathing and living or is not causing animal suffering.

But what about plants? Is this lifestyle based on the assumption that plants do not experience pain or suffering? This is rather a controversial topic, but we do have some understanding about self-defence mechanisms that plants, as also depicted in the movie The Happening. According to neuroscientist, plants do not have a nervous system like humans and animals do; therefore, it is believed that plants do not experience sensation of pain. However, scientists have also discovered that plants can effectively communicate that allow plants to release defence hormones. This suggests that plans not only respond to stimuli of touch, but also have defence mechanism to protect itself from any danger.

Plants have self-defence mechanisms

Plants have a very sophisticated nervous system that is not fully understood. Charles Darwin came up with the concept of the root brain which suggested that roots function as the brain of plants because of the role they play in accepting information from outside stimuli and telling the plant to act and react. Plants also have senses that are analogous to human senses like sight, smells, sound, touch, taste. According to Smithsonian Magazine, a study suggested that plants can audibly vocalize their agony when deprived of water or forced to endure bodily harm. However, the sounds made by plants are not detectable by human ears because the frequency does not fall within human hearing range. Studies also show that plants respond to anaesthesia which implies that plants have receptors and nervous system. Frantisek Baluska of the University of Bonn in Germany stated his thoughts about plants stating, “they’re living organisms which have their own problems, maybe something like with humans feeling pain or joy. In order to navigate this complex life, they must have some compass” (Wu, 2019).

Anaesthesia for plants

 

The purpose of this piece is not to justify animal suffering or disregard the harms of hyper consumerism on our environment. Instead, the purpose is to highlight our limited understanding about how plants experience pain and suffering. It also highlights the flaws in the arguments of veganism that see animals as breathing and living creatures, but do not hold similar views about plants. There is so much about plants that we still have not fully understood and how their nervous system works is one such thing. As portrayed in The Happening, plants can potentially adapt self-defence mechanisms in order to prevent itself from being exploited by humans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

References and Bibliography:

Are Plants Conscious? by HowStuffWorks.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm5i53eiMkU

Can Plants Feel Pain? & More! Ask A Scientist #1:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FagG1NccTCM

The Vegan Society: https://www.vegansociety.com/

The Ingenious Ways Plants Defend Themselves by Seeker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTdtXJcrTR4

Vegan Trademark: https://www.vegansociety.com/the-vegan-trademark

Wu, K. J. (2019, December ). Plants May Let Out Ultrasonic Squeals When Stressed. Retrieved from Smithsonian Magazine : https://www.smithsonianmag.com/author/katherine-j-wu/