Are Vegans Hypocrites?

Before beginning the topic of this blog I want to say Happy New Year to all of my readers. I’d also like to recognize that today is the birthday of my dear Grandmother as well as that of the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They are both extremely honorable individuals who have had an immense influence on my life. I love them both greatly. And now on to the topic at hand…

I will gladly come out and say it. I am a meat eater. Mostly, I eat fish, chicken, and turkey. Occasionally, I’ll indulge with pork or read meat. And of course, I manage to slide in fruits and vegetables throughout my diet. The point is that I try to enjoy the life of an omnivore. I think there are definite benefits (and disadvantages) to being one. I bring up all of this to say that even though I’m an omnivore I do understand the viewpoints of vegans and vegetarians when it comes to dietary preferences. In fact, I agree with many of the points typically cited, particularly by vegans.  

However, one of the main ethical reasons that I consistently hear from vegans regarding their dietary preferences is that non-human animals experience consciousness and deserve personhood.  This is a valid argument that is used to advocate against eating animal-based foods.  However, there has been a counter argument to that notion that I think is worth considering. The counter argument is that plants also experience consciousness and deserve personhood under the same logic; therefore, vegans should advocate for them as well.  The obvious problem that would result for vegans making such advocations is that it would severely limit what they could eat if they put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. 

In decades past, the general belief was that plants did not experience consciousness on a level that would suggest their awareness of pain or stress is intact. In other words,  since plants do not have pain receptors, nerves, or a brain, they do not feel pain as we members of the animal kingdom understand it. Recent studies have shown that such notions may not necessarily be correct.  In a 2019 study at Tel Aviv University a discovery was made when the researchers exposed that plants emit ultrasonic “screams” when subjected to different forms of stress.  This study was in line with a broader study on the similarities between plant biology and human biology.  This particular study focused on the effects of certain stressors on tomato and tobacco plants. These plants were subjected to having stems cut off and extended periods of water deprivation. During the experimentation, special recording equipment was used to capture these plants emitting ultrasonic screams in direct response to these stressors. After a series of consistent data, this study concluded that plants are, in fact, conscious of their surroundings and do show signs of stress when put in certain unpleasant situations. 

With that discovery, comes a new and interesting wrinkle in the ethical argument regarding veganism.  In light of the conclusions of the study referenced above, should plants be off limits from the diets of vegans if they are to be consistent with their philosophy of not eating things that experience consciousness?  It would seem that such a discovery would at least make it worth revisiting the discussion of whether plants deserve the same level of advocacy from the vegan community as do non-human animals. Perhaps it is not a realistic expectation that the vegan community would do such a thing since they could potentially be painting themselves into a corner.  And if that is something that they would generally want to avoid, is there an acceptable way for them to reconcile the apparent conflict?

The purpose of this blog is to just play devil’s advocate and present food for thought. In my simple layman mind, the ethical argument for veganism referenced above can no longer legitimately apply if plants are not included in that advocacy.  Of course, there are other ethical arguments for veganism as well as environmental and health arguments.  At the end of the day, most people who are vegans likely have a combination of reasons for why they chose to enter into that lifestyle. But suffice it to say that the ethical stance that many of them take needs to be refined in order to reflect a more consistent logic in their advocacy for veganism.