If Peas Can Talk, Should We Eat Them?

Article: If Peas Can Talk, Should We Eat Them?            
By: Michael Marder on the 28th of April, 2012 on "The Stone" forum of the New York Times 

In a recent article published by Michael Marder, author of “Plant-Thinking: A Philosophy of Vegetal Life” and professor of philosophy at the Univeristy of Basque Country, a relatively new question on the consumption of plants is discussed. Marder discusses a recent study conducted by the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, which found that pea plants were capable of relaying biochemical messages to neighboring plants about stressful circumstances such as droughts. Curiously, plants that received these messages were able to better defend themselves and respond to the stressful situations that were experienced by the previous pea plants, therefore increasing their likelihood of survival. Marder continues to discuss whether or not it would be considered morally correct to consume “a being capable of processing, remembering and sharing information — a being with potentialities proper to it and inhabiting a world of its own.” He ponders our reactions to the slaughter of animals for food in comparison to the harvest of plants, and whether or not this curious insight into the realm of flora should alter our indifference towards the organisms.

In conclusion of his article, Marder recounts the story of “The Princess and the Pea.” He makes a valid point that we should not stress over the morality of consuming an organism capable of communication, or lose sleep over such a miniscule organism like the princess in the tale. Instead, the article brings about the issue of morality. Is it truly O.K. for us to kill and devour an organism capable of communication, memory, and processing information, simply because it does not have a central nervous system and is therefore void of feeling pain? The reason as to why society reacts to the suffering of fauna with empathy and compassion, and reacts with apathy towards flora is because animals are just like us. They have brains, hearts, lungs, and blood just like us, whereas plants have stems, leaves, and roots. As animals ourselves, we can relate to animals’ pain and anguish, and can comprehend their suffering. On the other hand, the world of plants is alien to us. It is an entirely different realm, one that is difficult to comprehend. We cannot know what plants feel and so it is impossible for us to feel empathy for them. 

Word count: 380

Article: Tiger Farms in China Feed Thirst for Parts            By: Andre Jacobs for NY Times on February 12, 2010

            Both the Chinese and global market for exotic, medicinal goods have found new purveyors for tiger parts. The suppliers are the 20 tiger farms where tiger products are exported to consumers. Xiongsen Tiger and Bear Mountain Village in Guilin, China is one of the many farms where not only tigers, but bears and monkeys as well, are confined to concrete cages. These exotic creatures are not free to roam their indigenous habitats, nor are they allowed to satiate their wild, predatory instincts. Instead, they madly pace back and forth in their cages, deprived of nutritious and wholesome food, and left to succumb to untreated illnesses. The tigers are farmed for their skins, bones, flesh, and genitals, as they are believed to have medicinal properties. The 300 Asiatic brown bears located on the facilities of Xiongsen are farmed for their bile, which is said to improve eyesight and is “tapped” via plastic tubes that are implanted permanently in their stomachs. Capuchin monkeys share the same doom as the tigers, “as fodder for medicinal elixirs.” However, the monkeys are also sold to drug and pharmaceutical companies where they await unimaginable torture.

Xiongsen’s gift shop boasts a number of tiger products, such as tiger bone wine, which can fetch a hefty price of $132 and, up until recently, their restaurant sold tiger steaks under the title of “big king meat.” Xiongsen’s wines are so popular, it is said that high-ranking government officials often purchase and consume the product in large amounts.

Although China has agreed to aid in global efforts to rescue tigers from the brink of extinction, its support of tiger farms has spurred criticism from people across the globe. The country’s advocacy for the cultivation of tigers in farms will not solve the issue of poaching, since wild tiger parts are considered much more valuable in comparison to those of tigers in captivity. Debbie Banks, the woman in charge of operating the Environmental Investigation Agency, has said, “The [Chinese] government is stimulating and perpetuating demand [for tiger products], which is the real problem we’re facing.”

            The fact that human beings are capable of such grotesque acts of torture amazes me. The cultivation of domesticated animals, such as cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens, is wholly comprehensible, but to go so far as to farm an exotic, majestic, predatory animal for its bones is disgusting. These creatures are made for the wilderness. They are powerful and lithe predators who are native to the forests of Asia, not to the concrete pens of a “farm.” These farms serve absolutely no purpose, but to provide for the never-ending wants of a morally corrupt society. The cultivation of tigers will not put an end to poaching, nor will it save the tiger. If people claim that tigers have a chance, a future, on this planet even though their wild counterparts are extinct, I will argue that a future of confinement in harsh conditions is no future at all.

Tigers serve a purpose in this world: to maintain equilibrium in the balance of their ecosystems. By hunting and consuming their prey, tigers balance out the population of their prey. However, human beings have been hunting down tigers’ only source of nourishment and ultimately destroying the balance that Mother Nature had so lovingly and meticulously tried to maintain. In order to save these beautiful animals we must treat them and their prey with the respect that they deserve instead of condemning them to a life of anguish and torment. They are powerful animals and although they do not possess the intelligence of man, they are beings that are to be feared and respected by us. It is against the laws of nature and life to subject animals to such degradation and obloquy. If we, as a race, do not learn to respect nature, then our world is truly damned.

Not only do I feel sympathy for the tigers, but the monkeys and bears as well. I cannot bear to imagine the anguish and suffering of the poor Asiatic bears. I cannot imagine having a tube implanted in my stomach, and then having my bile sucked through that tube regularly. I cannot believe that monkeys are forced to spend their days in an artificial, unforgiving environment and made to wait for their turn to either be killed for their bones or tortured with chemicals. How is it that humans are capable of such horrors?

Word Count: 754

2nd Post: Group blasts PETA 'Holocaust' project

Article: Group blasts PETA 'Holocaust' project             By: CNN in February 28, 2003

In 2003 the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) opened an exhibition featuring gruesome images of slaughterhouses alongside the horrific scenes of the Holocaust. The exhibition, displayed at the University of California at Los Angeles and in San Diego, California, was titled, "Holocaust On Your Plate." Lisa Lange, the organization's vice president of communications, stated that the purpose of this controversial campaign was to "attack the mindset that condones the slaughter of animals." Having touched upon a sensitive topic, the campaign has evoked angered protests from many. The associations between slaughterhouses and Nazi concentration camps has provoked Abraham Foxman, Anti-Defamation League national director and Holocaust survivor, to make a livid statement. “"The effort by PETA to compare the deliberate, systematic murder of millions of Jews to the issue of animal rights is abhorrent," Foxman said. "PETA's effort to seek approval for their 'Holocaust on Your Plate' campaign is outrageous, offensive and takes chutzpah to new heights." On the show “American Morning with Paula Zahn” on CNN, Lange stated that the inspiration for the “Holocaust On Your Plate” campaign was derived from “Enemies: A Love Story” by Isaac Bashevis Singer, vegetarian, writer, and Nobel Prize laureate. Singer wrote that, “In relation to them [animals], all people are Nazis; for them it is an eternal Treblinka.” Additionally, PETA representative Mark Prescott, whose own family members were murdered in the Holocaust, included that "The very same mind-set that made the Holocaust possible - that we can do anything we want to those we decide are 'different or inferior' - is what allows us to commit atrocities against animals every single day.”

            PETA has always had the best intentions at heart. Although at times their action, campaigns, and protests are often politically incorrect and extremely radical, they have always forced us to take a view on controversial issues and concerns, and to formulate our own opinions on the matter at hand. The link that PETA has drawn between the Holocaust and the slaughter that millions of animals are subjected to each day has caused anger in many Jewish communities and although I agree that it was insensitive towards the plight of the Jews, I believe that the campaign was truly effective in conveying a very important message. To me, it seems as if PETA was not attempting to reiterate the fact that the Jews were treated as “animals”, although that is what humans are, but rather, they were drawing attention to the lack of compassion shown towards the beings portrayed in the exhibition. The installments that portrayed both individuals and animals displayed the complete lack of compassion and empathy shown towards other living beings. I don’t speak for others when I say that PETA’s campaign planted a thought in my mind: If we, as knowledgeable, intelligent, beings who are capable of subjecting others to such cruelty, then surely we must be capable of even greater compassion. Only when we are able to cast aside our own greed, glutton, and hatred, will the world truly be free from suffering. 


Word Count: 520