[sdwr]

I don't think plants can feel pain. To me, pain is tied to learning and agency. Theres little to nothing a plant can learn from/ change upon being eaten, so why would they be able to feel it?

I bet plants get some version of depression though.

[pphysch]

Plants learn and have agency [1]. It just takes a bit more patience to observe.

[1] - https://www.newyorker.com/video/watch/commentary-plant-neuro...

[sdwr]

Wow! Those stalks almost look like tentacles!

[goldenkey]

Amazing, his recent comment appears to indicate that he does have sentience after all! He almost looks like a _______. But of course he's just a lowly human. ;-)

[goldenkey]

Plants literally produce nicotine, caffeine, mescaline, and other chemical insecticides to thwart off predation... Lidocaine literally works on plants because all living organisms have electrical gradients and ion channels regardless of whether or not a nervous system exists.

Plants have a consciousness, it's just not the same as yours or mine. We shouldn't be eating animals or plants, we should be eating pollen, wax, and nectar - seeds and fruit. This would be true permaculture without any reaping or sowing of any life.

I literally own a startup dedicated to this futuristic goal. You can email me if you are interested in Roylent.

The least we can do at the current moment is to not torture animals for food. That can be agreed on regardless of one's views and understandings about information, computation, and consciousness.

[pphysch]

What about bacteria and bugs?

[goldenkey]

What about them?

[pphysch]

Does your flavor of permaculture actively preserve their lives?

[goldenkey]

Yes

[pphysch]

How so? How do you avoid crushing them?