[patagonia]

There are a lot of comments asking for vegans to explain themselves and their choices. Vegans are not doing something. If I sit in a chair quietly in a room and another person in the room is running around breaking stuff because “it’s enjoyable” and “the stuff can’t feel any pain” I doubt you’d ask me, the person sitting quietly in their chair, to explain myself. Meat eaters with no concern for animal welfare or environmental concerns need to be doing the explaining.

[abandonliberty]

This isn't a vegan issue. Making it one, along with a smug characterization, doesn't help to convert more people over to your cause.

Mature plants nurse their young, providing carbon to younger plants through a mycelial network[0]. They communicate with each other [1]. They generate compounds in response to pain, and might even have vision demonstrated by vines mimicking plastic plants they were grown on [2].

Give it 50 years until we recognize our cruel treatment of plants. Until then I'd recommend compassion, including for those who have different values and beliefs than you.

[0] https://www.globehealth.net/soil-fertility/transfer-of-carbo... [1] https://www.treehugger.com/injured-plants-warn-neighbors-dan... [2] https://nautil.us/issue/104/harmony/plants-feel-pain-and-mig...

[patagonia]

If you read the comments you’ll see there is a conversation going on about vegan / non vegan issues. The conversion is happening in the comments. Regardless what the article’s issues are.

You’ve grossly misused the word “nurse”. And “communicate”. Besides I, as a vegan, do not take issue with the taking of life for the purpose of sustaining life. Zero problem with that. That is how nature works. I only take issue with unnecessary pain / cruelty, at global, industrial scales no less.

When people ask me to explain myself for not causing harm or pain or eating a creature when I didn’t have to, over and over and over again, and at the same are indignant if I ask them to explain their reasoning for supporting and participating in industrialized animal raising and slaughter, then yeah I lose patience with the process. It’s not smugness. I just no longer have patience for it.

Like I have no patience for people equating fungi harvesting and the US industrialized beef production system.

You can have different values than me. And most of the time I’d celebrate it. Unless your “values” are used to justify causing pain or harm to other beings or the environment. But if you are employing faulty logic, that’s on you. Faulty logic don’t not “values” make.

[abandonliberty]

Thanks for the measured response.

Asking why can reflect either genuine curiosity or a challenge. If it's genuine curiosity, then it's what you want. A chance to share your values.

Are you genuinely curious why you ask omnivores why? Do you actually want to know?

[patagonia]

So now you’re telling me what I want. Got it.