I say that it doesn't matter if a plant or animal feels pain or not, if it's alive, it should be treated with the same respect as other life forms. It doesn't makes sense that you will not eat something because it feels pain, but then if it doesn't feel pain, you are undecided.
Let me put it this way. As a vegetarian myself (not a vegan), I choose to eat plants and not animals. While I don't drink milk, I do, however, eat bread, occasional cheese, etc. I tried veganism for a few weeks, and the fact is that it would be near impossible for me to do so. Restrictions such as my budget, location, age, have made it very difficult for me to invest in products with no animal content whatsoever. I do try to minimize my intake of these products, but in todays marketplace, a vast majority of foods have some sort of animal product in them. By being a vegetarian, I try to minimize the amount of pain or suffering of animals that could be attributed to me.
I do not know how much easier I can explain it other than my previous quote on logic, but I will try a last time.
I do not deny the existance of the food chain, or the fact that things must die to give life to others. You said,
if it's alive, it should be treated with the same respect as other life forms
while the fact is, animals processed for meat are treated with absolutely no respect, from birth to death. I will not go into the details of this, but I am sure you know what I mean. Vegetables were meant to be eaten by Herbivores/omnivores. Animals were meant to be eaten by carnovires. I do not believe, however, that animals were meant to be made to suffer throguh their entire lives to feed a race of mostly herbivores, mostly because of taste. Nobody can deny the fact that nobody
needs to eat meat. This believe started because people did not know how to balance their diet properly. The truth is, every nutrient we need to survive can be found in vegetables. A vast majorty of the "studies" that were done years ago that supposedly prove this have been debunked.
I don't know what else I can say that will explain it to you. I choose not to eat meat, because it minimizes the suffering that I cause. Vegetables feel not pain, you said so yourself. Hence, out of the two options I have (meat or vegetables), I choose vegetables. You cannot apply these standards to inedible objects, saying that since they feel no pain, I should eat them. That's silly. Anyway, I know you aren't bashing vegetarians or anything, I just don't know how else to explain it.
