It’s funny to me because it reads like a satire of non-vegans, but this is literally how most of them are.

  • Angel [any]@hexbear.netOP
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    1 day ago

    No, not really.

    We conclude that claims for plant consciousness are highly speculative and lack sound scientific support.

    A few “experts” who arrive at their beliefs off of vibes rather than science may say they support the notion of plant sentience, but it’s not taken seriously as a scientific idea.

    Non-vegans also don’t believe it. If anything, they just throw it out as a disingenuous excuse to alleviate guilt.

    Something I ask non-vegans who say this stuff [NSFW]

    If plants are to be sentient and that therefore makes exploiting animals for food and eating plants morally equivalent, would you consider using a cucumber as a sex toy to be morally equivalent to bestiality?

    In every case, they dodge the question and act as if they don’t understand the relevance.

    • Horse {they/them}@lemmygrad.ml
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      1 day ago

      the “experts” are botanists, they aren’t like just random people and the idea has been published in scientific journals
      and yeah, of course non-vegans are being disingenuous, that’s what they do

      • Angel [any]@hexbear.netOP
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        1 day ago

        Can you a cite a source, though? I’ve seen non-vegans cite sources and arrive at the wrong conclusions because they misinterpreted the sources. For example, they think that responding to stimuli is an indicator of sentience, but it’s not. I feel like you are assuming far too much good-faith when it comes to this debate about plant sentience. Just because an idea is discussed and seems controversial doesn’t actually mean that it’s truly contentious with in a scientific context. Not all “debates” are genuine, and not all “controversies” are scientifically valid, and this is really just a “We have to validate both sides” kind of framing. Can you please demonstrate to me a single reputable botanical source that endorses plant sentience?