Describe a setting in which you have collaborated or interacted with people whose experiences and/or beliefs differ from yours. Address your initial feelings, and how those feelings were or were not changed by this experience.
"Please don't kill animals they feel pain as we humans do." This is the faddish reason most vegans give to pose people to steer non vegans to vegans. But is it the real truth that plants don't feel pain? I believe every person at least once in their lifetime, voluntarily or not, becomes involved in this age-old debate between vegetarians and meat-lovers on "what's the best to eat".
Personally I am a meat-lover, one of those people who prefers non-vegetarian diet but also considers vegetarian food for its fiber and other important nutrients. Many times I get into these kinds of debate who believes people must switch to vegan diets. Once I went to India and I was staying in the family who were all in all vegans and the mighty debate begun.
They told me the same elegant reason- pain to the animals. I told them plants do feel pain as we do and they too try to defend themselves to be alive. The response was hilarious, the whole family laughed at me. One more time I tried to persuade them by recounting that a number of studies has shown that plants do feel pain. The smell we associate with freshly cut grass is actually a chemical distress call, one used by plants to beg nearby critters to save them from attack. Obviously plants cannot uproot their roots and run for their lives. According to researchers at the Institute for Applied Physics at the University of Bonn in Germany, plants release gases that are the equivalent of crying out in pain. Using a laser-powered microphone researchers have picked up sound waves produced by plants releasing gases when cut or injured. Although not audible to the human ear, the secret voices of plants have revealed that cucumbers scream when they are sick, and flowers whine when their leaves are cut. Likewise, there are several other evidences that plants do feel pain as animals do.
They were somehow convinced by my points but aunt again mentioned that humans are not made to eat meat and if we are true carnivores or omnivores we would eat animal flesh raw and bloody. Repeatedly I again struck back with the point that it's just a misconception proliferated among us. During the ancient time meat was considered as the preeminent food for humans. According to researcher Manuel DomÃnguez-Rodrigo, an archaeologist at Complutense University in Madrid said, "I know this will sound awful to vegetarians, but meat made us human". I switched to discovery channel and coincidently there was Bear Grylls eating a dead camel on the desert. I laughed and showing the program told how can you not say humans aren't made to eat meat?
Ultimately, it was a family and it was evident that the points and explanations conveyed by me could not affect their day to day practices and rituals and neither theirs could affect mine. However, it was a great to interact with the peoples who had a different belief than mine. I got to express my known ideas and opinions to them. Although the adult members couldn't change their thoughts I hope the younger members might have got itty-bitty information from me.
"Please don't kill animals they feel pain as we humans do." This is the faddish reason most vegans give to pose people to steer non vegans to vegans. But is it the real truth that plants don't feel pain? I believe every person at least once in their lifetime, voluntarily or not, becomes involved in this age-old debate between vegetarians and meat-lovers on "what's the best to eat".
Personally I am a meat-lover, one of those people who prefers non-vegetarian diet but also considers vegetarian food for its fiber and other important nutrients. Many times I get into these kinds of debate who believes people must switch to vegan diets. Once I went to India and I was staying in the family who were all in all vegans and the mighty debate begun.
They told me the same elegant reason- pain to the animals. I told them plants do feel pain as we do and they too try to defend themselves to be alive. The response was hilarious, the whole family laughed at me. One more time I tried to persuade them by recounting that a number of studies has shown that plants do feel pain. The smell we associate with freshly cut grass is actually a chemical distress call, one used by plants to beg nearby critters to save them from attack. Obviously plants cannot uproot their roots and run for their lives. According to researchers at the Institute for Applied Physics at the University of Bonn in Germany, plants release gases that are the equivalent of crying out in pain. Using a laser-powered microphone researchers have picked up sound waves produced by plants releasing gases when cut or injured. Although not audible to the human ear, the secret voices of plants have revealed that cucumbers scream when they are sick, and flowers whine when their leaves are cut. Likewise, there are several other evidences that plants do feel pain as animals do.
They were somehow convinced by my points but aunt again mentioned that humans are not made to eat meat and if we are true carnivores or omnivores we would eat animal flesh raw and bloody. Repeatedly I again struck back with the point that it's just a misconception proliferated among us. During the ancient time meat was considered as the preeminent food for humans. According to researcher Manuel DomÃnguez-Rodrigo, an archaeologist at Complutense University in Madrid said, "I know this will sound awful to vegetarians, but meat made us human". I switched to discovery channel and coincidently there was Bear Grylls eating a dead camel on the desert. I laughed and showing the program told how can you not say humans aren't made to eat meat?
Ultimately, it was a family and it was evident that the points and explanations conveyed by me could not affect their day to day practices and rituals and neither theirs could affect mine. However, it was a great to interact with the peoples who had a different belief than mine. I got to express my known ideas and opinions to them. Although the adult members couldn't change their thoughts I hope the younger members might have got itty-bitty information from me.
