"It's okay to eat fish because they don't have any feelings..."

Food Chain - Yesterday I got in a somewhat joke conversation with my supervisor regarding my former vegetarianism and what led me to that lifestyle. Here is a train of thought on the topic...

Why did you become a vegetarian? Because I felt there was no need for another living thing to lose its life when there is a completely viable alternative.

You eat rice, don't you, is rice not a living thing? Way to catch my wording there, yes - rice is a living thing, but it is a plant and not an animal.

What's the difference between a plant and an animal and what makes a plant's life worth less? I'm going to have to go with the brain is the primary difference, the ability to adapt one's environment (to an extent) versus adapting to the environment.

So what makes other animals different from humans? Technology, the ever challenging task of manipulating current technology and innovating to make our lives easier. Other animals can be argued construct technology - a bird's nest for instance, is the use of resources and knowledge in order to construct something for use in daily life - however, it is nothing compared to a physical building which not only requires resources and knowledge, but year's of human history has gone into efficient and effective construction methods and purposes maximizing the use of said resources and uses of the building. So in many ways, I suppose one could conclude that history is what differs animals and humans.

Now I'm no longer a vegetarian, although I still feel strongly for it...just not as strongly as I once did. The decision to return to meat has a lot to do with the fact that I'm no longer the sole provider of my own food, although I'm slowly turning her onto the idea of at least eating less meat. Anyways - how do you feel about the relationship between plants and animals and humans? Is there a set food chain that we should respect or follow? I don't know. Ta.