In regards to eating meat

[Monica]

Article from the NY Times about the ethical implications of eating peas, given that they can communicate with each other:

It was discovered that bacteria communicate all the way across the world, some 20 years ago. And around that time, it was discovered that plants send distress signals when they're about to get cut down.

"With each other" is an interpretation, presupposing that each one is an individual. If that is the case, then peas, plants and microbes are much more evolved than humans, since most humans are unable to communicate psychically like that.

In my opinion, such studies support my belief that most plants and microbes are all part of a single entity, with its consciousness spread out in its physical form, all over the world. Ie, all peas on the planet share a single consciousness, so the communication between a pea plant and other plants is more akin to a person's body sending a signal to his brain when he stubs his toe, than to me talking to you.

Observe a hive of bees, or an ant colony. These are striking examples of single entities, occupying multiple 'bodies.' But in those cases, in my opinion, each colony is an individual. Whereas with plants and microbes, they are spread out by species.

Just speculation of course, but it makes perfect sense to me.

So, rather than such research 'proving' that plants are sentient like animals and feel pain like animals, it actually does the opposite, in my opinion. This research supports the idea of all pea plants belonging to the same consciousness, rather than individual pea plants having the ability to reason, think logically, and communicate psychically.

To say that plants feel pain is already a stretch. To say that plants intellectually decide which other plants to communicate with, and then do so psychically, something not even most humans can do, is beyond a stretch - it isn't plausible, in my opinion.

Much more plausible is that the single pea consciousness is spread out over all the pea plants in the world, so communication is automatic, much like nerve impulses being sent from our toes to our brain.

To entertain such an idea, requires stretching the thinking beyond the idea of an entity possessing a single physical body. Entities are not mere bodies. Consider the possibility that a 2D entity, let's say grass, isn't defined by each blade of grass, but by its consciousness overall, and it utilizes a physical vehicle quite unlike higher 2D and 3D vehicles.