I promise this is more than a rant detailing how much I hate aphids. And yes, I hate them so much I fraternise with the good people of Reddit posting videos on how satisfying it is to watch ladybugs eat them in the garden.

The whole thing got me thinking of how subjective our appraisal of life forms on this planet is. Like it or not, our natural mandate is to secure the survival of those life forms we are emotionally attached to (mostly, but certainly not limited to our own species).

So here’s my little rant on hypocrisy when proselytising about the love and respect people have for all life (my own included).

“Evolved and sentient”

Many vegans claim consideration should be given to life forms according to how evolved and sentient they are (whether or not they suffer when killed, how aware they are of the process etc).

Presumably, that saves them from being asked whether people should be welcoming hosts to staph or strep which decide to multiply inside their bodies, as opposed to nuking them with antibiotics. Or to tape worms and other parasites. However, it should be noted these too are life forms fighting for their survival, are acting as nature designed them to and are not inherently different or evil, although they make us and our loved ones suffer. They just…exist, as we do.

The delineation between a non-human life worth protecting and one worth discarding becomes arbitrary from the start.

“Plants, though alive, are just food”

Actually, studies have been conducted over the decades with regards to the way plants react to certain stimuli such as music or other subtle factors in their environment, and they are fascinating, regardless of accuracy.

One can certainly become attached to a plant as others are attached to a pet, in terms of caring for it for years, seeing it grow and helping it thrive, treating and resuscitating it when attacked by nature’s predatory organisms (cough-cough, aphids).

Many years ago, I had a small plant propagated from one leaf I’d accidentally torn off a plant in my highschool. When leaves were accidentally torn, I would propagate and plant them, and eventually ended up with about twenty pots, akin to that Twighlight Zone episode. One can see something uplifting, spiritual in reviving them if they are in trouble or even seem dead. That in and of itself is love for life, isn’t it?

Of course, I don’t give the exact same consideration to those I plant for cooking, though I don’t exactly enjoy removing them from the ground when I have to. After all, what is the difference between ornamental plants and them? None. Merely the purpose and attachment. Some I keep as “pets”, and care for in any way I can, and others are just there to feed my family. When I buy them already cut from a supermarket, I don’t even give it a second throught before throwing them in the pot.

Insects

It brightens my day when I manage to help an insect out of my house safely, without causing any harm. I’m particulalry fond of spiders, and if they’re small enough, I let them climb onto my hand and carry them outside. If they are bigger, I use other methods, such as carrying them on a sheet of paper or trapping them in a jar and releasing them outside. And I honestly feel good about doing it, which is of course entirely subjective.

I don’t kill insects needlessly, when I can kindly take them out the door. Except, of course, if they pose a danger to my family, such as earwigs. Of course these are not the devil’s spawn either, they just exist – but I can’t take the chance.

And, needless to say, if insects happen to infest my plants. I give them the same consideration I give fungi (which are also life forms). Which is to immediatley spray them with something lethal, as I’ve seen the damage they can cause and the sheer speed of it. Their last minute is probably not much fun.

Is that hypocritical? Very likely. But I don’t care. Because I’m more attached to my plants and want to protect them, even if they are less evolved.

Then again, if a different animal happened to munch on plants in my hypothetical garden, such as a rabbit or even a mole, it wouldn’t even cross my mind to kill them, as I couldn’t stomach the thought. And they would only go for the edible ones anyway. Some farmers do kill them though for that reason. Is it my place to judge them for protecting their crops? No, it’s not. They give them the same consideration I give aphids. It’s all arbitrary.

Are pest control companies evil…?

Yes, I love Over The Hedge; it’s a hilarious film. But realistically, there are situations which get out of control and threaten people’s safety.

A recent one I was involved in was the discovery of a wasps’ nest at a house my family used to live in, when the roof was accidentally damaged. Normally, I would allow one wasp to leave the hose peacefully, by opening windows and doors. This, however, was not one wasp. It was a whole nest, freshly allowed to roam free outside our front door. You’d see about 20 of them flying around at one given time.

Did I feel sorry for them when the exterminator turned up? Maybe a little. I wished them a quick and safe passing, but that was about it; my family was more important.

Then there was the sorry tale of a mouse infestation, many years ago. When the first one showed up, I thought to myself it was a little cutie and even named it. After all, one mouse in the countryside is nothing unusual and it’s just that – one little mouse. We thought it would go away when the weather got warmer. When noticing there were two or three, we set live traps, drove away with them and released them in the fields, a mile or so away from the house. Unfortunately, they had already bred and their offspring kept doing so, until the situation had to be handled. There’s a contradiction I’m well aware of, between the hippie fondness we showed the first few and the complete lack of remorse we showed the rest. And I know it’s horrible, and I thought so at the time, but what can you do? Nature doesn’t care about your plans or good intentions; it does what it does.

And pest control workers are not evil; they just do what the rest of us would absolutely hate doing, but would be screwed without. I’d love to read an inspiring tale of how a vegan, presumably against killing sentient animlas, dealt with a situation of this type without calling them or moving.

Sure, I don’t agree with some people’s perception of pests; many for instance see gulls as such. I for one love gulls and feed them with every chance I get. They occasionally shit on my windows as a thank you note, but they are still delightful birds; I love seeing and hearing them. Though I remember, many years ago, having to sweep the alley and re-bag rubbish as they would tear into the bags overnight and the whole place was a mess. I love ravens and crows as well and just as with gulls, feed them all the time and love having them around. I feel a spiritual connection to them.

And yet I eat chicken and turkey. Hypocritical, right? Of course. But that’s life. Because attachment is all arbitrary.

Revulsion towards certain meats is all in the mind

Due to attachment I would never eat, say, horse meat. Because I grew up in a culture that values horses as companions; I used to ride horses as a child, even without a saddle, and they were part of my life day in and day out. I grew up in a time and place where horse carts were as common in the streets as cars were and it was safe enough that myself, as an eight-year-old or so, could take the reins and navigate traffic, though honestly, the horse must have known the streets and way back home better than I did. I feel the same about eating horse as most people in the west would feel about eating cats or dogs. Of course that is subjective.

When I hear that in Holland it’s commonplace to eat horse meat I cringe a tad, but it’s not my place to judge as everyone has a different experience with animals and different culture. I would never do it myself, for personal reasons, but again, it’s not my place to judge their traditions, as long as the animals are killed humanely.

Vegans are right, needless to say, to decry the treatment of animals in places like China, where they are tortured, skinned or boiled alive. Anyone who hasn’t been so desensitised to those practices they take it as normal has the exact same visceral reaction to that level of needless cruelty. However, here in Europe, and in many places around the world, such practices are unheard of to date (to my knowledge anyway).

Just a sudden thought …. Some geographical regions are…low in fruit and veg

Of course you’ve heard this before; such as how would Eskimos fare without sources of meat, given the climate they live in. I must say I haven’t thoroughy researched the vegan answer to that one. Should they move? Or should Amazon expand and deliver the broccoli? I’ll look into it and surely have a good laugh.