Wow, what some people think about: The ethical case for vegans to eat Oysters.

Seriously, seems it’s ok:

http://sentientist.org/2013/05/20/the-ethical-case-for-eating-oysters-and-mussels/

They have senses that are controlled by a nervous system.

I love this. You can take this rationale up quite a bit. Clams. Scallops. Cockles. It is a slippery slope.
Then you will have to determine if they can feel pain. That will be tough. I think some plants and insects have chemical based sensory systems that should put them off limits to vegans. Whether they feel pain is up for debate.

Here is an interesting article discussing this. Do plants feel pain? | HowStuffWorks

“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 [source: Deutsche Welle].”

So, plants could be considered sentient beings under this definition?

This is from the PETA website however. Looks like they are trying to discourage it recognizing that all these mollusks have a nervous system with sensory organs?

From PETA / vegan food “All About Shellfish”

“Without obvious legs or faces, bivalves look less animal-like than other shellfish. But they’re capable of a surprising variety of behavior. Scallops can swim away from predators by “flapping” their shells. They can detect light and movement with small eyes that are located around the perimeter of their bodies. Clams can escape by burrowing through sand. Mussels are able to gradually move to a better home, reanchoring themselves in a new location. Oysters protect their soft bodies by snapping their shells tightly closed at the first hint of danger.”

I personally however feel that they should rationalize this just to make sure they get enough protein in their diet. You can’t eat it all the time due to toxins but you could incorporate it generously. However they want to do it is fine with me. They are already eating sentient beings. They just didn’t realize it.

As a vegan, their argument doesn’t hold up for me, nor would it for any vegan I know. As for the idea that plants feel pain, this has been floated by all kinds of people including L. Ron Hubbard, but it doesn’t make it true. Plants have no central nervous system.

Don, you still think that vegans don’t get enough protein? Seriously? Plants are roughly 25% protein. Most people need about 10% of their calories as protein. I work out 5-6 days a week and get plenty of protein from plant based sources without taking any kind of supplements and without planning my meals around high protein foods. The idea that plant based diets have insufficient protein is completely untrue. So is the myth about “complete” proteins and the need to combine proteins. You can get all the protein you need easily from a plant based diet and you’ll likely avoid getting excessive protein which has been linked in some studies to a higher rate of cancer.

The case for eating oysters and mussels is simply “they be tasty”

Well, there is that…

It’s all arbitrary.

Who knows what a plant feels. It’s a funny hierarchy that has a 500 year old tree less worthy than a bivavle.