If plants are intelligent, what shall we eat? (Venue A: Caffè Nero)

THE VENUE: Caffè Nero

The weather forecast for Sunday looks promising so we expect to meet outside by the river. But things may change. So, the default is to meet indoors but please look out for updates before you leave home.

When we meet inside, we run the same event in two locations: Caffè Nero and Starbucks, so as to provide capacity for as many people who would like to attend. Thus, there will be two events published, and you can choose which one to attend. Please don't sign up for both. This event is for the Nero location.

We meet upstairs at Caffè Nero. An organiser will be present from 10.45. We are not charged for use of the space so it would be good if everyone bought at least one drink.

An attendee limit has been set so as not to overwhelm the venue.

Etiquette
Our discussions are friendly and open. We are a discussion group, not a for-and-against debating society. But it helps if we try to stay on topic. And we should not talk over others, interrupt them, or try to dominate the conversation.

There is often a waiting list for places, so please cancel your attendance as soon as possible if you subsequently find you can't come.

WhatsApp groups
We have two WhatsApp groups. One is to notify events, including extra events such as meeting for a meal or a drink during the week which we don't normally put on the Meetup site. The other is for open discussion of whatever topics occur to people. If you would like to join either or both groups, please send a note of the phone number you would like to use to Richard Baron on: website.audible238@passmail.net. (This is an alias that can be discarded if it attracts spam, hence the odd words.)

THE TOPIC: If plants are intelligent, what shall we eat?

This topic has been on the list for a while but was discussed briefly on our WhatsApp group this week.

Here is one possible description of the problem (and please feel free to disagree with any of the premises):

• at least some people who choose to lead a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle ground their argument on a claim that animals are intelligent
• there is evidence to suggest that plants are intelligent
• the same could be said of insects, another proposed food source for future humanity
• if every living thing is in some way intelligent, and that intelligence is an ethical barrier to farming, killing and consuming them, what then shall we humans eat?

One way out has been proposed by some fruitarians, who say we can eat fruit that has fallen naturally from the tree or bush. This has a few problems though:

• there is unlikely to be a sufficient supply to feed all of humanity
• it may be considered to be interfering with the tree's reproductive cycle
• it raises the rather icky claim that we could also ethically consume animals that have died naturally

Observing contemporary western societies, it seems that we agree on some hierarchy of intelligence, which informs our views on what is 'fair game' and what is not. Different people 'draw the line' at different places on the list:

• humans
• other mammals
• fish
• insects
• plants

If such distinctions are arbitrary, or emotionally or culturally informed, can we find a more rational way to navigate this problem ?

Will science provide the answer, for example with lab-grown meat ? Will this provide a balanced diet contain all the required nutrients ?

The relative environmental impact of the production of any alternative food source is also an ethical concern.

Lastly, is there a 'vocabulary problem' at play here ? Is it helpful to use the same terms for non-human entities that we use for our very human experience of existence ?

This (humorous) article was the original prompt for this topic:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/16/if-plants-are-so-intelligent-should-we-stop-eating-them