Vegetarians claim that they don't eat animals (cattle, fowls etc) because they fear for the emotions of the animals. They don't want to put the animals in pain.
However, science has discovered that plants DO have emotions and could feel pain.
However, science has discovered that plants DO have emotions and could feel pain.
In his book Primary Perception, fringe scientist Cleve Baxter described a number of experiments that he conducted with plants, testing their response to various stimuli. In many cases, the plants were attached to a polygraph (lie-detector), which measured the electrical impulses of their leaves. While the plants did respond with high levels of stress to certain events, they tended to react most strongly to wanton destruction such as an experimenter smashing or setting fire to an entire plant. Little response was recorded in relation to less dramatic acts like pulling off a few leaves. This research suggests that plants may feel something like pain, fear, or at least discomfort in certain cases.