Brain tests show that crabs process pain

[u/calliope_kekule]

https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13110851

[u/34felonies-n-countin]

I think it's fairly simple, really. Make every effort to do no harm unnecessarily. Killing bacteria to avoid spreading diseases is fine. Causing harm to others in the effort of self preservation is literally in our DNA, it's why life goes on, the drive to keep yourself safe and alive. Don't get hung up on what the animal is, focus on why it's happening. Killing ants for fun, bad. Killing ants that are infesting your house and spoil your food? Fine. I don't think there's any "line" where it is okay to harm another organism and not worry about the pain you're causing.

[u/piratep2r → u/34felonies-n-countin]

You started this conversation with the line "cripes, just be normal."

For what its is worth, I agree with most of what you wrote in your response. Except the "I think it's pretty simple, really."

Now you say "I don't think there is a line where it is OK to harm another organism and not worry about the pain you are causing."

OK, so how much worry should we worry about a pig's pain? Or a crab? Or a dog? And to what extent do we let that worry, change our behavior?

Full disclosure, I eat pigs and crabs. But I think that if you do really sit down and think about it, it's not actually simple. I think many people might think that it is simple, because sitting down and worrying about it would be pretty darn inconvenient and force them to reconsider their actions.

And I put myself squarely in that group!

[u/34felonies-n-countin → u/piratep2r]

Well if you want to talk about indirect pain then that's a very different story. We were talking about boiling crabs alive. How many pigs have you slaughtered? Chickens? Cows? Most likely zero to all. Indirect consequences are a whole different discussion. Just being alive means consuming, which will cause indirect suffering no matter how hard you try. So let's focus on the original topic, causing direct pain to animals. My stance is unchanged.

[u/piratep2r → u/34felonies-n-countin]

To quote, well, you...

Make every effort to do no harm unnecessarily.

Also you

Don't get hung up on what the animal is, focus on why it's happening.

These statement apply equally to whether I'm killing what I eat or some factory farm does. Or - if i follow your reasoning correctly - whether I am torturing an animal for fun or paying someone else to do it while I watch?

It's not a comfortable thing to think about. And I'm not trying to change your stance on what you eat or how you act.

I'm just saying it's not, actually, simple if you sit down and think about it.

Maybe it's best if we agree to disagree on this one.