Last year, study that plants registered pain their leaves touched plucked, eventually caused release foul-tasting chemicals the leaves.
This defense response beckons question: plants feel pain? Advertisement. answer a bit complicated they don't feel pain us humans do, some plant scientists posit may feel pain their way. Let's dive some plant neurobiology figure how multicellular organisms be experiencing pain.
The reason plants can't feel pain because lack nervous systems brains. is the precise reason so nonhuman animals, including many we kill the millions day food, and feel pain. understand plants can't feel pain to understand animals can.
Studies show plants feel touch light a caterpillar's footsteps. pain, specifically, a defense mechanism. something hurts humans, react instinctually it—"fight flight"—as other animals. plants don't that ability—nor they nervous systems brains—so may no .
Unlike and animals, plants do have nociceptors, specific types receptors are programmed respond pain. also, course, don't brains, they lack machinery to turn stimuli an actual experience. is plants incapable feeling pain.
Given plants do have pain receptors, nerves, a brain, do feel pain we members the animal kingdom understand it. Uprooting carrot trimming hedge not form botanical torture, you bite that apple worry. However, seems many plants perceive communicate physical stimuli .
In 1970s 80s, rift opened still divides plant scientists this day. began The Secret Life Trees, 1973 book which journalist Peter Tompkins espoused — other pseudoscientific claims — concept plant sentience. few years later, Van Volkenburgh a graduate student UW, researcher named David Rhoades discovered plants .
Whether not plants the capacity feel pain garnered large amount interest the public recent years. plants found be capable feeling pain the consequences be far-reaching, facing with question whether not is ethical destroy eat them. Thankfully, for and us, plants do have capacity feel pain, .
Do plants feel pain we perceive it? we have idea what internally a plant damaged, cannot compare to way animal systems respond injury plants do have central nervous system. . truth remains a fruit vegetable-heavy diet lowers risk all sorts diseases. if .
However, experts agree plants do feel pain the emotional, conscious animals do. the end, plants display incredibly complex behaviors response damage, plants don't feel pain animals do. responses driven evolutionary mechanisms survive thrive than conscious suffering.
Do Plants Really Feel Pain? What Does Science Say?
