Given plants do not 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 .
Do plants feel pain? group scientists wrote their paper these findings alter way we about plant kingdom, has considered be silent not .
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.
This prompted researchers assert pain requires cerebral cortex state non-mammalian vertebrates not feel pain (Key 2016). statement controversial, . plants do not sleep, do have known-to-be-conscious experiences REM sleep waking up. And, sleep, responses anesthetics .
The simple answer that, currently, one sure plants feel pain. do that can feel sensations. Studies show plants feel touch light a caterpillar's footsteps. pain, specifically, a defense mechanism. something hurts humans, react instinctually it—"fight flight"—as .
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 .
However, experts agree plants do not 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.
Plants do feel stress the environment other activities, their response such stimuli very from idea stress, plants lack nervous system traditional brain. . the debate whether plants "feel pain" veers philosophy, question whether plants feel stress not .
While do some idea what internally a plant damaged, cannot compare to way animal systems respond injury plants do not a central nervous system. Therefore, is possible plants feel pain, definitely in way are familiar with.
Do Plants Feel Pain? - YouTube
