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[Aqizzar]

What was the point of this rather inaccurate thought experiment?

Make you feel bad about eating meat.

As for myself, I am not an autotroph and a Blue cannot live on greens alone.  Or any other color I guess.

[Criptfeind]

It seems to include eating plants with 'you should feel bad'. Which really takes away any feelings it might have had and moves it into the realm of the stupid.

[Impending Doom]

I feel for the plight of the poor, defenseless Yellows. Which is why I have made the choice to only consume the flesh of the murderous Reds and Greens.

[Jackrabbit]

One thing that got me was that if the Yellows are plants, and are willing to share what they grow with others, then surely they're just letting themselves be eaten? What can a plant grow but itself? And if the Yellows are plants, the Green tried can't provide for themselves without killing and eating them, because that's their source of food, there isn't any other. Same with the Reds. They're built to eat those food sources, it's not some sort of concious decision to be a dick. And to a lesser extent the only reason Blues eat Reds, Greens and Yellows is because their bodies are set up to required the nutritional value provided by all of them and only due to modern medicine with things like iron tablets can we live on Yellows alone without hobbling ourselves.

And that's another thing, even if we swear off Reds and Greens, we still have to eat Yellows to survive. Screw this "the Yellows are willing to share" nonsense, if they're willing to share, they're plants, and we'd be eating them anyway. This was a very, very poorly thought out analogy/joke.

Beyond that, if you want me to feel bad, make them less tasty.

[Impending Doom]

One thing that got me was that if the Yellows are plants, and are willing to share what they grow with others, then surely they're just letting themselves be eaten? What can a plant grow but itself?

True. It should be mentioned that the food the Yellows grow for themselves (dirt) is unwholesome and often outright poisonous to the other tribes.

[kaijyuu]

Plant "food" is probably analogously closer to CO2 than dirt. Some important nutrients come from the soil, but the main building blocks are carbon (from the air) and sunlight to power it.

CO2 comes from the other "tribes", from decaying plants, from volcanoes, and a bunch of other stuff.

[Impending Doom]

Excess CO₂ is poisonous to humans and animals. It translates into this: The Yellows are more than willing to share their food, but none of the other tribes can eat it without dying.

[Hubris Incalculable]

There is an error in there anyway - Reds do not directly eat Yellows. Only Blues (not just humans - all omnivores) and Greens directly eat Yellows.

[King DZA]

On this planet, we all have to eat each other to live. That's how our bodies are created. Circle of life and all that.

However, the methods and attitudes surrounding this necessary process are definitely something that can be improved. Just because we all have to devour one another to survive, doesn't mean we have to be dicks about it. And every time I hear about it being OK to kill and eat another creature and not give damn solely because we're a "superior species", I get a little closer to grinding the next person's face into the concrete.

[EveryZig]

If we are going to mentally anthropomorphize things without brains or other means of having a mind, why not extend it a bit further?
For instance, what about all those cold viruses people ruthlessly try to exterminate for causing you minor inconvenience?

[kaijyuu]

I'm not totally joking when I say we need to invent star trek replicators. Meat's tasty but I'd prefer it not to have a side of pain and fear..


Isn't there some promising research going on about growing it? That'd be pretty acceptable.

[Flying Dice]

If we are going to mentally anthropomorphize things without brains or other means of having a mind, why not extend it a bit further?
For instance, what about all those cold viruses people ruthlessly try to exterminate for causing you minor inconvenience?

Antibiotics are weapons of mass destruction.


Oh, and why doesn't anyone care about the rights of the mosquitos? Won't a single one of you have the decency to let them survive and grow instead of murdering them by the score every summer?

[Powder Miner]

...The magic of Nature friends, the magic of nature.
The entire ecosystem was designed around eating crap, and we're omnivores. It's what we were designed for. I have no qualms about being fully omnivorous. Om nom nom tasty plants and meat.

[Grek]

What was the point of this rather inaccurate thought experiment?

To mess with people's heads.

E: Case in point:

I feel for the plight of the poor, defenseless Yellows. Which is why I have made the choice to only consume the flesh of the murderous Reds and Greens.

[Criptfeind]

The only way this is messing with my head is with my previous notion that you were intelligent.