I imagine that would be because most people don’t understand that sentient beings includes chickens, lobsters[1], and unborn fetuses (not that many people would agree with eating fetuses). If you asked “is that because you think it’s wrong to kill and eat beings that are capable of perceiving stimuli” most would probably disagree with you. Now, if you asked “is that because you think it’s wrong to kill and eat beings that are capable of doing algebra,” you’d probably get a different response.
The reason people wouldn’t eat an elf isn’t because it’s a sentient being, it’s because it’s a human equivalent sentient being. So you need to reach beyond sentience to find your inconsistency.
And of course, the reason people wouldn’t eat a Wookie is because it probably would taste like an old boot.
[1]Research in recent years suggests that crustaceans may be capable of feeling pain and stress.
We consider evidence that crustaceans might experience pain and stress in ways that are analogous to those of vertebrates. Various criteria are applied that might indicate a potential for pain experience: (1) a suitable central nervous system and receptors, (2) avoidance learning, (3) protective motor reactions that might include reduced use of the affected area, limping, rubbing, holding or autotomy, (4) physiological changes, (5) trade-offs between stimulus avoidance and other motivational requirements, (6) opioid receptors and evidence of reduced pain experience if treated with local anaesthetics or analgesics, and (7) high cognitive ability and sentience. For stress, we examine hormonal responses that have similar function to glucocorticoids in vertebrates. We conclude that there is considerable similarity of function, although different systems are used, and thus there might be a similar experience in terms of suffering. The treatment of these animals in the food industry and elsewhere might thus pose welfare problems.
No more prawn cocktails or shrimp sandwiches for me.
You probably looked it up a long time ago, but for any future readers: They’re different groups of species. Both are soft-shelled crustaceans, but that’s where the similarity ends.
Any morphological similarities are probably down to converging evolution.
Ha… actually, I didn’t look it up at all. According to Wikipedia, you’re right, but ‘shrimp’ is the common name for a lot of things that get called ‘prawns’ outside of the US.
I imagine that would be because most people don’t understand that sentient beings includes chickens, lobsters[1], and unborn fetuses (not that many people would agree with eating fetuses). If you asked “is that because you think it’s wrong to kill and eat beings that are capable of perceiving stimuli” most would probably disagree with you. Now, if you asked “is that because you think it’s wrong to kill and eat beings that are capable of doing algebra,” you’d probably get a different response.
The reason people wouldn’t eat an elf isn’t because it’s a sentient being, it’s because it’s a human equivalent sentient being. So you need to reach beyond sentience to find your inconsistency.
And of course, the reason people wouldn’t eat a Wookie is because it probably would taste like an old boot.
[1]Research in recent years suggests that crustaceans may be capable of feeling pain and stress.
Pain and stress in crustaceans? Source: Applied Animal Behaviour Science.
No more prawn cocktails or shrimp sandwiches for me.
Is there really a place where both ‘prawn’ and ‘shrimp’ are used? What’s the difference?
You probably looked it up a long time ago, but for any future readers: They’re different groups of species. Both are soft-shelled crustaceans, but that’s where the similarity ends.
Any morphological similarities are probably down to converging evolution.
Ha… actually, I didn’t look it up at all. According to Wikipedia, you’re right, but ‘shrimp’ is the common name for a lot of things that get called ‘prawns’ outside of the US.