And thank you for the thoughtful and interesting comment!

"That is just my speculation on what she could have meant, not that that makes a whole lot of sense either."

Yes, your take on it also sounds like something she would say. Her and Grampa were somewhat quiet about their beliefs (unless asked), but I know they were into some alternative ideas. Back then it wasn't called "alternative" though, it was just how people chose to think and act. One thing they were into was "laying on hands". I remember skinning my knee and having one of them hover over the wound while soothing me with their words. Can't say I know if it helped or not, but I seriously doubt it caused any damage.

Good point about spending time around nature, ie other living things. We live in such a sterile world now, greenery only seen at a distance most of the time, if at all. Being around other animals (and plants) teaches me so much about life. Just staring at my cannabis plants as they grow has led to many revelations that have made me a better gardener and person.

It's interesting about your snake. Reptiles, amphibians, and fish are groups of animals that I consider somewhat less evolutionary developed. That isn't to put them down, of course, it's just to say they developed earlier on and found a niche to inhabit, whereas other forms (like mammals) developed more recently, are more genetically complex, and have more reason to have actually developed emotions, reasoning, etc. I did eat fish until 2 years ago. My uncle (an evolutionary marine biologist with a specialty in salmon brains) told me that fish don't feel pain "as we understand it" and it's more of a negative stimulus they try to move away from. It doesn't distress them emotionally, they don't remember it later, they aren't capable of being traumatized, and so on. Snakes and frogs are probably somewhere around the same level of complexity. Even if they were tasty to me, I doubt I'd choose to eat them. I just don't need the amino acids that badly! I get them all in the other food I eat. :)

You're right, plants and fungi have chemical methods of 'communication' of a sort. And when I take the right fungi on board, yes, I certainly feel the communication happening! Heheh.

Vegans are people who don't eat other people, heh. That's actually how I began the entire article - that concept popped into my head. I wrote the rest around it. :)

I was thinking, isn't that also a definition for "non-cannibal"?

But no, non-cannibals are humans who don't eat other humans. And as we've discussed, that's not the same thing! :)