--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Feeding plants to animals then eating the…" description: "\"Feeding plants to animals then eating the animals is like filtering water through a sewer then drinking it.\" — Bruce Friedrich" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/bruce-friedrich-35491_animal_feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-th_2265147.png" --- # Feeding plants to animals then eating the animals is like… ![“Feeding plants to animals then eating the animals is like filtering water through a sewer then drinking it.” quote by Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/bruce-friedrich-35491_animal_feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-th_2265147.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/bruce-friedrich-35491_animal_feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-th_2265147.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/bruce-friedrich-35491_animal_feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-th_2265147.png) > “Feeding plants to animals then eating the animals is like filtering water through a sewer then drinking it.” [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Eating animals raised on plant feed is ethically contradictory, like drinking polluted water. **In simple terms:** Eating animals fed plants is contradictory. Key Takeaway Choose direct plant consumption. Themes ethics food systems environment Mood concerned motivated Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - Meal planning - policy advocacy - personal diet Key Concepts Sustainability food chain consumer choice Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives exist for sustainable protein? - How can we make plant diets more appealing? A Different Perspective Plant-based diets may be less accessible for all. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Eating animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-animals/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“The justifications for eating animals and for not eating them are often identical: we are not them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnathan-safran-foer/the-justifications-for-eating-animals-and-for-not-eating-them-are/) [Johnathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnathan-safran-foer/) > [To me nature is... spiders and bugs, and big fish eating little fish, and plants eating plans, and animals eating... It's like an enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/to-me-nature-is-spiders-and-bugs-and-big-fish-eating-little-fish-and/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [If vegetarians love animals so much why do they keep eating all their food?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-vegetarians-love-animals-so-much-why-do-they-keep-eating-all-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’ve always found wildlife very calming-- except when animals are eating each other, of course.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-upton/i-ve-always-found-wildlife-very-calming-except-when-animals-are/) [Tom Upton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-upton/) > [Dear vegetarians... If you're trying to save the animals, why are you eating their food?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka/dear-vegetarians-if-you-re-trying-to-save-the-animals-why-are-you/) [Priyanka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka/) > [“the world is better without them. only the plants and the animals are true comrades. I drink to them and with them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-world-is-better-without-them-only-the-plants-and-the-animals-are/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [The best opinion now is, that there are multitudinous forms which are not sufficiently differentiated to be distinctively either plant or animal, while, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/the-best-opinion-now-is-that-there-are-multitudinous-forms-which-are/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [“The trees are a thousand times taller than me, and hundreds of years older, and the rocks and leaves and plants and animals never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stephenson/the-trees-are-a-thousand-times-taller-than-me-and-hundreds-of-years/) Ben Stephenson > [“There is no doubt that plants and animals have minds, emotions, feelings, and survival instincts. This means that we must also consider a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/there-is-no-doubt-that-plants-and-animals-have-minds-emotions/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [I think coexisting with another life form is a very rich experience. It's why people keep plants and animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-orlean/i-think-coexisting-with-another-life-form-is-a-very-rich-experience/) [Susan Orlean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-orlean/) > [“After all, the sanitation and the agriculture of today are still in the rudimentary stage. The science of our time has attacked but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/after-all-the-sanitation-and-the-agriculture-of-today-are-still-in/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [“Even plants and animals were mechanised. Around the time that Homo sapiens was elevated to divine status by humanist religions, farm animals stopped being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/even-plants-and-animals-were-mechanised-around-the-time-that-homo/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Plants and animals repeat routine, but men who are not restrained will go into the future like explorers into a new country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-wilder-lane/plants-and-animals-repeat-routine-but-men-who-are-not-restrained-will/) [Rose Wilder Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-wilder-lane/) > [What a difference that extra 120 ppm has made for plants, and for animals and humans that depend on them. The more carbon dioxide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-driessen/what-a-difference-that-extra-120-ppm-has-made-for-plants-and-for/) [Paul Driessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-driessen/) > [“But if humans can make new varieties of plants and animals, must not nature do so also? This related process is called natural selection.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/but-if-humans-can-make-new-varieties-of-plants-and-animals-must-not/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More by Bruce Friedrich > [Animals on factory farms and slaughter houses are mutilated, drugged and abused in ways that would be illegal if dogs or cats were treated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/animals-on-factory-farms-and-slaughter-houses-are-mutilated-drugged/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [Chickens are interesting individuals who have as much right not to be cooked and eaten as a dog or a cat or even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/chickens-are-interesting-individuals-who-have-as-much-right-not-to-be/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [Based on my time living with rats and mice in Washington, D.C., I have always assumed that animals will escape such fires, since their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/based-on-my-time-living-with-rats-and-mice-in-washington-d-c-i-have/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [It would be great if all the fast-food outlets, slaughterhouses, these laboratories and the banks who fund them exploded tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/it-would-be-great-if-all-the-fast-food-outlets-slaughterhouses-these/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [If we really believe that animals have the same right to be free from pain and suffering at our hands, then, of course weÂ’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/if-we-really-believe-that-animals-have-the-same-right-to-be-free-from/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [Every time I sit down to eat, I cast my lot: for mercy, against misery; for the oppressed, against the oppressor; and for compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/every-time-i-sit-down-to-eat-i-cast-my-lot-for-mercy-against-misery/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [Eating meat is not your personal decision, any more than, you know, whether somebody beats their child is their personal decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/eating-meat-is-not-your-personal-decision-any-more-than-you-know/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [There is so much blood on this chicken-killer's hands, a little more on his business suit won't hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/there-is-so-much-blood-on-this-chicken-killer-s-hands-a-little-more/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [Remember that as a vegan, you save dozens of animals every year from the horrors of factory farms, which is great. And when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/remember-that-as-a-vegan-you-save-dozens-of-animals-every-year-from/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [The point at which society moves towards our views is a point where we are significantly closer to the vegan world that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/the-point-at-which-society-moves-towards-our-views-is-a-point-where/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [I'm convinced that welfare reforms deserve our support, both because they are better (or at least much less bad) for the animals involved (the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/i-m-convinced-that-welfare-reforms-deserve-our-support-both-because/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [KFC has no excuse for refusing to adopt these basic, minimal animal-welfare standards ... After two years of fruitless negotiations with the company, we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/kfc-has-no-excuse-for-refusing-to-adopt-these-basic-minimal-animal/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) [Explore all 13 Bruce Friedrich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Feeding plants to animals then eating the animals is like filtering water through a sewer then drinking it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bruce Friedrich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-the-animals-is-like-filtering/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-the-animals-is-like-filtering/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/bruce-friedrich-35491_animal_feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-th_2265147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/bruce-friedrich-35491_animal_feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-th_2265147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/bruce-friedrich-35491_animal_feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-th_2265147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Feeding plants to animals then eating the animals is like filtering water through a sewer then drinking it.” — Bruce Friedrich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bruce Friedrich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Feeding plants to animals then eating...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-the-animals-is-like-filtering/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/feeding-plants-to-animals-then-eating-the-animals-is-like-filtering/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```