--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if plants were sentient, veganism…" description: "\"Even if plants were sentient, veganism would still be a moral imperative given that it takes many pounds of plants to produce one pound of flesh.\" — Ga..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gary-l-francione-8902_flesh_even-if-plants-were-sentient-veganism-wo_2015276.jpg" --- # Even if plants were sentient, veganism would still be a… ![“Even if plants were sentient, veganism would still be a moral imperative given that it takes many pounds of plants to produce one pound of flesh.” quote by Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gary-l-francione-8902_flesh_even-if-plants-were-sentient-veganism-wo_2015276.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gary-l-francione-8902_flesh_even-if-plants-were-sentient-veganism-wo_2015276.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gary-l-francione-8902_flesh_even-if-plants-were-sentient-veganism-wo_2015276.jpg) > “Even if plants were sentient, veganism would still be a moral imperative given that it takes many pounds of plants to produce one pound of flesh.” [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even if plants felt, the massive plant consumption for meat makes veganism ethically necessary. **In simple terms:** Veganism remains ethical despite plant sentience. Key Takeaway Choose plant‑based diets. Themes ethics environment diet animal rights food production Mood thoughtful concerned Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - restaurant planning - personal nutrition - policy advocacy - educational curricula Key Concepts sentience resource efficiency moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does plant resource use compare to animal farming? - Can ethical diets ignore plant sentience? A Different Perspective Plant sentience could complicate moral calculations, but overall impact remains decisive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Imperatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperatives/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Plants Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants-produce-3620704/) [Plants Sentient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants-sentient-3620703/) [Pound Flesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pound-flesh-1625268/) [Pounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pounds/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Sentient Veganism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentient-veganism-3620702/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Veganism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/veganism/) [Veganism Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/veganism-moral-2764773/) ## Related quotes > [“There are some animal advocates who say that to maintain that veganism is the moral baseline is objectionable because it is “judgmental,” or constitutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garylfrancione/there-are-some-animal-advocates-who-say-that-to-maintain-that/) [GaryLFrancione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garylfrancione/) > [The plants that produce visions can function- for those of us who have inherited the New World Order of barren materialism, cut off from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/the-plants-that-produce-visions-can-function-for-those-of-us-who-have/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [Meat reared on land matures relatively quickly, and it takes only a few pounds of plants to produce a pound of meat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/meat-reared-on-land-matures-relatively-quickly-and-it-takes-only-a/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [“I may not be able to stop you from killing me to get your pound of flesh, Tristan, but touch me – ” She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-may-not-be-able-to-stop-you-from-killing-me-to-get-your-pound-of/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I think everyone's had their pound of flesh and now it's time to move on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-think-everyone-s-had-their-pound-of-flesh-and-now-it-s-time-to-move/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [“Revenge seeks its pound of flesh. That’s one fifth of my erection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/revenge-seeks-its-pound-of-flesh-that-s-one-fifth-of-my-erection/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I am not looking for a pound of flesh from Sally Jewell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-murkowski/i-am-not-looking-for-a-pound-of-flesh-from-sally-jewell/) [Lisa Murkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-murkowski/) > [“Animals are property. There are laws that supposedly protect animal interests in being treated “humanely,” but that term is interpreted in large part to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animals-are-property-there-are-laws-that-supposedly-protect-animal/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [I find it very annoying that so many animal advocates talk about the difficulty of being vegan. Many animal advocates are inclined to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/i-find-it-very-annoying-that-so-many-animal-advocates-talk-about-the/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Veganism is the application of the principle of abolition in your own life; it represents your recognition that animals are not things. Veganism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/veganism-is-the-application-of-the-principle-of-abolition-in-your-own/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [If we can live and prosper without killing, why would we not do so? I do not see veganism as 'extreme' in any way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/if-we-can-live-and-prosper-without-killing-why-would-we-not-do-so-i/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [If you love animals but think that veganism is extreme, then you are confused about the meaning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/if-you-love-animals-but-think-that-veganism-is-extreme-then-you-are/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [We do not need to eat animals, wear animals, or use animals for entertainment purposes, and our only defence of these uses is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/we-do-not-need-to-eat-animals-wear-animals-or-use-animals-for/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Being vegan is easy. Are there social pressures that encourage you to continue to eat, wear, and use animal products? Of course there are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/being-vegan-is-easy-are-there-social-pressures-that-encourage-you-to/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [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/) ## More by Gary L. Francione > [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/) > [Humans treat animals as things that exist as means to human ends. That's morally wrong. Sexism promotes the idea that women are things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/humans-treat-animals-as-things-that-exist-as-means-to-human-ends-that/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [“The notion that animals are not self-aware is based on nothing more than a stipulation that the only way to be self-aware is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/the-notion-that-animals-are-not-self-aware-is-based-on-nothing-more/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [There is no morally coherent difference between fur and other animal clothing, such as leather, wool, etc., just as there is no morally coherent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/there-is-no-morally-coherent-difference-between-fur-and-other-animal/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [We cannot talk simultaneously about animal rights and the 'humane' slaughter of animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/we-cannot-talk-simultaneously-about-animal-rights-and-the-humane/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [We can no more justify using nonhumans as human resources than we can justify human slavery. Animal use and slavery have at least one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/we-can-no-more-justify-using-nonhumans-as-human-resources-than-we-can/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Because animals are property, we consider as "humane treatment" that we would regard as torture if it were inflicted on humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/because-animals-are-property-we-consider-as-humane-treatment-that-we/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Not only are the philosophies of animal rights and animal welfare separated by irreconcilable differences... the enactment of animal welfare measures actually impedes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/not-only-are-the-philosophies-of-animal-rights-and-animal-welfare/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [There is increasing social concern about our use of nonhumans for experiments, food, clothing and entertainment. This concern about animals reflects both our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/there-is-increasing-social-concern-about-our-use-of-nonhumans-for/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Being vegan is easy. Are there social pressures that encourage you to continue to eat, wear, and use animal products? Of course there are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/being-vegan-is-easy-are-there-social-pressures-that-encourage-you-to/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [“Sentience is a means to the end of continued existence. Sentient beings, by virtue of their being sentient, have an interest in remaining alive;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/sentience-is-a-means-to-the-end-of-continued-existence-sentient/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [It costs us so little to go vegan. It costs animals so much if we don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/it-costs-us-so-little-to-go-vegan-it-costs-animals-so-much-if-we-don-t/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [In order to be a teacher you've got to be a student first](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/in-order-to-be-a-teacher-you-ve-got-to-be-a-student-first/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [We do not need to eat animals, wear animals, or use animals for entertainment purposes, and our only defence of these uses is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/we-do-not-need-to-eat-animals-wear-animals-or-use-animals-for/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [But if there were two dogs left in the universe and it were up to us as to whether they were allowed to breed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/but-if-there-were-two-dogs-left-in-the-universe-and-it-were-up-to-us/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Explore all 77 Gary L. Francione quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) ## More Flesh quotes > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [It's still possible to savor the remarkable foods that millennia of human ingenuity have teased from milk. A sip of milk itself or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-mcgee/it-s-still-possible-to-savor-the-remarkable-foods-that-millennia-of/) [Harold McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-mcgee/) > [If Jesus is the Son of God in human flesh, He's one of a kind of the 13 billions of people who have ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/if-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-in-human-flesh-he-s-one-of-a-kind-of-the/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [If you like I'll be furious flesh elemental, or- changing to tones that the sunset arouses- if you like- I'll be extraordinary gentle, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/if-you-like-i-ll-be-furious-flesh-elemental-or-changing-to-tones-that/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [Flesh forgets. Bone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-bass/flesh-forgets-bone-remembers/) [Jefferson Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-bass/) > [For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/for-fear-of-causing-terror-to-living-beings-mahamati-let-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“Paul closed his eyes and turned his face to the sun. In spite of everything, it was hard not to take solace from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-egan/paul-closed-his-eyes-and-turned-his-face-to-the-sun-in-spite-of/) [Greg Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-egan/) > [It is a great delusion to suppose that flesh-meat of any kind is essential to health. Considerably more than three parts of the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-booth/it-is-a-great-delusion-to-suppose-that-flesh-meat-of-any-kind-is/) [Catherine Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-booth/) > [You asked me once if I would still love you when your lips were puckered with age and your eyes were faded. I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-medeiros/you-asked-me-once-if-i-would-still-love-you-when-your-lips-were/) [Teresa Medeiros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-medeiros/) > [What do you mean 'we,' flesh-tube?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bender-the-cartoon-character/what-do-you-mean-we-flesh-tube/) [Bender (The Cartoon Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bender-the-cartoon-character/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Browse all 2,061 Flesh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even if plants were sentient, veganism would still be a moral imperative given that it takes many pounds of plants to produce one pound of flesh.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gary L. 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