--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humans are the only animals that have…" description: "\"Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose, keep in touch (or don't), care about birthdays, waste and lose time, brush their teeth, feel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/jonathan-safran-foer-136_animal_humans-are-the-only-animals-that-have-ch_359896.jpg" --- # Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose… ![“Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose, keep in touch (or don't), care about birthdays, waste and lose time, brush their teeth, feel nostalgia, scrub stains, have religions and political parties and laws, wear keepsakes, apologize years after an offense, whisper, fear…” quote by Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/jonathan-safran-foer-136_animal_humans-are-the-only-animals-that-have-ch_359896.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/jonathan-safran-foer-136_animal_humans-are-the-only-animals-that-have-ch_359896.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/645/jonathan-safran-foer-136_animal_humans-are-the-only-animals-that-have-ch_359896.jpg) > “Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose, keep in touch (or don't), care about birthdays, waste and lose time, brush their teeth, feel nostalgia, scrub stains, have religions and political parties and laws, wear keepsakes, apologize years after an offense, whisper, fear themselves, interpret dreams, hide their genitalia, shave, bury time capsules, and can choose not to eat something for reasons of conscience. The justifications for eating animals and for not eating them are often identical: we are not them.” [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans create complex cultural rituals and contradictions, especially around food, reflecting identity and morality. **In simple terms:** Humans have many rituals and contradictions about food. Key Takeaway Reflect on personal food choices. Themes culture identity morality contradiction Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - family meals - political activism - dietary choices Key Concepts rituals ethical consumption social norms Questions to Reflect On - What cultural rituals shape your eating habits? - How do you reconcile personal ethics with societal norms? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies diverse motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Eating animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-animals/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) [Keepsakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keepsakes/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political parties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-parties/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) ## 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/) > [Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose with the exception of guppies, who like to eat theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/humans-are-the-only-animals-that-have-children-on-purpose-with-the/) [P. 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Why?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/do-you-think-i-m-wonderful-she-asked-him-one-day-as-they-leaned/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [My insides don't match up with my outsides. -Do anyone's inside and outsides match up? -I don't know. I'm only me. -Maybe that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/my-insides-don-t-match-up-with-my-outsides-do-anyone-s-inside-and/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) [Explore all 1,117 Jonathan Safran Foer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) ## 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. 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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": "Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose, keep in touch (or don't), care about birthdays, waste and lose time, brush their teeth, feel nostalgia, scrub stains, have religions and political parties and laws, wear keepsakes, apologize years after an offense, whisper, fear themselves, interpret dreams, hide their genitalia, shave, bury time capsules, and can choose not to eat something for reasons of conscience. 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