Animals.

In a recent article that I've read by Victoria Braithwaite she discusses that fish feel pain. Fish have pain receptors all along their mouth so we know for a fact that they experience pain, but the real question is do they consciously suffer? As a biologist, Braithwaite uses much of her scientific knowledge to explain her beliefs. She says that fish have very similar brains to humans, specifically the function of two of their forebrain area. She claims that they have the mammalian amygdala and hippocampus which are areas that associate with emotion,learning, and memory. She then suggests that if fish have these brain parts then what's to stop them from suffering when they are caught? If fish have pain receptors, I feel that they do suffer from the scientific evidence provided within the article. Another argument shown is that if fish do suffer, then should we continue fishing them for sport or strictly for food? There are laws on bird hunting within the United States so what is it that makes them different from fish having laws protecting their lives? This also leads back to the article by Jeremy Rifkin where he discusses that pigs are proven to be depressed animals when they are separated from each other. He says that if pigs were played with for just a minute a day then they would be at ease. Although millions eat pork on a daily basis, if these creatures experience a strong human emotion such as depression should we continue isolating them in pens or continue to harvest them on a daily basis? This argument also interferes with Ed Yong when he states that chimpanzees are practically human beings since both species have intriguing amount of similarities when it comes to brain activity. In other countries such as United Kingdom and New Zealand, they are taking steps and have even made a few laws on protecting the primates from experimentation. Does that mean that the United States should follow in their footsteps and halt research and experimentation on primates as well? Even if we did, I think we would still be at a dilemma because we use chimpanzees to help test our medication on and even do research as to curing human diseases such as AIDS or cancer on them. Although we are at the top of the food chain, I believe that we should stop being so cruel to our animals because they have rights just as we do.

Fish

Do fish, like humans, experience pain and suffering? People hold very differing beliefs about this question. Some would believe that if fish react to stimuli that would cause a person to feel pain that the fish must also be feeling pain. Others assume that fish are too different from humans for the matter to be of concern. Many people don’t know what to think about the issue. In Hooked on a Myth  Do Fish Feel Pain? biologist Victoria Braithwaite says that “there is as much evidence that fish feel pain and suffer as there is for birds and mammals.” Fish don’t necessarily scream when they’re hooked or when the hooks are ripped from their mouths, but their behavior shows evidence of their suffering, if we are willing to look and pay attention to their actions. They might even give us clues in how they suffer.  Neurobiologists have long recognized that fish have nervous systems that comprehend and respond to pain. Braithwaite's main argument  is why fish are treated differently than other animals because they may feel pain like any other animal. just because fish can't react to pain it does not mean it can't fee it. There's a possibility that fish go through much pain when it is hurt. When a fish is caught and released , it suffers, fish suffer for pleasure of fishers. If I were to fish, I think I would much rather eat the fish than throwing it back because the pain and suffering is already caused the second it is hooked and if you throw it back, the poor fish is traumatized.  Although fish don't react when they suffer like other animals do it doesn't necessarily mean they don't  feel pain or in other words suffer. They may not clinch or make noise the way dogs do when they are accidently stepped on or cry and respond in  a particular way, so we sometimes feel free to treat them in a way that we wouldn't treat any other animal. I believe fish are conscious and should be treated equally to any other animal and I agree with Braithwaite, we should have fish in consideration because after all they are smart and their brain functions very similar to ours.  

Vegan

To be honest, I agree with the recent articles that we have been reading in class, especially because I'm a vegan. I think that animals have the right to not have to be tested on and get to live their lives. For example, animals shouldn't have to be tested on just to make sure that makeup isn't harmful. There's so many makeup brands that don't test on animals that you can get your makeup from, so what's the point of testing on animals? People have asked me if it's hard to be a vegan, but it's really not! You have to make sure you're still getting enough protein and vitamins which you can easily achieve by eating nuts, tofu, "chicken", hummus, beans, soy, etc. and taking vitamins daily. Being vegan has actually given me a large amount of energy. I've also gotten rid of my "addiction" to coffee. I used to drink coffee daily, but now I only have it when I didn't get much sleep the night before and when I really need it, not to just have it for fun. I used to get headaches if I didn't have coffee and now that's gone away (thankfully). Now this post isn't to convince you to become vegan, it's just my thoughts and what's going on in my brain.  

Animals

 In America meat is the definition of overweight, unhealthy, disease inflected citizens we are known today. That being said because of our supply and demand for a large amount of food we treat our animals with neglect. Not only with food but with animal testing for products. I have put some thought into the way we treat our animals, Jeremy Rifkin's article, A Change of Heart about Animals, let's people know what true capacity animals can prove. Koko, a female Gorilla that showed love, compassion, knowledge, and most importantly relationships that made her feel happiness and sadness made me act upon really giving the time to write this post. I dug deeper into Rifkin's stand in this motion of taking action to be more aware and protective with the animals we have now on this earth. Some of the studies show that elephants, gorillas, monkeys, even dogs can feel emotions. In more depth they understand their role and individuality from the time they are born. they grow up similar to the same way humans do. gorillas are now known to identify themselves, speak sign language and communicate to humans, learn basic math and create bonds. Bonds that are very alike in our human world with families.  Rifkin demonstrated and explained the positivity to have animal rights in America. Speaking from the heart animals mean much more to me than any human. I have loved animals all my life. I couldn't agree more to have animal rights not only here in America ,but other countries. One important reason I had the need to help animals is because, once in Mexico , a boy younger than me ( maybe 7) had the nerve to fling a baby piglet by its back hind leg into the wall. I stood up for the pig , I picked it up into my arms and had it calm down. Remembering the squeal was painful to hear. I told that boy if he ever did that again I would sock him. Since I was little I knew animals had feelings that we humans have. when I was their holding that piglets its mother was pounding against rails she was in, basically going nuts only to see what happened to her little one. The same story Jeremy Rifkin experienced with Koko, Koko had a cute, small, grey kitty. The bond she made with that kitten was as if Koko was kitty's adaptive mother. when kitty died Koko's brain activity showed great relativity as one humans would when a loved one dies. This gives enough prof of having animal rights a responsibility  us humans need to enforce. Animals have been here long before we arrived , they know about life and it's battles with nature. Another good recent fact about Koko is the sadness she felt when she found out Robin William's had passed. she signed her emotions about Mr.Williams. Saying he was funny among other things like his movies. My feelings about Jeremy Rifkin's article truly high lights the point people really need to see to fully understand what animals are feeling.

The Empathic Civilization

"Hooked on a myth"

In Hooked on a myth, Victoria Braithwaite introduce the problem which is based on how we treat fish. She tries to identify whether there is really any biological justification for exempting fish from the standards as those of bigger animals such as cats and dogs etc. She includes if fish actually feel pain, whether they suffer or not but also if we are accurate when we say that fish are unfeeling animals that are just dumb. It has been found that fish have nociceptors around their mouth which alert them of pain so they question of whether they feel pain might be yes. When the nociceptors were stimulated with chemicals researchers found that they did react to the pain by beating their gills faster, they were rubbing the areas affected with the chemical on the walls of the tank, they lost appetite, and had problems making decisions. After the fish were injected with a substance for pain and their behavior was induced by the experience of pain. Braithwaite's main argument here is why fish are treated differently than other animals because there are clues that they do feel pain. Many people think of fish as being dumb but many don't know that they are actually clever because of their ability to be able to learn geometrical relationships and landmarks as escape routes. Not to mention that surprisingly fish's brains are similar to those of a mammalian amygdala and hippocampus and their forebrains associate with emotion, learning, and memory. She is strong about changing the ways that we treat fish but that we don't necessarily have to change our behavior towards them. She say's that it also shouldn't interfere with sports fishing because that outweighs this and the suffering of fish. Braithwaite is bothered by the fact that it has taken this long to be able to determine whether fish feel pain or not.

Know the differnece between animal wants and animal needs.

In Jeremy Rifkin's article titled A Change of Heart about Animals, he argues that animals are more similar to us than we have ever imagined. Scientists have discovered that animals do feel love, excitement, and pain just as we do. With examples presented such as pigs crave affection and crows and gorillas are very smart. Yet some philosophers believe that animals do not have any self-awareness because they lack individualism, they come to find out that that statement is false. When a mirror was put in front of an animal they searched themselves for the parts that they could not see, showing individualism. The one point that supposedly divides us is morning. Animals do not seem to have a sense or knowledge of death, including their own. But studies show that that is not true because elephants stand next to their dead offspring and touch them with their trunks. It is also shown that animals, when happy or pleased, release dopamine. Scientists also believed that some traits animals have were genetically wired and that they were sheer instinct, when in reality they are learned behaviors that are passed down from parent to offspring. All of these examples show how animals are more similar to us than I thought. Proposing the questions of whether we should add animal rights into the constitution and should we change the way we treat animals. In my opinion animals should not be treated in a harmful manner if it is not necessary. I do believe that animals should still be used as a food source because that is where we get our protein and other nutrients, just as they do when they eat other animals. So no we don’t have to become vegans, but we should still be considerate because they having feelings as well. So go ahead and eat that burger and chicken strips because you need the protein, but don’t buy that fur coat because that isn’t a necessity in your life. And there shouldn’t be a law in the constitution because people eat animals for survival. But that doesn’t mean you have to harm a live animal just for your personal pleasure. Be smart, be kind, and be considerate when it comes to animal rights. Know the difference between harming for materialistic wants, and  harming for food needs.