waysinwhichtheyaretransportedandkeptaliveatmarkets.
Tokeepthemfreshtheyarefrequentlysimplypacked,alive,
ontopofeachother.Soevenifthereissomeroomfordoubt
aboutthecapacityoftheseanimalstofeelpain,thefactthat
they may be suffering a great deal, combined with the
absence of any need to eat them on our part, makes the
verdict plain: they should receive the benefit of the doubt.
Oysters,clams,mussels,scallops,andthelikearemollusks,
andmollusksareingeneralverysimpleorganisms.(Thereis
an exception: the octopus is a mollusk, but far more
developed, and presumably more sentient, than its distant
molluskrelatives.)Withcreatureslikeoysters,doubtsabouta
capacityforpainareconsiderable;andinthefirsteditionof
thisbookIsuggestedthatsomewherebetweenashrimpand
an oyster seems as good a place to drawthe lineas any.
Accordingly,Icontinuedoccasionallytoeatoysters,scallops,
and mussels for some time afterI became,in every other
respect, a vegetarian. But while one cannot with any
confidencesaythatthesecreaturesdofeelpain,soonecan
equallyhavelittleconfidenceinsayingthattheydonotfeel
pain.Moreover, if theydo feelpain, a mealof oysters or
mussels would inflict pain on a considerable number of
creatures.Sinceitissoeasytoavoideatingthem,Inowthink
it better to do so.^26
Thistakesustotheendoftheevolutionaryscale,sofaras
creatureswenormallyeatareconcerned;essentially,weare
left
with a vegetarian diet. The traditional vegetarian diet,
however, includesanimalproducts,suchas eggsand milk.
Somehavetriedtoaccusevegetariansofinconsistencyhere.
“Vegetarian,”theysay,isawordthathasthesameroot as