6 Minute English / Is it wrong to eat plants?

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I m Neil.

And I m Rob.

Many people these days choose not to eat meat, and for vegetarians, eating animals is wrong. But what about digging up a carrot, or picking apples from a tree? Is that wrong too?

I don t think so, Neil. Plants aren t alive in the same way as animals, are they? They can t think or feel pain. And even vegetarians need to eat something. Fruit, vegetables, rice, beans they all come from plants.

It s true that plants don t have brains or nerves, but according to some scientists, they re much more than passive things rooted in the ground. Plants can learn and remember, they solve problems, and can even recognise other plants in their family . So, given the amazing things plants do, is it right to eat them? That s what we ll be discussing in this programme, and as usual we'll be learning some new useful vocabulary as well.

But first I have a question for you, Neil. Anyone who's seen cows grazing knows it s usually animals that eat plants, but some plants have turned the evolutionary tables to eat animals instead. So, which tropical plant is famous for trapping insects to eat? Is it:a) the corpse flower?b) the American skunk cabbage? orc) the Venus fly trap?

I think it s c) the Venus fly trap.

OK, Neil. We ll find out if that s the right answer later in the programme. Plants have been on the planet for hundreds of millions of years longer than humans, and have used that time to evolve special skills. Here s Professor Rick Karban, a biologist at the University of California, explaining more to James Wong, botanist and presenter of BBC Radio 4 programme, Is Eating Plants Wrong?

Prof. Richard KarbanWithout eyes plants can perceive a lot of information about light, without noses plants can perceive chemical information, without ears plants can perceive sounds, and so we've come to realise that plants are very perceptive about what's going on in their environments.