• @[email protected]
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    24 days ago

    Doesn’t change the plant-animal arrangement from the perspective of the plant, it’s still freely given. We just hold up our end through agriculture.

      • @[email protected]
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        14 days ago

        You’re saying that again as if I didn’t just enumerate the several fundamental differences. I get that you made an observation that you like, but it’s not really accurate.

        • @[email protected]
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          13 days ago

          You just asserted that the fruit is freely given, but you haven’t supported that.

          I mean, one could also say that cows and pigs willingly sacrifice themselves so humans will continue to feed their descendants, but there isn’t any evidence of that either.

          • @[email protected]
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            33 days ago

            Basic botany and critical thinking skills. The difference between fruit bearing plants and animals is that slaughter isn’t an intrinsic part of animal reproduction. If you can present an alternate theory that better explains why angiosperms spend the energy to encase their seeds in stuff that animals find delicious, I’m happy to concede. All the evidence suggests they co-evolved with animals to take advantage of an efficient method of seed dispersal.

            • @[email protected]
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              3 days ago

              If you want to make a teleological argument, then you could equally ask why agricultural animals, compared to wild animals, have much higher fat content and other characteristics that humans find delicious.

              All evidence suggests those features are favored by humans, who are the animals currently responsible for ensuring their continued reproduction.

              • @[email protected]
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                13 days ago

                Yes, that’s how agriculture works. You select the ones that are the plumpest and tastiest and breed those. Doesn’t change the origin.

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                  3 days ago

                  So cows and pigs - like many fruiting plants - co-evolved with the creatures that fed on them. In both cases, those creatures became necessary for their long-term survival.

                  • @[email protected]
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                    13 days ago

                    Angiosperm co-evolution goes back hundreds of millions of years. Animal husbandry goes back what, 10,000? That’s an evolutionary blip. Yes, long enough to select for traits we prefer, but not long enough to develop the kind of symbiosis we see with fruits. Domestic pigs and cows do get some benefits from being kept, but we certainly aren’t necessary, except maybe some sheep.