Yep. That’s the story. And they’re sticking to it. Of course, there’s a lot of science backing that up among other facts proving that vegetarians can, indeed, say that they eat fish without being blasphemers. Of course, many reading this want the proof. Can fish feel pain?

That Is the MO of a Vegetarian, Seeing That Killing Animals for Food Is Cruel

We get it. Believe us. We’re only into organics, after all. Fish are animals, though — so how can it be possible that fish can’t feel any pain? It’s simple, actually — It’s all about the biology.

Fish brains structurally differ. Looking like beans, really, the genetic makeup of fish brains lack the neocortex typically present in mammals. The neocortex is what’s responsible for pain receptors, and it turns out fish literally have NONE of them. That literally means they can’t feel any pain. At all. Not even a little bit. Even sharks don’t feel pain!

We know what you’re thinking: those fish don’t look so good when chased by a predator or cut open by a knife. It’s true: their brains are designed to react to injury for obvious reasons. Fight or flight. Survival. It’s a necessity. The problem is that the mechanics don’t match up with the emotion and drive to avoid pain and suffering. Think of it as programming. Like a computer. When fish are programmed to twitch after being cut open, it’s perceived as pain (and, in fact, we interpret it as pain), but fish don’t feel it the way we do. They can’t.

They don’t have the emotion. The fear. The self-consciousness. Mammals, to a certain extent (especially us humans), however, can.

An Interesting Hypothesis Having NOTHING to Do With Food

But it’s still compelling to realize the facts. Eating a fish is no different than eating oregano. Plants live and breathe. Yet we eat them. They exist as part of nature, but not of their own choice or volition. And that makes them the delights we all enjoy with our organic food.

Mmmmm, now I feel like grabbing some whitefish at the local market.