Plants Have Feelings: The First Person Who Said It

Plants Have Feelings: The First Person Who Said It

From The Vegan Report by Rayane Laddi

May 5, 2026 · 21 min

About this episode

This episode explores the historical context of the phrase 'plants have feelings' and its use in a debate during the Middle Ages.

For this episode, I want to take you back in time to the very first recorded moment someone used the phrase “plants have feelings” – or a version of that - as an argument against animal sentience. Not on Reddit, not on Twitter — we’re talking the year 1391 , in the late Middle Ages. And the person who said it wasn’t some random guy in a tavern. It was a Byzantine emperor , using this line of reasoning in a debate with an Imam. What If the World’s Religions Stood Up for Animals? With Joyce D'Silva | Ep. 110 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2614080/ Why Does God Allow Animal Exploitation? With Rabbi Akiva Gersh | Ep. 77 https://rss.com/podcasts/veganreport/2061703/ If you have any comment or question regarding the show, send a message to theveganreportpodcast@gmail.com Follow The Vegan Report on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/ Follow The Vegan Report on X: https://x.com/veganreportshow

People in this episode

Host: Rayane Laddi

Guests: Joyce D'Silva, Rabbi Akiva Gersh

Topics covered

  • animal sentience
  • historical arguments
  • religion and animals
  • Middle Ages
  • plant feelings
  • debate

Keywords

  • plants have feelings
  • animal rights
  • Byzantine emperor
  • sentience debate
  • historical context
  • religion
  • animal exploitation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Vegan Report

Places: Byzantine

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