Ethics and environment
Do plants feel pain — and does that defeat veganism?
Short answer
Plants respond to stimuli but have no nervous system or brain. Even if they “felt”, a meat diet uses more plants (as feed) than a vegan diet. The argument does not cancel reducing animal suffering.
This comes up at dinner tables. Separate two claims: plants signal damage chemically; animals with nervous systems feel pain in the sense ethics usually tracks.
If someone truly wants to minimise harm to plants, veganism still wins on feed maths. It is not a draw.