We humans are the most evolved species. We are far more intelligent than any other animal.
We’ve created technology, the arts, the internet, written language, mathematics, memes,
reality TV like Honey Boo Boo and The Jersey Shore, politics, war, hate crimes…wait,
what was I saying?
Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. Today’s video is
the second to last installation of my interview series with vegan activist Gary Yourofsky.
There’s only one left! In this segment I ask Gary about the concept of human superiority
to animals and the issue of animal intelligence.
So humans are obviously differentiated from other animals in a number of ways, like
our accomplishments in science, math, literature, music, those kind of a things. These are often
used as an argument for our superiority to other animals. What do you say to this type
of an argument?
First of all, all the books that we’ve written, all the symphonies that we’ve composed,
if we can’t be compassionate decent people then who the fuck cares? I'd rather have a bunch
of illiterate, stupid humans who are compassionate, then a bunch of technologically brilliant
ones, you know, who can compose a symphony, who can put together an epic blockbuster movie.
All that stuff is meaningless if you can’t be decent beings. And by the way animals are
brilliant. Check out my animal intelligence section. In their own regard. When you see
birds fly in “V” formation, it’s not an accident. They’re natural physicists.
They figured it out that’s the best way to fly. We can sit there and study and figure
these things out, they do things naturally on their own. My buddy who works at “NOA”
National Oceanic Administration, couple of years ago I visited him in Monterey on my
tour on a weekend. He knows that I like otters a lot, so he took me out to Monterey bay.
He showed me an otter, he said “look, there you go!” First thing I said, first thing,
‘cause the water is really choppy out there in Monterey “so how come that otter is not
floating away?” He said “look closer to his waist” and I’m looking and I still
can’t see, he goes “Gary, he goes down, all the otters down here, they go down to
the bottom and they grab 25 to 30 foot strands of seaweed, they bring them up and they tie
them around their waist and make an anchor” I want to know how many humans could figure
that out if I dropped them in the middle of the ocean and said: “For 5 million dollars
stay put” They wouldn’t. They would sit there and try to tread it and stay there,
which wouldn’t last more than a couple of seconds. That’s brilliant. They’ve figured
it out, they’re problem solvers. Just because they don’t have computers and cell phones
and cars doesn’t mean they’re stupid. Guess what! They don’t need computers, cell
phones and cars, which is why I’m convinced why they haven’t created them. They can
communicate without that stuff. They work fine, they live fine without electricity too.
We think we’re so special too. Take away electricity 99% of the population dies. Without
electricity doesn’t know what to do. Along the eastern sea board in 2004, 2005 there
was a huge blackout. I remember it well. Nobody knew what to do, the gas pumps don’t work
any more, things are- in the refrigerators, there is no food. People don’t know what
to do without electricity, there is no AC and it’s hot. People were dying. We were
actually dying from the heat. This is how pathetic we are. So don’t confuse technological
brilliance with us being ethical beings and good to the planet. I’ll tell you, there
is only one species on the planet that you can remove and that removal would benefit
every single thing that exists. That’s us. We’re the only species that don’t fit
into the equation. We don’t mess with anything. And even if somebody said “what do chickens
do that’s positive?” well, you know what, I’m not quite sure what they don’t do.
They don’t destroy the planet. So sometimes not causing harm is what these beings are
doing. Living in harmony with the ecosystem. Something that we cannot figure out yet. But
we’ve got the solution. It’s simple, be vegan.
I hope you enjoyed hearing Gary’s thoughts on this matter. Something I think
that’s important to ask is whether intelligence itself is a measurement of a being’s right
to live. Do people with severe and profound mental disabilities have any less rights than
someone with a genius IQ? If intelligence does define the value of a species, then why
do we kill and eat pigs but love and care for dogs when pigs are far more intelligent,
even outscoring 3-year-old humans on some tests?
It’s dangerous to decide one’s value and right to life based on intelligence and accomplishments.
As Gary said so simply and beautifully, maybe a beings value is in not causing harm. And
that, given our own species’ level of destruction, is an incredibly valuable asset.
Now I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you feel humans are superior to animals?
If so, what decides this ranking? Do you believe in the equality of all beings or does there
need to be a hierarchy? Let me know in the comments!
Share this video around to keep the discussion going and give it a big thumbs up if you enjoyed
it. Stay tuned to the Bite Size Vegan channel for the final installation of my interview
with Gary- there's only one left! I’ve also posted bonus footage and questions that didn’t
make it to the main channel in the ViV Area of BiteSizeVegan.com, which you can access
for free by clicking below. And for even more behind-the-scenes action and the best vegan
community ever, join us in the Nugget Army over on Patreon by clicking that logo up there
or the link in the video description below. If you’re new here, be sure to hit that
big red subscribe button for more awesome vegan content every Monday, Wednesday and
some Fridays. I would love to have you as a subscriber. Now go live vegan and I’ll
see you soon!
You may not be the smartest dog but you've got a great personality.
You're smart and beautiful and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.