There was a good MythBusters episode where they tested the myth of plants thriving when talked to or given music to "listen to". They also did one on the myth that plants have some ESP ability.
In both cases, it came up resoundingly negative.
My guess is that plants you talk to thrive because you (the gardener) feel a stronger connection to them and tend to take better care for them because they are such good listeners. (They almost never interrupt, and when they do, it's time to run far away.)
However, plants are most certainly alive. Their chromosomes have the same imperative as ours t reproduce, and yet we kill them and eat them - usually in the prime of their lives.
So save the flowers and eat a cow!
Actually, if you want something REALLY disturbing,
read this and then (after you finish the article)
read this and watch the video. (Warning: That second link is really quite disturbing. The first one is incredibly interesting and non-disturbing, but the knowledge gained from it makes the second one worse. You have been warned. There's nothing actually offensive, but it's not for the weak of heart.)
And that's just a mollusk. Imagine what we put livestock through.
We are a cruel species, but not always do we realize what we are about.
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