This is the fruitarian interview with a very interesting young person, Rhys - Sora Sennin.
Part 1: Introduction
1. Please, introduce yourself.
I'm Rhys Michael. I'm 20 years old, and i'm a CNA.
2. How would you describe this stage of your life?
Hectic and disorganized.
3. Tell us something about your background.
I grew up with a lower middle class family in a dump neighborhood. My parents were democrat and religious but they never imposed that on me.
4. What inspires you in your future?
Honestly, this very questionnaire. The idea that maybe i'll get to meet people who are willing to view vegetation as an organism deserving of its own future.
5. What would be your best piece of advice to your 17-year-young Self?
Always be there for your friends who are in abusive situations. No matter how badly they may be treating you, it's hardly their fault.
6. Would you like to live one thousand years, and why?
Yes, because I think the concept of inevitable death makes making a name for one's self obsolete.
7. What are your greatest passions?
Writing, learning, and helping others.
8. What do you create?
Screen plays.
9. How do you construct your meaning of life?
There is no meaning to life. We're just wandering souls seeking constant stimulation.
10. Who are you?
I don't really know how to answer this question yet. What I know is that everyone is a unique individual, but i'm not really sure what makes an identity or how.
Part 2: Ethics
11. How would you summarize your ethical position?
I believe all life is precious and worth protecting.
12. What do you value in people the most?
Character.
13. To what extent your ethical principles motivate the changes in your life, considering your needs, wishes and resources?
I seriously won't eat VEGAN cheese because fermentation is at the expense of microorganisms.
14. Do you have enough freedom to live the life you want?
No. Money, or lack thereof, is very discouraging.
15. What energizes you in making such changes?
Being an example for those around me.
16. What was the simplest change in your lifestyle that might have benefited other living beings?
Recycling, if we're talking the simplest.
17. How do you help yourself if you get discouraged?
If something i'm trying to do is getting me down, I usually take a break and then come back later.
18. What thought process do you use to make ethical decisions in complex cases?
Apathy toward the complication. In other words, I'll do what I think is right whether I create order or chaos in doing so.
19. What kind of life is not worth living?
In my opinion, one where we have no choice but to kill over.
20. Would you agree that humans are superior to other vertebrate animals because only people can solve differential equations?
HAH! Humans ain't shit. We're just another fragile organism making our way through the world like all the others.
21. If animals could experience no suffering of any kind, would it be alright to use them?
Even if humans could experience no suffering, anguish, or even physical pain, we would fight tooth and nail to escape being commodified, and i have no reason to assume that non-human animals would act differently. So, definitely not okay.
22. When is it appropriate to restrict procreation of animals?
When we have sheep who have been bred to over grow their wool, cows bred to over-produce milk, chickens bred to lay 300 eggs a year, etc.
23. Do you believe that mammal animals have the right to choose their sexual partners?
I think humans definitely should. As for other animals, I have a non-interference policy when it comes to the wild lands, so I don't get to have a relevant opinion on whether they should get to choose their partners. (But yes, I do think they should be able to).
24. In what example situation you would not put a life of any animal over a life of a non-animal organism?
I'm assuming by non-animal organism, you mean vegetation. I won't even take in herbivorous animals into my home for this exact reason. I won't put the life of a surface organism (animal) over an in-ground organism (plant).
25. Would you agree that a life of a vampire bat is more valuable than one of a fig tree because the bat has central nervous system?
I feel like I've answered this question in a different way already, but no, I don't think that bats are more important that trees.
26. How would you compare the value of life of a fly and a pine?
One decomposes waste, the other grows pine-cones that feed surrounding animals. I'd say they both have important purposes, even if they're not aware of them.
27. Do you think people should have reservations in using or destroying plants, and why?
Yes, because plants are their own wild individuals.
28. Do you feel that an individual plant, which does not directly support other forms of life, deserves your protection?
If I brought it into my home, then yes. But even if it's a wild plant, I still think it deserves protection.
29. If your neighbours decide to cut down an olive tree on their property because its falling fruits mess up their yard, what would you say?
Nothing unless they decided to ask why I don't smile and wave at them anymore.
30. How would you feel if an inexperienced gardener cuts all the branches from a blossoming bush?
I think the idea of kept gardens goes against my policy that plants aren't here to be commodities.
31. Would you oppose to spreading disinformation if it serves a good cause?
Yes, mainly because I hate lying, but also, if that disinformation was ever exposed, it may harm the cause more than it could have ever helped.
32. If badly hurting one sentient being would prevent from dying hundreds of others, would you let it happen?
This is a really complicated question. If humans were doing the harming, I would step in. If we're talking about a wild situation, then yes, I would let it happen because of my non-interference policy.
33. If tormenting one child would seem to be the only way to protect humanity from a disaster, would you do it?
I can only assume that the child would be responsible for the disaster, so yes. I am no stranger to putting children in time out, or making them pick up trash on the side of a road.
34. Where is the balance between accumulating wealth and helping others?
There is none. Capitalism is a survival-of-the-fittest concept solely for the human world. It will always have a loser unless we switch to socialism.
35. Could you give an example of something legal but immoral in your opinion?
Capital punishment.
36. What types of laws human societies should implement in the near future?
Outlaw of animal agriculture, legislating clean energy.
37. Should we try to restrict human population growth, why and how?
No, population has never been the problem. It's our systems that are unsustainable.
38. Should we do anything against climate change caused by humanity?
It would be counter-instinctive not to.
39. Do you think consumption of products with too much burden on the environment should be reduced - why and how?
Yes, because we live in the environment and it would be counter-instinctive to burden it. We have electric cars, clean energy technology, vegan-resources (animal agriculture being a big contributor to environmental burden).
40. What are the most important areas of scientific research, from your perspective?
Space Travel.
Part 3: Lifestyle
41. How is your current lifestyle influenced by your environment and culture?
It's terrible, and i don't want to be terrible.
42. Is it easy for you to find people who share your views and your way of life?
Definitely not.
43. Do your closest friends and family members support or respect your unusual choices?
Absolutely not.
44. How do you feel about spending time on re-purposing things, recycling, searching for alternatives to new purchases like new wooden furniture?
I would be a bad scavenger if i didn't support this endeavor.
45. Is it easy for you to adjust your habits?
No, I have a very addictive personality.
Part 4: Diet
46. Please, describe your diet.
I hope this isn't disqualifying, but i'm not exactly fruitarian. As I mentioned above, I consider myself a scavenger. I'll eat anything that can be foraged without directly or indirectly creating harm, such as fruit or dead plant materials.
47. What are your general principles for choosing food?
Anything I can find that I didn't have to directly or indirectly harm.
48. How much do you rely on personal discipline to maintain the diet of your choice?
Not at all anymore.
49. How your diet influences your mind?
I feel like I'm walking on air every day since I stopped eating animal products.
50. How much fresh fruit do you eat?
I'm poor, so very little.
Part 5: Conclusions
51. If you had a possibility to be heard by most influential people in the world, what would you talk about?
How global capitalism is failing for the same reasons U.S. propaganda always said communism couldn't work. In addition to the fact that capitalism allows fat cats to hoard food and water that could end world hunger 10 times over.
52. If you had substantial financial resources, in what kind of project would you invest first, on a global scale?
I would outbid the establishments that bought off politicians to keep fracking, animal agriculture, and other detriments to humanity legal.
53. What would you like to add, what important relevant topic was not mentioned?
I think I covered it, just about.
54. What is the best way to communicate with you, and what type of messages are you welcoming, if any?
Tumblr and twitter. I'm willing to be friends with anyone, so all messages are welcome.
55. What do you hope people will think, feel, or gain, learning about you?
I want to challenge the way people think, so they can either solidify their views, or change them.
