Help with the ethics of trimming trees and plants?

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From what I've been told, my girlfriend has a few plants that seem to be meeting the criteria for needing to be trimmed.

My girlfriend is very hesitant to do this, fearing that to the plant, it's like decapitation or losing a limb. Can someone explain why it is, or is not like this. Do you think plants mind? Or do you think it's like the equivalent of trimming nails or hair--that it encourages healthier growth and isn't at all harmful?

Any thoughts, experience and/or links to relevant articles would be greatly appreciated.

Also, how do you determine where to cut?
I've had my plants for years and years, I'm attached to them.

I don't really trim my plans, I remove the dead leaves. I like them wild :)
But it does depend on the plant. If you cut the tops off of evergreen trees, they die.

Why not get her a book on plants for valentines day!  (+ info)

What does transection of brain stem mean?

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Does it mean decapitation? I do genealogy and I have a family members death certificate and I'm not sure what cause of death is.
A transection means a tear, usually complete. It could mean either your ancestor was decapitated or that there was a spinal cord injury that was severe enough to tear the spinal cord at the brain stem level. As goofy as it sounds, decapitation is not a cause of death. The cause of death is the transection of the cord- or in this case the brain stem. The contributing factor would be the decapitation or accident. Look to see if it has a remarks section on the certificate, and that may tell you more. Not that I think you could live without a head, and I don't think anyone has. It's just a quirk in how things are done. It's the same as not listing suicide as the cause. The manner of death is a different section usually, the cause would be whatever it was that they did. In this particular case, there might be an autopsy record on file, and that would give you the rest of the story. Either way, your ancestor had a pretty serious spinal cord injury that wasn't survivable at all, whether he/she got to keep their head or not.  (+ info)

How are animals in meat-processing facilities killed?

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Cows, chickens, pigs, etc. Blow to the head? Gas? Decapitation?
well Im guessing a blow to the head, thats how butchers kill them, but muslims kill animals by giving them a slow and painfull death, I prefer the blow to the head method  (+ info)

What form of homicide scares you the most?

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For me it is decapitation and cannibalism.

Decapitation because its a head, it used to be able to look around, laugh and cry... now its dead... sort of difficult to explain.

Cannibalism unsettles me a little bit more, the thought that anyone could be driven to do it...or not?

No, I am not high. Just curious about what others think. Seriously.
Drowning or Strangulation, the idea of not being able to breath freaks me out. Oh and a point blank shot to the head. It's over in a blink and your dead. Scary.  (+ info)

Question about decapitation?

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I've wondered this even before the Al Queda videos and such.... considering that the human brain can survive 6 minutes without oxygen and that the optic nerves are attached directly to the brain.... During the French Revolution would the victims of the guillotine actually be able to see their headless bodies after the blade fell?
The thing is, Charles, you're right. The brain can survive for a few minutes after oxygen deprivation. However, the key words are the "brain" and "survive". Flood/ avalanche victims and those resorted to cryogenics (freezing a person for medical purposes) have all one things in common. The process in which the brain "dies" is slowed, allowing victims to be saved much later- even if after are clinically dead. As long as the brain is still intact, patients can theoretically be saved. However, decapitation involves a sudden shock. It doesn't matter that if brain is still "alive". The sudden change in pressure effectively kills the person, leaving him or her with a rapidly deteriorating brain, while cutting off most functions- including sight.

While a person might be able to see for maybe a nanosecond or so after the severing, it is highly unlikely that it would be long enough as to be significant.  (+ info)

Do people die quickly after this happens?

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I heard that after a decapitation a person is only comatose at first, and then after 5 minutes they eventually die. This doesn't make much sense to me so can anybody explain this phenomenon?
I've heard that after decapitation the mind has about 3-5 seconds of function before you die. Your nose, mouth, ears, and eyes also have a 3-5 second frame before nothing works.  (+ info)

Humane methods of killing guinea pigs?

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What is the humanest method of killing guinea pigs (for subsequent cooking purposes)? I have been checking on the Internet and the only way I've found so far is decapitation, which seems awfully dependant on your own strength and sounds like it could be quite distressing for the guinea pig (I presume you would have to turn it upside down, which seems an undignified way to go).

Oh, and could guinea pig lovers not deluge me with messages about "How could you?!" and "You're nasty!", as I have seen on other questions on this site? I have pet guinea pigs myself, but that isn't a reason not to view them as a potential food source. People have pet horses, dogs, pigs and sheep too.
What is the humanest method of killing guinea pigs (for subsequent cooking purposes)? I have been checking on the Internet and the only way I've found so far is decapitation, which seems awfully dependant on your own strength and sounds like it could be quite distressing for the guinea pig (I presume you would have to turn it upside down, which seems an undignified way to go).

Oh, and could guinea pig lovers not deluge me with messages about "How could you?!" and "You're nasty!", as I have seen on other questions on this site? I have pet guinea pigs myself, but that isn't a reason not to view them as a potential food source. People have pet horses, dogs, pigs and sheep too.

Update: I would like to thank the one person who replied with a sensible answer. I will go and research further on that - if anyone would like to suggest other methods, please go ahead.
Actually, guinea pigs are a delicacy in Spain and the way they kill them is to break the neck fast and hard, so it doesn't feel any of it.  (+ info)

Does beheading/decapitation hurt?

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I saw a video of Russian Nazi's beheading a Muslim man, but I am curious to know how much it hurt him. I know medieval guillotines did not hurt at all because they cut your neck of clean in half a second. But the video I saw, it took the the guys nearly 90 seconds to get his head off with a survival knife. How many seconds of pain do you think he felt?
I'd imagine that it does hurt a lot, even with the guillotine (even if it is, like, a millisecond of pain) because there is still the time when the blade is between the top of your neck and the bone/major arteries/major nerves/other stuff like that, which is like an inch of skin, so imagine having that much cleaved into, then the blade keeps on going and you feel the nerves and spinal cord sever and all that fun stuff. So I guess that the guy in the video would feel around 70 or 80 seconds of pain, which wouldn't be easy or fun.  (+ info)

Decapitation? Would you KNOW?

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I watched "The other Boyeln Girl" today and it got me thinking...
Do you think you'd have a thought after you got your head cut off? I figure your eyes would black out..but I wonder if your brain would be able to manage a few last thoughts without being attached..
Could be possible, or at least until the oxygen level completely diminishes...  (+ info)

Does decapitation hurt?

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Did it hurt when people were beheaded back in the day or was it instant death. I have heard that peoples faces would still move for a few seconds after it rolled off. Would the brain still process pain after it is removed from the body?
Decapitation only hurts for a fraction of a second. Not that I've experienced it, but whenever your brain is disconnected from your spinal column you won't experience pain. The facial movements are normal for dead people It's called dephysiculation, and it also occurs in the muscles.  (+ info)

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