At a basic level of existence, there is matter, like elements, molecules, minerals, etc. From basic matter, different components interact and organize to eventually give rise to the emergence of biology, the physical biological form of life. Biological-life existence stands on top of matter-existence as a prerequisite.
There are various forms of biological life (6 kingdoms of life). As more complexity evolves, another form of life emerges, that of animal psychological life. Animal-life existence stands on top of the prerequisite biological-life which stands on top of the prerequisite matter existence.
This can all be observed in reality. Animal are a different form of biological-life than plants. It's science. It's reality. Plants are not animals.
Look deeply into the current studies on health, biology and ethical arguments, and do not be fooled by erroneous thinking where plants are said to "feel" like animals. All biological life has sensory capacities for feeling and externally sensing aspects of the environment to provide stimulus-response basic biological behavior. The cells in our body engage in stimulus-response biological behavior as well. This is sensing, or feeling, which then produces responses.
This is how basic non-conscious non-consciousness biological components are able to feel-sense, at a basic biological level for generating responses. Feeling is a word that has multiple meanings. Animals feel at both a biological-physical and psychological level, while plants only feel at a biological-physical level. Animals can feel physical pain psychologically, and they can feel non-physical psychological-only pain, and respond to such pain.
The animal biological physical body also responds to physical pain in an automated unconscious way, without the need for conscious awareness. Plants have that level of sensory-feeling pain alone, as they are a biological physical body alone with no psychological dimension.
Cells and our immune system responds without consciousness required to be present, such as is the case with someone in a coma, or who is "brain dead". As long as the basic bio-physical level is provided with nutrients, the automatic stimulus-response components in the body continue to work.
Plants are not animals. Plants and animals are both biological physical bodies and life forms, but animals are psychological beings in addition to basic bio-physical beings. Animals have a psychological dimension of life that plants don't. Being alive has two meanings: biologically alive, and psychologically alive which requires the bio-physical component to emerge within.