4 ms·

The variations you are talking about are not really variations, they are mostly marketing variations mixing the same stuff to produce things that appear differe

by devoply 10y ago

The variations you are talking about are not really variations, they are mostly marketing variations mixing the same stuff to produce things that appear different in the minds of consumers, but are really variations of the same thing. Our choice of food is severely limited, i.e. everything is made from corn. The variation of crops planted to feed our limited choice is again a mono-culture and optimized for profit, not for the environment or food diversity or animal rights. We have bad diets in general, any dietitian will tell you that. I don't propose the government mandate anything. I propose the government give out good, healthy food for free. The market can continue to compete for people who wish to participate in it. Food is already subsidized heavily. So what if we give a certain amount of it for free to anyone who wants it.

afarrell 10y ago
That would raise the cost of healthy food if it is done wastefully. If the government purchases produce, that bids the price upward. If the produce is unconsumed and then rots, then there is no countervailing downward pressure on price. This would lead to lower dietary consumption of produce. So the burden is on you to propose a system that would be less-wasteful than our current method of destributing produce. Government-run systems can be more efficient (see: NHS), but the details matter. EDIT: by details, I mean the specifics of "give people food". If putting it on their doorstep every morning, is it already cooked? Who chooses what is in the packages? How do you know how many people live somewhere? Can I use the unretreived packages to find empty houses to rob?
- devoply 10y ago
  Here it is. An extremely lean supply chain from farmer or producer to consumer facilitated by automation, probably drones or whatever. A website to order whatever you want and have it delivered to you in a day or two. Works on-demand with a JIT supply chain. Works with the market as the farmer or producer that agrees to such a program still supplies the normal market, and the government pays for the free food according to a certain allowance per citizen. System chooses supplier based on price offered or whatever criteria, for instance shipping cost, to optimize for cost.
tpm 10y ago
Government giving out food = introducing inefficiency, throwing away valuable information flows. This may be reasonable in some cases (food banks/stamps for the poor), but in others, you will inevitably end up with unfortunate effects like people taking free 'healthy' food and feeding it to the pigs to support their 'unhealthy' cravings.

by devoply 10y ago

afarrell 10y ago

That would raise the cost of healthy food if it is done wastefully. If the government purchases produce, that bids the price upward. If the produce is unconsumed and then rots, then there is no countervailing downward pressure on price. This would lead to lower dietary consumption of produce. So the burden is on you to propose a system that would be less-wasteful than our current method of destributing produce. Government-run systems can be more efficient (see: NHS), but the details matter. EDIT: by details, I mean the specifics of "give people food". If putting it on their doorstep every morning, is it already cooked? Who chooses what is in the packages? How do you know how many people live somewhere? Can I use the unretreived packages to find empty houses to rob?

devoply 10y ago
Here it is. An extremely lean supply chain from farmer or producer to consumer facilitated by automation, probably drones or whatever. A website to order whatever you want and have it delivered to you in a day or two. Works on-demand with a JIT supply chain. Works with the market as the farmer or producer that agrees to such a program still supplies the normal market, and the government pays for the free food according to a certain allowance per citizen. System chooses supplier based on price offered or whatever criteria, for instance shipping cost, to optimize for cost.

tpm 10y ago

Government giving out food = introducing inefficiency, throwing away valuable information flows. This may be reasonable in some cases (food banks/stamps for the poor), but in others, you will inevitably end up with unfortunate effects like people taking free 'healthy' food and feeding it to the pigs to support their 'unhealthy' cravings.