6 ms·

Great, how many tons of vanilla do we consume every year?

by kaeluka 9y ago

tangue 9y ago
Enough for proving than human pollination, though not optimal, is possible.
- dEnigma 9y ago
  In one small edge case. I doubt it would be as easy to pollinate everything by hand.
  - mikeash 9y ago
    Gotta love HN comments. "We could hand pollinate, but that would really suck." "OMG how could you say that, hand pollination would be awful!"
    - logfromblammo 9y ago
      "Would really suck" is a bit of an understatement. But on the upside, >= 80% labor participation rate!
    - dEnigma 9y ago
      You're right, I shouldn't have made that understatement. What I actually meant was "impossible" instead of "not that easy".
  - crimsonalucard 9y ago
    It's not even an edge case. Almost all of the worlds' vanilla flavor is synthesized artificially. The best example of hand pollination is China where the entire bee population is basically decimated. Almost all of Chinas' farms ALREADY use hand pollination.
    - maxerickson 9y ago
      Soy is self pollinating. Corn, rice and wheat wind pollinate (along with a lot of other grains). So most calorie production doesn't depend on insect pollination. Vegetables and fruits tend to though.
- senorjazz 9y ago
  Why even is it under discussion. Just stop harming the bees. When they are gone, so are we. Bigger, more profitable yeilds is not what we should be focusing on. Saving the bees and humanity in the process is slightly more important imho
  - sp332 9y ago
    Pesticides are not enough to explain all the harm to bees. Fungus and parasites can destroy colonies too. We have to consider how to live without as many bees as we have now, because we don't know how to save all the bees.
    - sitkack 9y ago
      The right thing to do is it wait until all the conclusive evidence is in. It is anti-science to not think about the corporate bottom line. It _may_ not be caused by the pesticide, changing or stopping the use of the pesticide could not be necessary and then we would have accidentally saved the world while having less profit.
      - sp332 9y ago
        I get that this post is sarcastic/satirical, but it still feels like you're disagreeing with me?
        sitkack 9y ago
        > Pesticides are not enough to explain all the harm to bees. How do you know this? Because of the possibility (and it will always exist) of something else able to harm bees we should take no action? > "we don't know how to save all the bees" Is this forgone conclusion? Sounds like you are begging the question [1] I am reminded of, http://i.imgur.com/couhw4k.jpg http://i.imgur.com/couhw4k.jpg [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question
        9y ago
- pdabbadabba 9y ago
  Physically possible? Sure. Economically and logistically possible? Doubtful.
  - crimsonalucard 9y ago
    Not even physically possible.
- crimsonalucard 9y ago
  Naturally Harvested vanilla currently can go for $600 dollars a pop. Although the plant was originally from Mexico, 80% of the worlds' natural vanilla is now harvested in Madagascar. It is highly unlikely any of you have tasted "all natural" vanilla as 99% of food products in the super market utilize an artificial version of the same critical flavor compound found in the plant: vanillin. Vanilla plantations do not have the capacity to satisfy the worlds' demand with or without insect pollination.
  - Programmatic 9y ago
    I can't say as I've paid much attention and I'm sure the majority of ice cream is made from artificial vanilla, but: Vanilla beans appear to be about $6-7 each retail and $4-5 wholesale according to these random websites, despite there apparently being a bean shortage currently: https://www.beanilla.com/vanilla/vanilla-beans https://www.beanilla.com/vanilla/vanilla-beans https://www.amadeusvanillabeans.com/store/one-stop.php https://www.amadeusvanillabeans.com/store/one-stop.php Additionally, Haagen-Dazs, a mass-market brand, offers ice cream with real vanilla: https://www.haagendazs.us/products/2474/ice-cream/vanilla-bean/ https://www.haagendazs.us/products/2474/ice-cream/vanilla-be... I sincerely doubt that it's "highly unlikely" that most people have tasted real vanilla in their lifetimes.
    - crimsonalucard 9y ago
      I also sincerely doubt that it's "highly unlikely" that most people have tasted real vanilla in their lifetimes. We are in total agreement here because I never said "lifetime" I meant highly unlikely that people have tasted real vanilla in the vanilla product that they buy from the super market. I thought the 99% statistic made that clear... Apologies for not being more detailed, but please don't put words in my mouth, I never said "lifetime." Also thanks for specifying the price of individual beans. If you calculate the price per pound you will see that it fluctuates,.. last I heard they were $600 per pound. Just to let you know, when people go shopping for vanilla beans, most people don't buy one bean at a time, they buy it by weight because each bean can have a different weight, FYI.

Great, how many tons of vanilla do we consume every year?

tangue 9y ago

Enough for proving than human pollination, though not optimal, is possible.

dEnigma 9y ago
In one small edge case. I doubt it would be as easy to pollinate everything by hand.
- mikeash 9y ago
  Gotta love HN comments. "We could hand pollinate, but that would really suck." "OMG how could you say that, hand pollination would be awful!"
  - logfromblammo 9y ago
    "Would really suck" is a bit of an understatement. But on the upside, >= 80% labor participation rate!
  - dEnigma 9y ago
    You're right, I shouldn't have made that understatement. What I actually meant was "impossible" instead of "not that easy".
- crimsonalucard 9y ago
  It's not even an edge case. Almost all of the worlds' vanilla flavor is synthesized artificially. The best example of hand pollination is China where the entire bee population is basically decimated. Almost all of Chinas' farms ALREADY use hand pollination.
  - maxerickson 9y ago
    Soy is self pollinating. Corn, rice and wheat wind pollinate (along with a lot of other grains). So most calorie production doesn't depend on insect pollination. Vegetables and fruits tend to though.
senorjazz 9y ago
Why even is it under discussion. Just stop harming the bees. When they are gone, so are we. Bigger, more profitable yeilds is not what we should be focusing on. Saving the bees and humanity in the process is slightly more important imho
- sp332 9y ago
  Pesticides are not enough to explain all the harm to bees. Fungus and parasites can destroy colonies too. We have to consider how to live without as many bees as we have now, because we don't know how to save all the bees.
  - sitkack 9y ago
    The right thing to do is it wait until all the conclusive evidence is in. It is anti-science to not think about the corporate bottom line. It _may_ not be caused by the pesticide, changing or stopping the use of the pesticide could not be necessary and then we would have accidentally saved the world while having less profit.
    - sp332 9y ago
      I get that this post is sarcastic/satirical, but it still feels like you're disagreeing with me?
      - sitkack 9y ago
        > Pesticides are not enough to explain all the harm to bees. How do you know this? Because of the possibility (and it will always exist) of something else able to harm bees we should take no action? > "we don't know how to save all the bees" Is this forgone conclusion? Sounds like you are begging the question [1] I am reminded of, http://i.imgur.com/couhw4k.jpg http://i.imgur.com/couhw4k.jpg [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question
        9y ago
pdabbadabba 9y ago
Physically possible? Sure. Economically and logistically possible? Doubtful.
- crimsonalucard 9y ago
  Not even physically possible.
crimsonalucard 9y ago
Naturally Harvested vanilla currently can go for $600 dollars a pop. Although the plant was originally from Mexico, 80% of the worlds' natural vanilla is now harvested in Madagascar. It is highly unlikely any of you have tasted "all natural" vanilla as 99% of food products in the super market utilize an artificial version of the same critical flavor compound found in the plant: vanillin. Vanilla plantations do not have the capacity to satisfy the worlds' demand with or without insect pollination.
- Programmatic 9y ago
  I can't say as I've paid much attention and I'm sure the majority of ice cream is made from artificial vanilla, but: Vanilla beans appear to be about $6-7 each retail and $4-5 wholesale according to these random websites, despite there apparently being a bean shortage currently: https://www.beanilla.com/vanilla/vanilla-beans https://www.beanilla.com/vanilla/vanilla-beans https://www.amadeusvanillabeans.com/store/one-stop.php https://www.amadeusvanillabeans.com/store/one-stop.php Additionally, Haagen-Dazs, a mass-market brand, offers ice cream with real vanilla: https://www.haagendazs.us/products/2474/ice-cream/vanilla-bean/ https://www.haagendazs.us/products/2474/ice-cream/vanilla-be... I sincerely doubt that it's "highly unlikely" that most people have tasted real vanilla in their lifetimes.
  - crimsonalucard 9y ago
    I also sincerely doubt that it's "highly unlikely" that most people have tasted real vanilla in their lifetimes. We are in total agreement here because I never said "lifetime" I meant highly unlikely that people have tasted real vanilla in the vanilla product that they buy from the super market. I thought the 99% statistic made that clear... Apologies for not being more detailed, but please don't put words in my mouth, I never said "lifetime." Also thanks for specifying the price of individual beans. If you calculate the price per pound you will see that it fluctuates,.. last I heard they were $600 per pound. Just to let you know, when people go shopping for vanilla beans, most people don't buy one bean at a time, they buy it by weight because each bean can have a different weight, FYI.