As it happens, there kind of is a non-coincidental connection, apart from the obvious 'I was no longer a butchery clerk and needed to make money'. As an engine

As it happens, there kind of is a non-coincidental connection, apart from the obvious 'I was no longer a butchery clerk and needed to make money'. As an engineer I can afford to buy meat substitutes. I can afford veganism, or at least the kind that is comfortable to someone who grew up loving meat and cheese. One day, these substitutes will be more broadly available, but that day isn't today. Also, I am re-inspired by the careful meat/egg/dairy simulation work that has been done by Beyond Meat and similar innovators, and now regard engineering as the correct approach for solving this and other ecological crises at scale. I once again think that my technical training can help save the world, rather than just provide me with savings. I believe in the high-science approach again. This might seem like the obvious solution to the HN audience, but I assure you, lots of folks are drawn to traditional bodies of knowledge and lifeways, and regard them as known-good, and regard the food difficulties the world faces as symptoms of a hasty rush into the embrace of high technology, which in turn entails finance and markets, which in turn entails global capitalism or something like it (e.g. whatever the appropriate term is for the hybrid approach pursued by China.) I myself found this position alluring for quite some time -- "just keep the old ways!" -- but it's a dead end. Artisanal & heirloom approaches to food production have a lot to teach us, but none of those lessons are 'ok great now let's feed a couple billion new folks'. Instead, they are best at teaching us what we've already lost. That in turn might help us avoid the next loss -- or pursue the next restoration.