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> Growing food has turned into an engineering problem where people think you solve it by investing the least possible resources into it. This is not a bad thin

> Growing food has turned into an engineering problem where people think you solve it by investing the least possible resources into it. This is not a bad thing. Food is so abundant that globally, more people are obese than underweight. This is pretty remarkable considering that for all of human history, up until recently, periods of mass starvation was the norm.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
caiobegotti 7y ago
Obesity worldwide is not exactly caused by simply eating too much food as much it is about eating junk that is correlated to obesity.
defterGoose 7y ago
It's not a bad thing if your only criteria is the immediate ability to fill one's belly. It's a bad thing in a lot of other ways, including many measures of "wellness". Don't get me wrong; I'm thankful that we possess this technology from the perspectives of advancement of knowledge and having more tools to avert food crises. But these technologies were all developed recently enough that while our understanding of the directly attributable outcomes is fairly good, our understanding of long-term and systemic effects on society is anything but complete.
- ianai 7y ago
  Imagine how much more food could be grown with just making sure the soil is healthy.
xenocyon 7y ago
How does obesity prove your point? It's possible (and indeed common) to be overweight and malnourished at the same time. Also, the mass starvation events that I am aware of are actually human-created (results of egregious public policy or breakdown of normal sociopolitical conditions), not caused by traditional food technologies. This is why, for instance, we've seen so much famine in the last couple of centuries. See the case of British-Raj India, for example: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_India https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_India
- ianai 7y ago
  Malnutrition may be a contributing factor to obesity. We crave more food when we’re not getting what we need. If it’s not there to begin with, or at best a lesser amount, then ever more never satisfies.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    This. I lost multiple dress sizes while making zero effort to lose weight by working on improving my nutritional status. Or at least while working on it. (Insert some XKCD comic about cause and correlation.) ;)
    - ianai 7y ago
      How? Like where may I find such food? Or what did you do?
      - DoreenMichele 7y ago
        I was diagnosed with a specific medical condition that gave me a lot of information about where things had gone wrong. I did a lot of research into what kinds of nutrients I was likely short on. I started with supplements because they are far easier to deal with. This comment by me might cast a little light on that: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20714419 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20714419 Some things I found useful: Celtic sea salt is the single best sea salt. But any sea salt, kosher salt or canning and pickling salt is better than table salt. If you are on any medication whatsoever, research "nutrient depletions" for that drug. So, for example, if you take Ibuprofen a lot, it depletes a specific B vitamin. This helps you determine specific nutrients you probably need. Keep a food journal. Look up super foods. So, for example, when I decided to work on my selenium deficiency, I ate one or more Brazil nuts most days for about six months until I was sick of them and apparently no longer deficient because they are crazy high in selenium. (Quick and dirty answer. Not to be mistaken for a comprehensive answer.)
        7y ago

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

caiobegotti 7y ago

Obesity worldwide is not exactly caused by simply eating too much food as much it is about eating junk that is correlated to obesity.

defterGoose 7y ago

It's not a bad thing if your only criteria is the immediate ability to fill one's belly. It's a bad thing in a lot of other ways, including many measures of "wellness". Don't get me wrong; I'm thankful that we possess this technology from the perspectives of advancement of knowledge and having more tools to avert food crises. But these technologies were all developed recently enough that while our understanding of the directly attributable outcomes is fairly good, our understanding of long-term and systemic effects on society is anything but complete.

ianai 7y ago
Imagine how much more food could be grown with just making sure the soil is healthy.

xenocyon 7y ago

How does obesity prove your point? It's possible (and indeed common) to be overweight and malnourished at the same time. Also, the mass starvation events that I am aware of are actually human-created (results of egregious public policy or breakdown of normal sociopolitical conditions), not caused by traditional food technologies. This is why, for instance, we've seen so much famine in the last couple of centuries. See the case of British-Raj India, for example: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_India https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_India

ianai 7y ago
Malnutrition may be a contributing factor to obesity. We crave more food when we’re not getting what we need. If it’s not there to begin with, or at best a lesser amount, then ever more never satisfies.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  This. I lost multiple dress sizes while making zero effort to lose weight by working on improving my nutritional status. Or at least while working on it. (Insert some XKCD comic about cause and correlation.) ;)
  - ianai 7y ago
    How? Like where may I find such food? Or what did you do?
    - DoreenMichele 7y ago
      I was diagnosed with a specific medical condition that gave me a lot of information about where things had gone wrong. I did a lot of research into what kinds of nutrients I was likely short on. I started with supplements because they are far easier to deal with. This comment by me might cast a little light on that: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20714419 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20714419 Some things I found useful: Celtic sea salt is the single best sea salt. But any sea salt, kosher salt or canning and pickling salt is better than table salt. If you are on any medication whatsoever, research "nutrient depletions" for that drug. So, for example, if you take Ibuprofen a lot, it depletes a specific B vitamin. This helps you determine specific nutrients you probably need. Keep a food journal. Look up super foods. So, for example, when I decided to work on my selenium deficiency, I ate one or more Brazil nuts most days for about six months until I was sick of them and apparently no longer deficient because they are crazy high in selenium. (Quick and dirty answer. Not to be mistaken for a comprehensive answer.)
      - 7y ago