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Why are you looking to businesses to initiate change? Rally for state regulation.

by dmos62 7y ago

chrisseaton 7y ago
Does the state have any expertise in how to reduce food supply waste? Not sure why you’d task them over people who know the problem intimately.
- close04 7y ago
  The state doesn't have to tell you how, just to mandate it. See pollution standards where the point isn't to come up with a technical solution but with a measurable expectation.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
macintux 7y ago
Setting aside the philosophical question around whether government should be compelling businesses to make these sort of changes, change has to come at all levels, from personal to organizational to government, and businesses can implement change with much more immediacy than government can. E.g., McDonald's shifting to cage-free hens for egg purchases. Regardless of the reasons, that was expected to have a huge impact on egg farming.
- close04 7y ago
  > government should be compelling businesses to make these sort of changes That's exactly what governments do all the time. Every regulation on food safety, or pollution standards, etc. came from them. Because left to their own devices most businesses would settle on the same "maximize profits regardless of consequences" path. P.S. Well you can "ask/demand" anything. But with no authority the process would be painfully slow, if even moving at all. Voting with the wallet works only when we have many good alternatives, which we usually don't.
  - macintux 7y ago
    I agree, but that's orthogonal to the question of whether we should ask/demand businesses to do better.
- dmos62 7y ago
  This doesn't fall under philosophy. Businesses have financial incentives to not make environmentally friendly changes. They do have some marketing incentives to change, but that has proven itself solvable via greenwashing. If you wait for a for-profit organization to become socially aware, when their financial incentives are not aligned, you'll be waiting a long time.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]

Why are you looking to businesses to initiate change? Rally for state regulation.

by dmos62 7y ago

Why are you looking to businesses to initiate change? Rally for state regulation.

Does the state have any expertise in how to reduce food supply waste? Not sure why you’d task them over people who know the problem intimately.

close04 7y ago
The state doesn't have to tell you how, just to mandate it. See pollution standards where the point isn't to come up with a technical solution but with a measurable expectation.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

macintux 7y ago

Setting aside the philosophical question around whether government should be compelling businesses to make these sort of changes, change has to come at all levels, from personal to organizational to government, and businesses can implement change with much more immediacy than government can. E.g., McDonald's shifting to cage-free hens for egg purchases. Regardless of the reasons, that was expected to have a huge impact on egg farming.

close04 7y ago
> government should be compelling businesses to make these sort of changes That's exactly what governments do all the time. Every regulation on food safety, or pollution standards, etc. came from them. Because left to their own devices most businesses would settle on the same "maximize profits regardless of consequences" path. P.S. Well you can "ask/demand" anything. But with no authority the process would be painfully slow, if even moving at all. Voting with the wallet works only when we have many good alternatives, which we usually don't.
- macintux 7y ago
  I agree, but that's orthogonal to the question of whether we should ask/demand businesses to do better.
dmos62 7y ago
This doesn't fall under philosophy. Businesses have financial incentives to not make environmentally friendly changes. They do have some marketing incentives to change, but that has proven itself solvable via greenwashing. If you wait for a for-profit organization to become socially aware, when their financial incentives are not aligned, you'll be waiting a long time.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]