5 ms·

power is fungible. Nobody cares where their electricity comes from. Coal is failing because it is not price competitive. Food is not fungible, so I am not sure

power is fungible. Nobody cares where their electricity comes from. Coal is failing because it is not price competitive. Food is not fungible, so I am not sure what point this is making.

wumpus 5y ago
Lots of foods are commodities, so I'm not exactly sure why you think they aren't fungible. Soybeans, corn, pork bellies, ...
- seiferteric 5y ago
  That's not what fungible means... A Watt is a Watt, a soybean is not a steak...
  - wumpus 5y ago
    I'm not sure why you think I said a soybean is a steak, but I meant that a soybean is a soybean, corn is corn, and pork bellies are pork bellies, when we're talking about things traded on the commodities markets.
    - tw04 5y ago
      I guess I doing get your point. Fungible means interchangeable. The average consumer doesn’t think twice about whether their electricity comes from coal or solar as long as the lights turn on when they flip the switch. If you try to give someone soy beans when they ordered a steak they’re going to care quite a lot. Food isn’t fungible for the average consumer. That has absolutely nothing to do with it being a commodity or not.
      - wumpus 5y ago
        Soybeans are a fungible commodity. That means that it's fungible with other soybeans. Corn is a fungible commodity. Pork bellies are a fungible commodity. It's a mystery to me as to why you think I said soybeans and steak are the same.
        deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
        ninjanomnom 5y ago
        A different and perhaps clearer way of putting what you're both getting at is flavor is not fungible. But more importantly when we're talking about changes in food production is sustenance is fungible. (This of course ignores a whole bunch of nuance such as flavor not encompassing the experience of eating and mere sustenance not including important nutritional discussion on diet) It's important to determine which of those two things you're discussing and trying to maintain parity with in attempts to improve on the infrastructure we have built, both have very different and unique problems.
        tw04 5y ago
        Fungible doesn't mean replacing one item with the exact same item in the way he's using it. It means you're replacing it with something else that serves the same purpose. Fungible: Able to be substituted for something of equal value or utility; The entire premise was that coal is fungible because you can replace it with solar, and nobody* cares as long as their lights still turn on. You can't do the same with food, you can't replace beef with soy beans - in fact for most people you can't replace beef with anything, they want beef. *coal miners care, the vast majority of the public does not
    - shepherdjerred 5y ago
      It's not quite the same. Many people seek to eat local. To those people a steak from 10mi away is not fungible with a steak 1000mi away
      - wumpus 5y ago
        And that's totally fine! But that's not what I was attempting to discuss.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - nimih 5y ago
    On the other hand, a Calorie is always a Calorie, and an amino acid is always an amino acid.
GhettoComputers 5y ago
It is moralizing food consumption, and suggests a complex solution that is not practical nor realistic because it is not interested in solutions.
timemachine 5y ago
This is any over generalization based on you personal experiences/beliefs. There are many Americans in the Appalachian area of the United States that care more about where their power comes from than where their food comes from or contains. People in other parts of the world may have different priorities. But most households in West Virginia not only know what type of power is used to run their homes but know the name of the coal mine that it was dug out of.
manquer 5y ago
You would be surprised much corn is used as base/key ingredient in so many food products. Taste is not fungible, ingredients really are relatively changeable for most cooking. When lab grown meet is cheap enough and tastes similar the market wouldn't even notice the change and real beef would become niche high end market for the customers who are ready to pay more because they believe it tastes better or it not GMO or Bill Gates injects 5G using artificial meat.

power is fungible. Nobody cares where their electricity comes from. Coal is failing because it is not price competitive. Food is not fungible, so I am not sure what point this is making.

wumpus 5y ago

Lots of foods are commodities, so I'm not exactly sure why you think they aren't fungible. Soybeans, corn, pork bellies, ...

seiferteric 5y ago
That's not what fungible means... A Watt is a Watt, a soybean is not a steak...
- wumpus 5y ago
  I'm not sure why you think I said a soybean is a steak, but I meant that a soybean is a soybean, corn is corn, and pork bellies are pork bellies, when we're talking about things traded on the commodities markets.
  - tw04 5y ago
    I guess I doing get your point. Fungible means interchangeable. The average consumer doesn’t think twice about whether their electricity comes from coal or solar as long as the lights turn on when they flip the switch. If you try to give someone soy beans when they ordered a steak they’re going to care quite a lot. Food isn’t fungible for the average consumer. That has absolutely nothing to do with it being a commodity or not.
    - wumpus 5y ago
      Soybeans are a fungible commodity. That means that it's fungible with other soybeans. Corn is a fungible commodity. Pork bellies are a fungible commodity. It's a mystery to me as to why you think I said soybeans and steak are the same.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - ninjanomnom 5y ago
        A different and perhaps clearer way of putting what you're both getting at is flavor is not fungible. But more importantly when we're talking about changes in food production is sustenance is fungible. (This of course ignores a whole bunch of nuance such as flavor not encompassing the experience of eating and mere sustenance not including important nutritional discussion on diet) It's important to determine which of those two things you're discussing and trying to maintain parity with in attempts to improve on the infrastructure we have built, both have very different and unique problems.
      - tw04 5y ago
        Fungible doesn't mean replacing one item with the exact same item in the way he's using it. It means you're replacing it with something else that serves the same purpose. Fungible: Able to be substituted for something of equal value or utility; The entire premise was that coal is fungible because you can replace it with solar, and nobody* cares as long as their lights still turn on. You can't do the same with food, you can't replace beef with soy beans - in fact for most people you can't replace beef with anything, they want beef. *coal miners care, the vast majority of the public does not
  - shepherdjerred 5y ago
    It's not quite the same. Many people seek to eat local. To those people a steak from 10mi away is not fungible with a steak 1000mi away
    - wumpus 5y ago
      And that's totally fine! But that's not what I was attempting to discuss.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- nimih 5y ago
  On the other hand, a Calorie is always a Calorie, and an amino acid is always an amino acid.

GhettoComputers 5y ago

It is moralizing food consumption, and suggests a complex solution that is not practical nor realistic because it is not interested in solutions.

timemachine 5y ago

This is any over generalization based on you personal experiences/beliefs. There are many Americans in the Appalachian area of the United States that care more about where their power comes from than where their food comes from or contains. People in other parts of the world may have different priorities. But most households in West Virginia not only know what type of power is used to run their homes but know the name of the coal mine that it was dug out of.

manquer 5y ago

You would be surprised much corn is used as base/key ingredient in so many food products. Taste is not fungible, ingredients really are relatively changeable for most cooking. When lab grown meet is cheap enough and tastes similar the market wouldn't even notice the change and real beef would become niche high end market for the customers who are ready to pay more because they believe it tastes better or it not GMO or Bill Gates injects 5G using artificial meat.