3 ms·

It's not human nature. It's just a tradition. And a tradition is just a story (maybe even a lie) we've been taught, and which we tell ourselves. Stories are eas

by myshpa 4y ago

It's not human nature. It's just a tradition. And a tradition is just a story (maybe even a lie) we've been taught, and which we tell ourselves. Stories are easily changed - like slavery or patriarchy, for example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7JE8j5Ncmw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7JE8j5Ncmw

rbanffy 4y ago
They have a point. We may be relatively smart individuals, but, collectively, humanity is unbelievably stupid. It’s not like we found out yesterday we’ll all die unless we change our ways. We’ve known this for at least a generation and, yet, we keep building the political-industrial systems that will bring our extinction in exchange for some short-term individual gains. I’m not innocent of that either: last year we weighted our options and we ended up getting a gas-powered car because the EV equivalent would still be more expensive over the three year lease.
koide 4y ago
Easily changed? Slavery is still real today in many places and took wars over centuries to get to where we are today. Seems like you have a very special definition of easy.
- myshpa 4y ago
  “People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and 15 minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.” ― Steve Perry, Men In Black
  - koide 4y ago
    gotcha, when the aliens come we'll all be vegan.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
manigandham 4y ago
Eating meat is human nature (and biology). We can digest just about any meat there is. We cannot digest any plant. Try eating a tree branch and see how far you get. Likewise humans (like other animals) will always have tribal and territorial tendencies manifested in enslavement, war and conquest. First-world nations developed over centuries and still have countless problems, and they're only a minority of the global population. The current reality is far worse for billions of people around the world from rural China to Africa to North Korea. Do you really think this all continues because it's just a story? If these situations are so easily changed then please go ahead and do so.
- ben_w 4y ago
  > We can digest just about any meat there is. We cannot digest any plant. Try eating a tree branch and see how far you get. While I'd absolutely accept that wild humans are omnivores, your first statement here is false — there are many kinds of animal flesh and organs (tree branches are more like bones than anything else) that are bad for humans, and can even be lethal. Even some meats which are safe in moderation can cause harm if they're the only one being consumed. But I'd also argue that it's important that we're not wild any more. We may not be able to eat wood, but we can burn it to create an external second stomach in the process we call "cooking". Now I think about it, it's also important that the environment is, by our actions, radically different to the one we evolved for. Both plants and animals have been changed by many generations of selective breeding to be better suited to our dietary desires. (And other desires, but those don't matter for this topic).
- cheese_goddess 4y ago
  > We cannot digest any plant. I am really dying to know what exactly you mean by that. Just yesterday I murdered a couple plates of spaghetti with a sauce with onions, garlic, baby tomatoes, tomato puree, and plenty of paprika, cayenne, black, green and white pepper, all sauteyd in extra virgin olive oil. The only thing that wasn't plants in that was the whey from my cheesemaking that I use in cooking to avoid waste. Works great to thicken sauces, soups, stews, etc. Today was cheesemaking day so I didn't have time to cook and I only had a salad, but I'm bringing up yesterday's meal because I can say with certainty that it was digested. Like, around this morning when I got up I could not miss it. So what the hell do you mean "we cannot digest any plants"? Who's we? Sharks? Cats? Spiders? Who?

by myshpa 4y ago

rbanffy 4y ago

They have a point. We may be relatively smart individuals, but, collectively, humanity is unbelievably stupid. It’s not like we found out yesterday we’ll all die unless we change our ways. We’ve known this for at least a generation and, yet, we keep building the political-industrial systems that will bring our extinction in exchange for some short-term individual gains. I’m not innocent of that either: last year we weighted our options and we ended up getting a gas-powered car because the EV equivalent would still be more expensive over the three year lease.

koide 4y ago

Easily changed? Slavery is still real today in many places and took wars over centuries to get to where we are today. Seems like you have a very special definition of easy.

myshpa 4y ago
“People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and 15 minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.” ― Steve Perry, Men In Black
- koide 4y ago
  gotcha, when the aliens come we'll all be vegan.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

manigandham 4y ago

Eating meat is human nature (and biology). We can digest just about any meat there is. We cannot digest any plant. Try eating a tree branch and see how far you get. Likewise humans (like other animals) will always have tribal and territorial tendencies manifested in enslavement, war and conquest. First-world nations developed over centuries and still have countless problems, and they're only a minority of the global population. The current reality is far worse for billions of people around the world from rural China to Africa to North Korea. Do you really think this all continues because it's just a story? If these situations are so easily changed then please go ahead and do so.

ben_w 4y ago
> We can digest just about any meat there is. We cannot digest any plant. Try eating a tree branch and see how far you get. While I'd absolutely accept that wild humans are omnivores, your first statement here is false — there are many kinds of animal flesh and organs (tree branches are more like bones than anything else) that are bad for humans, and can even be lethal. Even some meats which are safe in moderation can cause harm if they're the only one being consumed. But I'd also argue that it's important that we're not wild any more. We may not be able to eat wood, but we can burn it to create an external second stomach in the process we call "cooking". Now I think about it, it's also important that the environment is, by our actions, radically different to the one we evolved for. Both plants and animals have been changed by many generations of selective breeding to be better suited to our dietary desires. (And other desires, but those don't matter for this topic).
cheese_goddess 4y ago
> We cannot digest any plant. I am really dying to know what exactly you mean by that. Just yesterday I murdered a couple plates of spaghetti with a sauce with onions, garlic, baby tomatoes, tomato puree, and plenty of paprika, cayenne, black, green and white pepper, all sauteyd in extra virgin olive oil. The only thing that wasn't plants in that was the whey from my cheesemaking that I use in cooking to avoid waste. Works great to thicken sauces, soups, stews, etc. Today was cheesemaking day so I didn't have time to cook and I only had a salad, but I'm bringing up yesterday's meal because I can say with certainty that it was digested. Like, around this morning when I got up I could not miss it. So what the hell do you mean "we cannot digest any plants"? Who's we? Sharks? Cats? Spiders? Who?