3 ms·

Superfood animals because they eat literal garbage; you're still not escaping the order of magnitude conversion loss going through a trophic level. In addition

by drekk 4y ago

Superfood animals because they eat literal garbage; you're still not escaping the order of magnitude conversion loss going through a trophic level. In addition we don't know all the long-term impacts of eating poultry (or any animal for that matter) given growth hormone stimulating factors. We also know that red and processed meats definitely cause cancer, and cooking "lean" meats / fish creates compounds likely to cause cancer in humans (and proven in animal models). You could use chickens to deal with food waste, but you could waste less food? Most chickens are grain fed anyways—typically corn and soybean. Those calories are already food, you don't need to convert them besides cooking them. You're also using a living being as a means to an end and giving most of them a terrible existence to fit 72B on the terrestrial surface.

adrian_b 4y ago
While the food given to chicken could provide calories to humans, it cannot provide a concentrated source of proteins. That is the main usefulness of chicken, because from vegetable food it is very difficult to get enough proteins without simultaneously getting too many calories. There are methods to extract proteins from vegetables, but for some reason the current methods are inadequate, because the price of vegetable protein extracts is much higher than the price of chicken meat, for the same quantity of proteins, so few people can afford to eat them, even if they might like the idea of vegan food.
- seanwilson 4y ago
  > That is the main usefulness of chicken, because from vegetable food it is very difficult to get enough proteins without simultaneously getting too many calories. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/well/eat/how-much-protein-do-we-need.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/well/eat/how-much-protein... "The recommended intake for a healthy adult is 46 grams of protein a day for women and 56 grams for men. And while protein malnutrition is a problem for millions of people around the globe, for the average adult in developed countries, we are eating far more protein than we actually need. Most American adults eat about 100 grams of protein per day, or roughly twice the recommended amount. Even on a vegan diet people can easily get 60 to 80 grams of protein throughout the day from foods like beans, legumes, nuts, broccoli and whole grains." > so few people can afford to eat them, even if they might like the idea of vegan food. Chickpeas, soybeans and other beans can be about 20% protein, lentils about 10%, and they're cheap.
  - adrian_b 4y ago
    Lentils have a higher protein content than either chickpeas or beans, typically between 22% and 25%, never so low as 10%. Only soybeans have an even higher protein content, but cooking soybeans correctly, so that all undesirable substances contained in them are destroyed or eliminated, is rather complicated and time-consuming. Nevertheless, even if the dry legumes have about the same protein content as raw lean meat, while in raw lean meat the rest of the content is mainly water, dry legumes contains at least twice as much starch as proteins, so when eating the same quantity of proteins as legumes instead of meat, one will eat at least 3 times more calories. I actually eat about 2 thirds of my daily protein intake from high-protein vegetables, e.g. lentils or peas, and only 1 third from meat, but if I would replace the last third, of proteins from meat, also with proteins from vegetables I could not avoid gaining weight. I have made various experiments with different diets, so I know this for sure. Moreover, I am able to eat 2 thirds of the protein intake from vegetable sources only because I normally do not eat any cereals or any other starchy food that would provide additional calories over those that are automatically ingested together with the vegetable proteins. So this is a problem that I have studied during a long time, until succeeding to find a balance between protein intake and energy intake, without gaining weight. Most people, who also eat things like bread or sweets, would not be able to eat such a large part of their protein intake from vegetable sources, without becoming overweight. That recommended protein intake of 46 g / 56 g per day, quoted by you, comes from an older study whose methodology has been severely criticized. Other studies, which are more credible in my opinion, conclude that the real recommended protein intake should be at least 50% higher, so closer to 100 g per day than to 56 g per day (and the 56 g per day was for a 70 kg male, any bigger individual must eat a proportionally greater quantity).

by drekk 4y ago

adrian_b 4y ago

While the food given to chicken could provide calories to humans, it cannot provide a concentrated source of proteins. That is the main usefulness of chicken, because from vegetable food it is very difficult to get enough proteins without simultaneously getting too many calories. There are methods to extract proteins from vegetables, but for some reason the current methods are inadequate, because the price of vegetable protein extracts is much higher than the price of chicken meat, for the same quantity of proteins, so few people can afford to eat them, even if they might like the idea of vegan food.

seanwilson 4y ago
> That is the main usefulness of chicken, because from vegetable food it is very difficult to get enough proteins without simultaneously getting too many calories. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/well/eat/how-much-protein-do-we-need.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/well/eat/how-much-protein... "The recommended intake for a healthy adult is 46 grams of protein a day for women and 56 grams for men. And while protein malnutrition is a problem for millions of people around the globe, for the average adult in developed countries, we are eating far more protein than we actually need. Most American adults eat about 100 grams of protein per day, or roughly twice the recommended amount. Even on a vegan diet people can easily get 60 to 80 grams of protein throughout the day from foods like beans, legumes, nuts, broccoli and whole grains." > so few people can afford to eat them, even if they might like the idea of vegan food. Chickpeas, soybeans and other beans can be about 20% protein, lentils about 10%, and they're cheap.
- adrian_b 4y ago
  Lentils have a higher protein content than either chickpeas or beans, typically between 22% and 25%, never so low as 10%. Only soybeans have an even higher protein content, but cooking soybeans correctly, so that all undesirable substances contained in them are destroyed or eliminated, is rather complicated and time-consuming. Nevertheless, even if the dry legumes have about the same protein content as raw lean meat, while in raw lean meat the rest of the content is mainly water, dry legumes contains at least twice as much starch as proteins, so when eating the same quantity of proteins as legumes instead of meat, one will eat at least 3 times more calories. I actually eat about 2 thirds of my daily protein intake from high-protein vegetables, e.g. lentils or peas, and only 1 third from meat, but if I would replace the last third, of proteins from meat, also with proteins from vegetables I could not avoid gaining weight. I have made various experiments with different diets, so I know this for sure. Moreover, I am able to eat 2 thirds of the protein intake from vegetable sources only because I normally do not eat any cereals or any other starchy food that would provide additional calories over those that are automatically ingested together with the vegetable proteins. So this is a problem that I have studied during a long time, until succeeding to find a balance between protein intake and energy intake, without gaining weight. Most people, who also eat things like bread or sweets, would not be able to eat such a large part of their protein intake from vegetable sources, without becoming overweight. That recommended protein intake of 46 g / 56 g per day, quoted by you, comes from an older study whose methodology has been severely criticized. Other studies, which are more credible in my opinion, conclude that the real recommended protein intake should be at least 50% higher, so closer to 100 g per day than to 56 g per day (and the 56 g per day was for a 70 kg male, any bigger individual must eat a proportionally greater quantity).