5 ms·

It's kind of wierd that obesity is such a problem now in developing countries that something like this is a worthy research output. Some of my ancestors had to

It's kind of wierd that obesity is such a problem now in developing countries that something like this is a worthy research output. Some of my ancestors had to eat tree bark to avoid starvation. They'd be so confused by this

mertd 4y ago
In the 90s the predominant fear of overpopulation used to be that we would run out of food. Now we know not that making food is easy, but we wreck the environment along the way.
- justinator 4y ago
  Making specific monocrops with petroleum-based fertilizers is easy, but monocrops with petroleum-based fertilizers is not a sustainable practice if we would like to continue to live on Earth.
  - deschutes 4y ago
    It's a common thought but from what I can tell it's probably not true. Natural gas is simply the cheapest and most scaled way of producing ammonia (which is the critical ingredient in fertilizer production). Apparently electrolysis could come within a factor of 2 in terms of price. Also worth considering that passenger aviation is on the same order of magnitude in terms of CO2 emissions. Remarkable given everyone has to eat. https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector
    - justinator 4y ago
      I was thinking of terms of how monocrops work: we kill everything that's living (that's more complicated than a single cell organism let's say) to plant one species, then use fertilizers to help it grow from soil that's being depleted of it's own nutrients, while also spraying it with pesticides to make sure nothing else eats it. Seems that's not a great play, long-term. >Also worth considering that passenger aviation is on the same order of magnitude in terms of CO2 emissions. Remarkable given everyone has to eat. Interesting. Since I don't have to fly, I don't. (I don't drive, either).
paleotrope 4y ago
Wait until someone discovers that some modern way of cooking or processing (microwave, etc) unlocks the full caloric potential of some basic foodstuff and that is a primary cause of obesity today. Oh wait, I think we already know this about sugar.
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  Same with mashing, soaking, juicing, extruding, dissolving, cutting, slicing, etc. Basically, do the opposite of Soylent.
Scoundreller 4y ago
What's wrong with birch bark cambium? Generations of my ancestors had to eat potatoes to avoid starvation.

mertd 4y ago

In the 90s the predominant fear of overpopulation used to be that we would run out of food. Now we know not that making food is easy, but we wreck the environment along the way.

justinator 4y ago
Making specific monocrops with petroleum-based fertilizers is easy, but monocrops with petroleum-based fertilizers is not a sustainable practice if we would like to continue to live on Earth.
- deschutes 4y ago
  It's a common thought but from what I can tell it's probably not true. Natural gas is simply the cheapest and most scaled way of producing ammonia (which is the critical ingredient in fertilizer production). Apparently electrolysis could come within a factor of 2 in terms of price. Also worth considering that passenger aviation is on the same order of magnitude in terms of CO2 emissions. Remarkable given everyone has to eat. https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector
  - justinator 4y ago
    I was thinking of terms of how monocrops work: we kill everything that's living (that's more complicated than a single cell organism let's say) to plant one species, then use fertilizers to help it grow from soil that's being depleted of it's own nutrients, while also spraying it with pesticides to make sure nothing else eats it. Seems that's not a great play, long-term. >Also worth considering that passenger aviation is on the same order of magnitude in terms of CO2 emissions. Remarkable given everyone has to eat. Interesting. Since I don't have to fly, I don't. (I don't drive, either).

paleotrope 4y ago

Wait until someone discovers that some modern way of cooking or processing (microwave, etc) unlocks the full caloric potential of some basic foodstuff and that is a primary cause of obesity today. Oh wait, I think we already know this about sugar.

Scoundreller 4y ago
Same with mashing, soaking, juicing, extruding, dissolving, cutting, slicing, etc. Basically, do the opposite of Soylent.

Scoundreller 4y ago

What's wrong with birch bark cambium? Generations of my ancestors had to eat potatoes to avoid starvation.