5 ms·
> Today we have a huge buffer from the large use of grain to feed animals. This, plus the gigantic amount of agricultural land being used for biofuel productio
by stymaar 3mo ago
> Today we have a huge buffer from the large use of grain to feed animals.
This, plus the gigantic amount of agricultural land being used for biofuel production (almost as much as cattle food).
- bryanlarsen 3mo agoThe standard counter-argument is that the corn grown for animal feed and for ethanol production is not suited for human consumption. But that's only partially true. We wouldn't eat it directly -- it could still be turned into masa or sugar or some other processed food and then eaten.
- reactordev 3mo agoThe corn grown that’s not for human consumption is only because it’s earmarked for feed or biofuels. Corn is corn. Where I live, 1 in 4 fields is “for human consumption”
- inigyou 3mo agoAren't there different varieties of corn?
- reactordev 3mo agoYes, and they are all edible. But not all are palatable.
- Retric 3mo agoFiled corn is harvested at a different time resulting in a dryer product. But yes if people get hungry enough, field corn easily qualifies as actual food.
- reactordev 3mo agoThere are 4 types of corn. Dimple/dent corn, pop corn, sweet corn, and flint corn. Each variety can be eaten. Prepared differently of course as they have different starches and flavors but the vast majority of corn fields in the United States grow dent corn for feed and biofuels.
- Retric 3mo agoFair point, there’s many types of corn but for anyone interested. Sweet Corn: For Fresh Eating and therefore harvested with a high moisture content which hurts preservation without freezing and total yield. Dimple is a Field corn, harvested later resulting in a dryer product, lasts longer and has a higher yield. Flint Corn: Mostly decorative as it looks cool, but again still edible after grinding. Heirloom: lots of shapes and sizes but significantly lower yield. Popcorn: A tiny slice of the market but pops when heated.
- reactordev 3mo agoHeirloom is just corn passed down from your pop-pop ;) (though the category now stands for rare varieties of corn that came from family farms or from the years long since passed). Corn is amazing. My favorite use of it is for alcohol though.
- brazzy 3mo agoYeah, we're pretty good at making pretty damn anything "fit for human consumption", including quite a few things that are outright poisonous if consumed unprocessed.
- stymaar 3mo agoRelated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization (Corn doesn't need special processing to be edible, but it does need special processing if you want to avoid dying from nutritional deficiency when having a corn-based diet).
- throwaway27448 3mo agoWho ever thought the idea of biofuel was a good one? Is it just as much a blatant jobs program as it seems?
- pfdietz 3mo agoIt's the result of politics, and that's not always pretty.
- throwaway27448 3mo agoWhat isn't the result of politics? This is a bad explanation—how is there so little will to act in rational self interest?
- pfdietz 3mo agoEveryone, or at least almost everyone, acts according to personal interests. There's a whole branch of political science, Public Choice Theory, that deals with this. Where did you get this idea that altruism was common? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_choice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_choice
- lazyasciiart 3mo agoHow did you get the idea they think anyone is being altruistic? Usually the complaint that people won’t vote in rational self interest is suggesting that people are voting based on irrational evaluations of their self interest: for the benefit of their unlikely future selves.
- pfdietz 3mo agoPublic choice theory explains why irrational collective results obtain from individual rational behavior. To get rational collective results requires that people act altruistically, favoring the collective over themselves.