tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post7895562680857414016..comments2024-03-27T16:08:30.313-05:00Comments on The Great Change: The Vegan Paradox Part I: MoralityAlbert Bateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17627996921976501534noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-47526346163996235832016-08-27T11:09:17.722-05:002016-08-27T11:09:17.722-05:00It seems to me we should tweak the tax structure h...It seems to me we should tweak the tax structure here in the USA. If instead of a deduction for each child or spouse we taxed per head. I'd like to see the tax on both parents not just the wage earner. <br /> <br />I'd like to see the cost of meat if we quit subsidizing grains. While I'm at it lets quit paying for the beef and dairy advertising. Boiled toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06605652809163296992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-18411832270642860722016-08-24T12:06:48.839-05:002016-08-24T12:06:48.839-05:00Albert
I have one additional thought. Permacultur...Albert<br />I have one additional thought. Permaculture urges us to harvest the energy in a gradient. And we now know that there is no such thing as using a composting process to make humus. 'Humus' as measured by soil tests has been found to be an artifact of the chemicals used in the test. Consequently, if we compost organic matter in a pile which we turn, we are degrading fairly organized organic matter into degraded organic matter (which is a gradient), but we are not harvesting the energy.<br /><br />There ARE ways to harvest some of the energy...for example, by running a pipe through the hot pile to warm water for a shower. But the ordinary ways that people do composting don't do any harvesting of the energy at all. The thought has been that the humus is so valuable that it makes the 'waste' of the energy released in the composting process acceptable. Traditional farmers have been more interested in feeding organic waste to animals (chickens, for example) which makes chicken manure, eggs, and meat available for harvest.<br /><br />Masonobu Fukuoka managed to stay out of most of the fighting in WWII by studying the use of insects as sources of dietary protein in Japan. And Doomstead Diner urges us to eat lower on the food chain. It is entirely possible that some nice grubs of some sort can be grown with organic waste, and provide protein for human consumption. Native peoples around the world have eaten insects.<br /><br />So the thought occurs to me that the best permaculture brains should focus on the issue and figure out what is the best thing to do with waste organic matter...and it is probably not conventional composting.<br /><br />Don StewartDon Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05449201744675390686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-47674052724708464512016-08-22T00:14:19.711-05:002016-08-22T00:14:19.711-05:00The solution to this problem is quite simple, just...The solution to this problem is quite simple, just move down the food chain a bit.<br /><br />All the animal protein you need can be found in insects, annelida, crustaceans etc. You really do not need mammals at all here, or even birds.<br /><br />It's nto necessarily a choice between being "vegan" or a "carnivore". There are just tons of insects out there that are very good eating. I don't get why people draw this line between mammal eating and veggie eating while forgeting everything in between.<br /><br />I personally got no issue with eating insects. Grasshoppers are very good, termites and ants are OK, not great but you can spice them up. Worms are very good for making burgers. Snails are FABULOUS although a bit greasy. What is the big issue with this and why don't people discuss it in these questions?<br /><br />REReverse Engineerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07062239687986775433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-56250174389406162122016-08-21T22:22:52.673-05:002016-08-21T22:22:52.673-05:00Biological "explanations" (excuses?) asi...Biological "explanations" (excuses?) aside, the real bottom line here is whether we, as a species, can go on harming the ecosystem and those of us in it for a burger. I realize this is a gross simplification of an admittedly complex situation, but, we're at this crossroads of deciding between lifestyles and the greater good of all sentient beings. Where do we go from here?Danny Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08239701610522812113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-18955662319989874172016-08-21T20:24:09.654-05:002016-08-21T20:24:09.654-05:00Speaking of managing the human population size, se...Speaking of managing the human population size, see;<br /><br />Georgia Guide Stones <br /><br />Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.<br />Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.<br />Unite humanity with a living new language.<br />Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.<br />Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.<br />Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.<br />Avoid petty laws and useless officials.<br />Balance personal rights with social duties.<br />Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.<br />Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00568422578494853037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-22033735884614765902016-08-21T11:11:20.108-05:002016-08-21T11:11:20.108-05:00Albert
Nick Lane, the British biologist, points ou...Albert<br />Nick Lane, the British biologist, points out that nature became 'red in tooth and claw' when eukaryotes evolved. The prokaryotes did not eat each other and are, in principle, immortal. But the merger of two prokaryotes to create the eukaryotic cell multiplied the free energy per gene by a factor of 200,000, and completely altered many fundamental relationships. For example, we picked up sex, senescence, and death.<br /><br />https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/22/the-vital-question-nick-lane-review-secret-life<br /><br />Humans can't very well choose not to be eukaryotes. Therefore, participation in the 'nature red in tooth and claw' world is not optional. There are other conceptions, such as The Ecological System described by David Fleming in Lean Logic, which may provide humans a framework for what we deem 'ethical behavior', but nothing is going to free us from being eukaryotes.<br /><br />Don StewartDon Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05449201744675390686noreply@blogger.com