So...vegetarianism

Hey, Raven!

I work for a production farm magazine, one of the two biggest in the nation. It's a champion of corn and soybean production, especially, but also beef production less so. And, it supports all kinds of ag as well. So, that's my bias up front and center.

That said, just a couple those numbers strike me as off. Specifcally, the percent of corn fed to livestock. I don't think it's 90%, but it's probably quite high (say, 60-70% perhaps?). Again, that's just my off-the-cuff memory and reaction. I'd have to track down some numbers to be sure.

Also, even if the numbers are accurate, the workability of the idea behind it isn't so great. We have incredible means to produce and harvest corn and soybeans (and wheat). The lands that grow them are ideal for those crops. Are they ideal for, say, potatoes? Maybe not. But, more importantly, devoting such HUGE area to food production in this way isn't likely to be very efficient.

My take on malnutrition and starvation isn't that we bloody Americans eat too much god damn red meat. I am confident that worldwide agriculture produces or can produce enough food to feed the world. However, politics is a huge culprit here. There are many, many ridiculous situations in countries where citizens go unfed or improperly fed because their corrupt governments (or perhaps militant militias, for example) fuck it up.

One example that really gets my goat regards genetically modified crops. The Europeans and many African nations regard them as about as healthy as arsenic. I don't buy it. I think there is really nothing wrong with them, little evidence to support the fear, and certainly no cause to call them "Frakenfoods." It strikes me as luddite fear. (shrug)

The result is that some African nations, who could benefit GREATLY from the crops, refuse to plant them. (FYI, I'm talking about crops that have been genetically modified to, for example, resist particular herbicides. What happens is that you spray the crop with the herbicide, it resists, but all the weeds don't. The weed dies, the crop flourishes. It greatly increases the amount of grain and greatly reduces the cost to produce the grain. Or, similar crops that have been combined with soil bacteria so that they produce a kind of toxin to bugs that eag the crop. If you drank a pop in the last 5 years, chances are you ate corn with this stuff in it, let alone all the other foodstuffs that come from -- or are feed by -- corn.)

One of the most promising developments of genetically modified crops is so called "nutraceuticals." These are crops (like rice, or corn) that are modified to include things Vitamin A or even, possibly, vaccines. Vitamin deficiency causes thousands, if not millions, of kids to go blind and contributes to the malnutrition you cited.

Heya Matt,

Cool. Thanks for the info. If you find any more specific figures, let me know! I also recoginze that planting more food crops doesn't necessarily mean that the people who needed it would get it (hence my statement to that effect -- though you outline the problems much better than I did).

For what it's worth, I agree whole-heartedly with what you stated regarding genetically modified foods. I always roll my eyes at the reactionary positions on that, and cloning or genetic medicine, too. Yes, there are things to be concerned about, things to watch carefully until the effects are fully understood and (more-or-less) predictable, as it is with any new science or technique.

I mean, cutting open people's bodies to take out bad organs, and even replace them? What are we thinking! Think of the dangers! It's not right! We're messing with God's intentions! We're messing with things man was not meant to play with and has little understanding of! Just look at the HORRORS spawned on our age by modern surgical medicine! AIIIIEEEE!

I swear history is going to look back on us as a society and call us the Age of the Luddites, regardless of political or religious affiliation, because we're so damn scared of beneficial scientific progress and treat scientists as a group of suspect, morally-bankrupt madmen in all our media (except when we treat them as harmless, conservative crackpots, who notably do nothing to upset the status quo of tradition and society).

Heh. I'm hearing you loud and clear. I'll let you know if I find some more numbers. Right now, my brain is fried after GenCon. I need sleep! But, the Forge booth had a fantastic con.

Heh...sounds like it was a blast. One of these years I'll be able to go again.