[sudo-discuss] DystopiaNews: Veggie-meat: you don't have to eat bugs.

[GtwoG PublicOhOne]

YOs-

"...food embargo..." and "stand up to the systematic starvation of poor
cities and countries around the world."  Exactly.   

The world is overpopulated and overconsuming, but the major axis of
trouble isn't sheer quantity of food as such, but energy, specifically
fossil fuels.  Atmospheric CO2 levels just topped 400 ppm in a recent
measurement.  This is danger-zone territory.  And the science on this is
conclusive: last year an honest climate skeptic at Cal Berkeley got oil
company funding to run the research according to his own methodology,
and he also came up with the conclusion that human activity is causing
global mean temperature rise and climate change.  There are no viable
counter-hypotheses at this point.

When women have equal rights, birth rates drop to sustainable levels,
and economic prosperity occurs.  So the solution to the overpopulation
part of the equation is global feminism, enforced by "whatever means are
necessary."  We can't continue to tolerate the oppression and
subjugation of women across a large swath of the globe.  For moral
reasons, and also for reasons of sustainability.

Overconsumption is also a tough nut to crack.  If China's automobile
ownership per capita sought to reach America's, there would not be
enough iron ore in the Earth's crust to do the job.  Arguably, every
human deserves access to a certain minimum material standard of living,
that includes safe clean drinking water, sanitation, housing, food,
education, medical care, and communication.  But we are going to have to
make major changes to get from here to there.

At a global population of about 1 billion, American lifestyle for all is
sustainable.
At a global population of 2 - 3 billion, Western European lifestyle.
At 4 - 5 billion, Eastern European lifestyle: and that's pretty good,
look at Poland.
At 6 - 7 billion, the sustainable standard of living is Cuba.  Everyone
has access to the necessities of life, but luxuries are few and far
between, and a strict regime enforces it.

So here's a challenge: monitor your energy consumption (electricity,
natural gas, petrol) and seek to reduce it as far as reasonably
possible.  Keep records.  Note what works.  For group living situations,
divide electricity & gas by the number of people to get consumption per
person per month.  

One reasonable goal is to get electricity down to less than 125 KWH per
month per person.  This is easy enough to monitor via your electric bill
(and you don't need a surveillance-enabled "smart" meter to do it).  For
folks who work from home, it's useful to split out the portion of the
bill that's work-related, to clarify what's "personal" and what's
"work."  Total energy impact from work includes commuting if any, as
well as electric power consumption for desk-work or power tools.

One thing that's useful for monitoring power consumption of specific
devices, is a "Kill-A-Watt" meter.  This is a plug-in device that
measures kilowatt hours for various devices at the AC power outlet. 
Cost is about $15 - 20.  SudoRoom could buy a couple of these and lend
them out to members.

But there's one thing the world can't afford.  More about that in my
next email...

-G.


=====


On 13-05-16-Thu 12:46 PM, Andrew wrote:
>
>
>
> On Thu, May 16, 2013 at 9:14 AM, Raymond Lai <raymond.wm.lai at gmail.com
> <mailto:raymond.wm.lai at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Why not eat bugs?
>
>     In Calvin Schwabe's (the father of veterinary epidemiology) book
>     "Unmentionable Cuisine" he suggests in light of the world's food
>     shortages, how silly it is to hold cultural and regional taboos
>     surrounding food sources.
>
>
> Except there isn't a food shortage. There is a food embargo. We have
> so much food that we throw away huge amounts of good stuff cause we
> can't eat it quick enough. Then we make sure that only the rich have
> access to more. Eating bugs might be a fun novelty, but the solution
> to the food problem is to stand up against the systematic starvation
> of poor cities and countries around the world. Next time you see a $30
> a plate restaurant in the mission or down town Oakland ask your self
> who's getting feed and who is left to eat bugs.
>
>
>
> -- 
> -------
> Andrew Lowe
> Cell: 831-332-2507
> http://roshambomedia.com
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> sudo-discuss mailing list
> sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org
> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss

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