8 ms·

Ok, but, you can't feed 340M people with "fresh, local eggs". While it's nice you buy six eggs at a time from Joe Farmer off the back of his '72 Ford, but facto

Ok, but, you can't feed 340M people with "fresh, local eggs". While it's nice you buy six eggs at a time from Joe Farmer off the back of his '72 Ford, but factory farms are an unfortunate necessity to feed everyone that isn't so privileged.

roughly 2y ago
We’re not reliably feeding 340M people eggs right now, either. The current system has significant friction points and deadweight loss.
mplanchard 2y ago
Man, if only it were possible to adjust the number of eggs that we eat in order to account for the increased cost of eggs that are farmed humanely and whose purchase benefits the local economy instead of massive corporate conglomerates. But alas, 340 million souls need their daily eggs.
- B-Con 2y ago
  Your solution to a supply and demand mismatch is that everyone regulate their demand to match the local supply? Your solution is for a problem that doesn't exist.
  - mplanchard 2y ago
    Yes? I know it’s not a popular opinion, but I think that if you can’t produce something ethically at scale, the right thing to do is to produce less, ethically, and for people to consume less of it. For example, I buy more expensive meat from places that treat their animals well, and as a result I eat less meat than I would otherwise.
greenie_beans 2y ago
> you can't feed 340M people with "fresh, local eggs" i think the opposite, i would like to hear a good argument why you can't.
- wyre 2y ago
  Where can the NYC metro area get fresh, local eggs to feed the 19 million people that live there? This is an extreme example, but still applies to every other metro area too.
  - _joel 2y ago
    Why am I imagining high rise chicken coups now? Vertical farming, take note :)
  - greenie_beans 2y ago
    within 7 hours of NYC you have a ton of amazing farms that supply NYC. many farms in the hudson valley but you'd be surprised how many farms all the way to vermont and maine that distribute their fresh produce to the city. you also have a lot of rural space within a day drive of NYC. recently there was a massive flock of ducks that were culled at a farm in long island. all 19 million people don't eat eggs, but there are enough suburbs with green space surrounding the city that each of those neighborhoods could easily support their own egg production. that could surely help. i have a big spreadsheet of farms within a day's drive of NYC if you would like me to help you find fresh eggs. i can share the distributors too, that would be a good resource if you want to help supply the 19 million people of NYC with fresh eggs. > Where can the NYC metro area get fresh, local eggs to feed the 19 million people that live there? trying to reduce this to something like "there is NO WAY this could ever work" isn't a strong argument.
    - likeabatterycar 2y ago
      > within 7 hours of NYC Literally the definition of "not local" > help supply the 19 million people of NYC with fresh eggs This sounds like it could be one of Kramer's schemes on Seinfeld, where he's loaded his rusted-out jalopy with 5k eggs to bring into the city to sell for a profit, but somehow they end up all over the freeway and chaos ensues.
      - greenie_beans 2y ago
AngryData 2y ago
To an extent, yeah. But farmland utilization has been dropping for decades. We are nowhere near not having enough farmland to feed people even if production efficiency was to drop significantly.

roughly 2y ago

We’re not reliably feeding 340M people eggs right now, either. The current system has significant friction points and deadweight loss.

mplanchard 2y ago

Man, if only it were possible to adjust the number of eggs that we eat in order to account for the increased cost of eggs that are farmed humanely and whose purchase benefits the local economy instead of massive corporate conglomerates. But alas, 340 million souls need their daily eggs.

B-Con 2y ago
Your solution to a supply and demand mismatch is that everyone regulate their demand to match the local supply? Your solution is for a problem that doesn't exist.
- mplanchard 2y ago
  Yes? I know it’s not a popular opinion, but I think that if you can’t produce something ethically at scale, the right thing to do is to produce less, ethically, and for people to consume less of it. For example, I buy more expensive meat from places that treat their animals well, and as a result I eat less meat than I would otherwise.

greenie_beans 2y ago

> you can't feed 340M people with "fresh, local eggs" i think the opposite, i would like to hear a good argument why you can't.

wyre 2y ago
Where can the NYC metro area get fresh, local eggs to feed the 19 million people that live there? This is an extreme example, but still applies to every other metro area too.
- _joel 2y ago
  Why am I imagining high rise chicken coups now? Vertical farming, take note :)
- greenie_beans 2y ago
  within 7 hours of NYC you have a ton of amazing farms that supply NYC. many farms in the hudson valley but you'd be surprised how many farms all the way to vermont and maine that distribute their fresh produce to the city. you also have a lot of rural space within a day drive of NYC. recently there was a massive flock of ducks that were culled at a farm in long island. all 19 million people don't eat eggs, but there are enough suburbs with green space surrounding the city that each of those neighborhoods could easily support their own egg production. that could surely help. i have a big spreadsheet of farms within a day's drive of NYC if you would like me to help you find fresh eggs. i can share the distributors too, that would be a good resource if you want to help supply the 19 million people of NYC with fresh eggs. > Where can the NYC metro area get fresh, local eggs to feed the 19 million people that live there? trying to reduce this to something like "there is NO WAY this could ever work" isn't a strong argument.
  - likeabatterycar 2y ago
    > within 7 hours of NYC Literally the definition of "not local" > help supply the 19 million people of NYC with fresh eggs This sounds like it could be one of Kramer's schemes on Seinfeld, where he's loaded his rusted-out jalopy with 5k eggs to bring into the city to sell for a profit, but somehow they end up all over the freeway and chaos ensues.
    - greenie_beans 2y ago

AngryData 2y ago

To an extent, yeah. But farmland utilization has been dropping for decades. We are nowhere near not having enough farmland to feed people even if production efficiency was to drop significantly.