You’ll also need to pay for either the live lamb to be shipped (very troublesome) or for refrigerated lamb cuts in smaller refrigerator cars which is both more expensive than a big metal bucket for grain and also much more time-sensitive and perishable (arranging continued power for refrigeration). I’m not sure how the transportation costs would net out.
Does that outweigh the two orders of magnitude (according to the numbers given in the blog post linked to in the ancestor) between the energy cost of growing them? There likely are foodstuffs more energy-dense than grains but nowhere near as energy-expensive as meat. (Well, there’s seed oil, but I don’t think one could have a reasonably balanced diet getting most of the calories from there so that doesn’t count.)
Given that meat is being produced and shipped around on a commercial scale, I’d say some people value meat more than enough to outweigh the increased cost of production, yes. Consider that there are factors other than energy in food quality, such as amino acid ratios.
Given that meat is being produced and shipped around on a commercial scale,
ISTM that meat is usually produced relatively near where it’s sold, probably because of what Gwern says.
I’d say some people value meat more than enough to outweigh the increased cost of production, yes.
That’s not what I meant to ask. You said something about grains costing more energy for shipment per unit food energy value which as far as I could tell had nothing to do with how much people valued stuff. What I meant to ask was whether you think that, counting both production and shipment, meat costs less energy per unit food energy value than grains, because that’s what your comment seemed to imply. (And while I’m not sure what you were using “some people value X” as an argument for, keep in mind that some people are willing to spend tens or sometimes even hundreds of dollars for a ticket to a football match—not to mention stuff like heroin.)
Consider that there are factors other than energy in food quality,
I think those are vastly overrated—for almost any ‘reasonable’ diet composition, they are second-order effects at best. They certainly don’t outweigh two orders of magnitude between food energy values. (Of course, people like to advertise their cheese as only containing 10% of fat without telling you the total food energy value of 100 grams of the stuff, so this point is rarely emphasized.) I’m going to add links to earlier comments of mine where I talk about this, when I find them.
such as amino acid ratios.
It is possible to get quite decent amino acid ratios from a vegetarian diet, or even from a vegan diet (though it’s harder). (This is probably one of the reason why I picked soy rather than oats as an example, even though the latter has an even higher food energy value per energy cost.)
The grain has a higher mass and lower value-density, so you’re going to have a harder time shipping it long distances at a worthwhile price.
You’ll also need to pay for either the live lamb to be shipped (very troublesome) or for refrigerated lamb cuts in smaller refrigerator cars which is both more expensive than a big metal bucket for grain and also much more time-sensitive and perishable (arranging continued power for refrigeration). I’m not sure how the transportation costs would net out.
Does that outweigh the two orders of magnitude (according to the numbers given in the blog post linked to in the ancestor) between the energy cost of growing them? There likely are foodstuffs more energy-dense than grains but nowhere near as energy-expensive as meat. (Well, there’s seed oil, but I don’t think one could have a reasonably balanced diet getting most of the calories from there so that doesn’t count.)
Given that meat is being produced and shipped around on a commercial scale, I’d say some people value meat more than enough to outweigh the increased cost of production, yes. Consider that there are factors other than energy in food quality, such as amino acid ratios.
ISTM that meat is usually produced relatively near where it’s sold, probably because of what Gwern says.
That’s not what I meant to ask. You said something about grains costing more energy for shipment per unit food energy value which as far as I could tell had nothing to do with how much people valued stuff. What I meant to ask was whether you think that, counting both production and shipment, meat costs less energy per unit food energy value than grains, because that’s what your comment seemed to imply. (And while I’m not sure what you were using “some people value X” as an argument for, keep in mind that some people are willing to spend tens or sometimes even hundreds of dollars for a ticket to a football match—not to mention stuff like heroin.)
I think those are vastly overrated—for almost any ‘reasonable’ diet composition, they are second-order effects at best. They certainly don’t outweigh two orders of magnitude between food energy values. (Of course, people like to advertise their cheese as only containing 10% of fat without telling you the total food energy value of 100 grams of the stuff, so this point is rarely emphasized.) I’m going to add links to earlier comments of mine where I talk about this, when I find them.
It is possible to get quite decent amino acid ratios from a vegetarian diet, or even from a vegan diet (though it’s harder). (This is probably one of the reason why I picked soy rather than oats as an example, even though the latter has an even higher food energy value per energy cost.)