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Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

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Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#251

Post by mcv »

fucking_tragedy wrote: post #229
isolli wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a rule of thumb I would say there is good overlap. In support of my claim, I suggest the report from Olivier de Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food [0]. [0] https://www.resilience.org/stories/2011-03-09/un-report-supp...

Organic according the USDA means that you use manure to fertilize instead of biosolids and you use something like copper-based pesticides instead of glyphosate.

I don't know enough about agriculture to understand what that means, but I have heard that the US uses a different, presumably lower, standard for organic crops than the EU does.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#252

Post by rosterface »

malvosenior wrote: post #228
makerofspoons wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Between the cancer risk posed by red and processed meat as well as the environmental damage, I expect meat consumption to go the way of smoking within a generation.

The vast majority of people in the US eat meat regularly and feed it to their children. There is no way this is going to stop in one generation. There are also plenty of cultures that have meat as their staple. Can you imagine telling Mexicans to eat vegetarian tacos for instance? That simply will never happen, it's too ingrained into culture (and too delicious!).

I’m Mexican and can confirm meat isn’t going anywhere. I can’t even imagine Mexico City without it. Not only does everyone eat meat but most people make a living selling it. There are taco carts on every corner.

It’s also a huge part of family life. These dishes have been passed down through the generations and it’s actually moderately offensive to suggest that it’s not socially acceptable to eat what my family has been eating for as far back as anyone can remember. I know my children are growing up learning to love all of the dishes their family cooks and enjoys together.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#253

Post by throw2016 »

Another cynical thread derail on HN. The serious problems with plastics, out of control plastic use and waste is swiftly trivialized into an individualized 'consumer problem' and 'meat eating' problem ie let's not do anything.

The first comment is splitting hairs about what kind of plastic waste with an irrelevant link to a story about plastic nets? This when the article clearly shows and mentions 40kg of plastic bags and there are thousands of articles and studies on the toxic impact of plastic on marine life. These kind of irresponsible comments are a serious problem as it makes readers feel we live in an uncaring world.

Eat less fish? Only those who haven't thought about the world or those who profit from plastic respond in this cavalier fashion to serious global issues. Not a word about the packaging industry, regulating the use of better packing and nets, or the inability of consumers to make choices because race to the bottom leaves no effective alternatives.

Instead lets dissipate responsibility, affect 'helplessness' and do nothing while the destruction of the planet continues unabated. This is a small minded ideology that puts the 'freedom' of a few to profit without constraints above all else.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#255

Post by amanaplanacanal »

organsnyder wrote: post #199
maxwell wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obesity is now a bigger problem worldwide than hunger.

Is that because hunger has been diminished, or because obesity has increased?

I believe both are true.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#256

Post by rootusrootus »

riffraff wrote: post #90
hbarka wrote: post #7

Why hasn’t Amazon, Costco, or Walmart used their clout to effect a positive change? Have you seen all the plastic and unnecessary packaging in the goods they sell. The size of the packaging relative to the actual product is so ridiculous sometimes.

actually, I get all of amazon stuff in europe in cardboard boxes with paper fillings and thread+paper tape. Is it a european thing? Have I just been incredibly lucky?

That's pretty common for Amazon-branded items. Everything else is up to the manufacturer.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#257

Post by amanaplanacanal »

mcv wrote: post #140
ovi256 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Among "Effective Altruism" rationalist circles, some of them prefer eating beef because a single cow produces a lot more meat than a single chicken, hence less suffering-year units per kilo of meat.

Chickens are also often kept in tiny cages, often mutilated. Cows are too, sometimes, but on average I think cows spend more time outside than most other farm animals. Though this varies wildly of course. Sadly, growing cattle costs enormous amounts of food that could also feed people. And they seem to contribute quite a bit to greenhouse gasses. So eating beef may be better than eating chicken when it comes to anima…

> growing cattle costs enormous amounts of food that could also feed people.

That depends. Sometimes it is true, sometimes it isn't. People can't eat grass, for instance.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#258

Post by dev_dull »

chottocharaii wrote: post #230
cageface wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regulation is slow and difficult, particularly when there are industries with a lot of lobbying money ready to fight it. I'm all for regulation but it will be too late if we don't do anything in the meantime.

The market solution is a non-starter. We need laws.

You think blanket laws fixes it either? You need good, well thought out law free from lobbyist influence that tackle the heart of the issue. In other words, something extremely difficult to produce and often times hard to enforce.

Or else you get more trash laws like making it illegal to serve water without asking in San Francisco.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#259

Post by dev_dull »

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #233
cageface wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regulation is slow and difficult, particularly when there are industries with a lot of lobbying money ready to fight it. I'm all for regulation but it will be too late if we don't do anything in the meantime.

It seems like it would be easy enough to ban plastic fishing equipment. Couldn't they make the nets out of hemp, or something else biodegradable?

You think illegal fishermen in the Philippines (where the bulk of the waste in the whale originated according to the article) really care you’ve outlawed plastic fishing nets?

Your solution needs to be extremely incentivized and also easy to enforce in those places of the world. “Banning” something will have a laughable impact and only affect people who never created the waste in the first place.

Re: Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plastic'

#260

Post by 013a »

cageface wrote: post #227
overthemoon wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is still framed as a consumer problem rather than a regulatory problem--eat fish or don't, market participation isn't going to get you nearly as far as regulation.

Regulation is slow and difficult, particularly when there are industries with a lot of lobbying money ready to fight it. I'm all for regulation but it will be too late if we don't do anything in the meantime.

If you think Regulation is slow and difficult, just wait until you see how long it takes to change consumer behavior enough to make a difference.
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