Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

thelocal.dk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 274 posts

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#211

Post by _-___________-_ »

uhtred wrote: post #134
toper-centage wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Barely anyone cares about fur products, but people are too stuburn to stop general meat consumption - even if not totally - not matter the cost. Eating more vegan meals is probably the best personal action one can make for the environment. Most other significant actions can only be made on a corporate level.

I wish more people would give plant based "meat" a try. Some of the sausages and burgers available are mind blowing.

I’ve tried a wide variety of plant based “meat”. I’ve also tried a wide variety of meat. Some of the plant based “meat” is surprisingly good, but “mind blowing” is going way too far, and setting up unrealistic expectations that will end up being detrimental to the goal of getting more people to reduce or eliminate meat.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#212

Post by _-___________-_ »

mulmen wrote: post #186
pellucidar wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“It tastes like meat” is a good argument when combined with “it’s cheaper than meat.” It falls flat when it’s more expensive than meat.

And even then it only works for people who lack the discretionary income for meat. That's a significant number of people but not everyone. If your goal is to reduce meat consumption in general then the pitch should be "plants are better than meat" rather than "plants can be kinda like meat".

I absolutely agree. Many plants are delicious. I will take eggplant, courgette, cabbage or any number of other delicious plants over a brown mush of unknown plants and other things that tries to pretend to be meat, thanks.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#213

Post by _-___________-_ »

salawat wrote: post #130
autosharp wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is funny that you mention human need for food. Hog is actually an inefficient food production method because they need to be fed more corn/soy etc than the food they produce. If your goal was to make food more accessible to the poor then one way to go would be to stop this inefficient food production method and just consume the corn/soy protein directly. That would be healthier also. Consuming corn/soy directly wo…

Consuming excessive amounts of corn is associated with other issues, up to and including cannibalism, mind. https://phys.org/news/2017-01-corn-french-hamsters-deranged-... Do not discount the value add of multiple digestive and organ systems worth of energy work, even if the numbers otherwise look attractive. The entire planet is interrelated.

Of all the problems with eating a lot of corn, you chose cannibalism as your example?

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#214

Post by markkanof »

Vrondi wrote: post #154
Devils-Avocado wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would consider it the danger of lockdown. We guarantee that the virus is still festering somewhere on the planet, and that vulnerable populations remain around the world, risking flareups. With zero response - ie. what we do for influenza - we establish herd immunity over a short, sharp period, and the virus immediately falls over. In any case, even if this mink-mutant variant is slightly deadlier, the data from Sw…

No competent medical professional ever uses the term "herd immunity" in any instance where they are not talking about a vaccine. Without a vaccine to _create_ herd immunity, what you are proposing is just sitting back and willfully letting huge numbers of people die, willfully allowing the virus to mutate unchecked as it spreads unchecked, etc. You should really give this a listen: https://maximumfun.org/episodes/saw…

I've listened to Sawbones for a long time and finally had to give up. The shows does present some factual information, but also spins some things, and seem to primarily exist so the hosts can create a setting where they can "prove" how smart they are and insult anyone that doesn't agree with 100% of what they are saying. It just comes off as really mean spirited and not particularly informative or funny as they claim to be.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#215

Post by threeseed »

_-___________-_ wrote: post #210
threeseed wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Sweden it hasn't been reduced to near zero and the trend has it rising to 100+ a day. https://covid19.healthdata.org/sweden People love to bring up Sweden but they have never experienced dealing with COVID-19 in winter where it is up to 20x more contagious as everyone moves indoors.

Right now the average high in large parts of Sweden is below 0°C. And your link leads to data from the output of a model, not actual recorded deaths.

It is showing actual historical recorded deaths and predicted future ones.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#216

Post by mongol »

uhtred wrote: post #134
toper-centage wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Barely anyone cares about fur products, but people are too stuburn to stop general meat consumption - even if not totally - not matter the cost. Eating more vegan meals is probably the best personal action one can make for the environment. Most other significant actions can only be made on a corporate level.

I wish more people would give plant based "meat" a try. Some of the sausages and burgers available are mind blowing.

Not going to try it as long as it is called "plant based". I want to know what it is. "Plant based" is too fuzzy.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#217

Post by mongol »

mulmen wrote: post #147
uhtred wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish more people would give plant based "meat" a try. Some of the sausages and burgers available are mind blowing.

If I want meat I will eat meat. Plants aren't meat. If you want people to eat plants then promote some vegan dishes that are good on their own without relying on comparisons to something else. "It tastes like meat" is not a compelling pitch. Bacon isn't advertised as "better than plants" or "tastes like plants". It doesn't need to. BMW doesn't run commercials during NFL games where members of the public think their c…

Exactly. Meat is meat and happens to taste good. But vegetables can taste good too. I can appreciate them for what they are, and do not need or want them to taste "like meat".

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#218

Post by jabl »

rvense wrote: post #181
cheph wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Denmark is not a socialist/communist/marxist country, it is not the Danish state's function to provide jobs for people.

If the government takes away your livelihood like this, I think they should help you get back on your feet somehow. I'm very happy that these farms are being closed, though.

Are they being closed permanently, actually? Yes, this would be a good opportunity to shut down that entire abhorrent industry, but I wouldn't be surprised if the government instead gives a fat handout to the fur farmers to restart their businesses.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#219

Post by brigandish »

rvense wrote: post #181
cheph wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Denmark is not a socialist/communist/marxist country, it is not the Danish state's function to provide jobs for people.

If the government takes away your livelihood like this, I think they should help you get back on your feet somehow. I'm very happy that these farms are being closed, though.

You could also make the argument that farmers should use some of their profits to buy insurance against such things. For example, I remember this story about the UK government and insurance provisions from earlier in the pandemic[1], and there were definitely experts on the radio at the time who said that it's possible to purchase cover against epidemics and other rare events - why not for government deciding to eliminate your herd? Or legal insurance so you can sue for compensation?

Additionally, if mink farmers are aware that their animals can be a vector for disease - and shouldn't they be? - then should they not also take steps to protect their own finances from foreseeable events, regardless of their likelihood?

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51730412

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#220

Post by jabl »

bergheim wrote: post #42
koala_man wrote: post #20

Norway's Fur Farming Prohibition Act is set to take effect in 2025. May this neighboring scare hasten the demise of this abusive and unnecessary industry.

Indeed. And I love how we use other words to make ourselves feel better. Noone ever did genocide; they merely culled. I will be shocked if humanity do not see this differently in a century.

They would be killed either way, to produce fur. That's like the entire reason for their miserable and agonizing lives.

The sad thing is not that they're being culled now due to COVID, but that we'll continue doing this generation after generation producing more suffering.

Post reply on HN