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In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

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Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#11

Post by lovich »

NegativeLatency wrote: post #6
Turing_Machine wrote: post #3

> Amazon likely loses lots of money by shipping heavy food items to Bush Alaska, Probably not. U.S. Mail to Bush Alaska is heavily subsidized, through a program called "bypass mail". In the past some people have seriously abused this program (e.g. mailing enough concrete blocks to construct an entire building).

Found an old associated press article about that: >Sam Krogstad of Bush Consolidators, which specializes in sending construction materials via the mail, says the Postal Service’s losses are partly self-inflicted because the postal system pays 10 times as much to send the building materials by air freight as it charges Krogstad to mail them. https://apnews.com/article/281d3e682569b2cc5edd890bf600d17e

They’re not self inflicted losses because it’s a constitutionally guaranteed service.

Making a profit is not the point. Ensuring that every citizen has access to the communication network as a right is why the USPS does this

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#12

Post by eru »

lovich wrote: post #11
NegativeLatency wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Found an old associated press article about that: >Sam Krogstad of Bush Consolidators, which specializes in sending construction materials via the mail, says the Postal Service’s losses are partly self-inflicted because the postal system pays 10 times as much to send the building materials by air freight as it charges Krogstad to mail them. https://apnews.com/article/281d3e682569b2cc5edd890bf600d17e

They’re not self inflicted losses because it’s a constitutionally guaranteed service. Making a profit is not the point. Ensuring that every citizen has access to the communication network as a right is why the USPS does this

Huh? Which constitution guarantees mail service?

The US constitution merely allows congress to establish post offices and post roads. In a wider interpretation, it gives congress the right to regulate the postal system. But that seems to be a right to do something, not an obligation.

And it certainly doesn't read as an obligation for the government to run a postal system themselves. They merely chose to do so.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#13

Post by belugacat »

SilverBirch wrote: post #9

>Although this was a gourmet meal, in many ways it was just as great as the store-bought hot dogs and macaroni salad we had eaten together hundreds of times before; the quality of a meal is really a reflection of the company you share it with as well as the long process and coordination it takes to get everything on the table. This is such a strange phrase to me. I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed…

There is nuance to all of this obviously, as with anything cultural, but in short - yes.

Large swaths of the US population have been deprived of food culture for several generations now. There are many exceptions of course - Latino family bbqs in Southern California, or Cajun crawfish boils, are examples of food culture that’s well and alive that I’ve experienced personally. But you also have many Americans for whom the act of procuring ingredients and cooking is something so distant that it’s essentially alien - it’s been replaced by fast food, gas station food (frozen pizza, box of Mac & cheese), food delivery, etc. I’ve lived places where you had to easily drive 50-100 miles to find a farmer’s market - something unthinkable in Europe.

Nowhere is this more visible than in schools. In French schools, it’s not uncommon for the people making the food to make seasonal/local recipes, eat it with the kids, maybe even involving them lightly in the process. In the US, school cafeterias often are serving what is essentially gas station food.

(a funny side effect of that is Americans traveling abroad get their mind blown by foreign gas station food - see for example the sempiternal meme of tourists having their mind blown by the very mediocre Japanese konbini sandwiches)

Many have written about this, Michael Pollan is probably the most famous one.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#14

Post by justin66 »

lovich wrote: post #11
NegativeLatency wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Found an old associated press article about that: >Sam Krogstad of Bush Consolidators, which specializes in sending construction materials via the mail, says the Postal Service’s losses are partly self-inflicted because the postal system pays 10 times as much to send the building materials by air freight as it charges Krogstad to mail them. https://apnews.com/article/281d3e682569b2cc5edd890bf600d17e

They’re not self inflicted losses because it’s a constitutionally guaranteed service. Making a profit is not the point. Ensuring that every citizen has access to the communication network as a right is why the USPS does this

Concrete blocks are, as Alexander Hamilton noted in the Federalist Papers, the most important payload on a communication network.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#15

Post by rychco »

belugacat wrote: post #13
SilverBirch wrote: post #9

>Although this was a gourmet meal, in many ways it was just as great as the store-bought hot dogs and macaroni salad we had eaten together hundreds of times before; the quality of a meal is really a reflection of the company you share it with as well as the long process and coordination it takes to get everything on the table. This is such a strange phrase to me. I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed…

There is nuance to all of this obviously, as with anything cultural, but in short - yes. Large swaths of the US population have been deprived of food culture for several generations now. There are many exceptions of course - Latino family bbqs in Southern California, or Cajun crawfish boils, are examples of food culture that’s well and alive that I’ve experienced personally. But you also have many Americans for whom…

Exactly this, I know many adults who almost never buy raw ingredients to cook for themselves. It is common & accepted to consume exclusively frozen food, packaged snacks, and takeout.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#16

Post by coffeeblack »

NegativeLatency wrote: post #6
Turing_Machine wrote: post #3

> Amazon likely loses lots of money by shipping heavy food items to Bush Alaska, Probably not. U.S. Mail to Bush Alaska is heavily subsidized, through a program called "bypass mail". In the past some people have seriously abused this program (e.g. mailing enough concrete blocks to construct an entire building).

Found an old associated press article about that: >Sam Krogstad of Bush Consolidators, which specializes in sending construction materials via the mail, says the Postal Service’s losses are partly self-inflicted because the postal system pays 10 times as much to send the building materials by air freight as it charges Krogstad to mail them. https://apnews.com/article/281d3e682569b2cc5edd890bf600d17e

This is a good example of the “tragedy of the commons”. How a public good is abused by a few egoists to make a profit and destroy it for everybody else. What’s even more depressing is that many here seem to find that totally okay.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#17

Post by MontyCarloHall »

belugacat wrote: post #13
SilverBirch wrote: post #9

>Although this was a gourmet meal, in many ways it was just as great as the store-bought hot dogs and macaroni salad we had eaten together hundreds of times before; the quality of a meal is really a reflection of the company you share it with as well as the long process and coordination it takes to get everything on the table. This is such a strange phrase to me. I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed…

There is nuance to all of this obviously, as with anything cultural, but in short - yes. Large swaths of the US population have been deprived of food culture for several generations now. There are many exceptions of course - Latino family bbqs in Southern California, or Cajun crawfish boils, are examples of food culture that’s well and alive that I’ve experienced personally. But you also have many Americans for whom…

Yup. Exhibit A, found on this very site [0]:

  Cooking for one in the US with ingredients that aren’t laced with preservatives is incredibly expensive, especially if you live in a city. I found it to be the case even 6-7 years ago that it was cheaper to eat out every night than it was to cook.
I was scratching my head at how so many people in the thread could possibly believe this, until I realized that they’re probably not actually cooking, but rather buying prepackaged meals and heating them up.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32128893

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#18

Post by madaxe_again »

SilverBirch wrote: post #9

>Although this was a gourmet meal, in many ways it was just as great as the store-bought hot dogs and macaroni salad we had eaten together hundreds of times before; the quality of a meal is really a reflection of the company you share it with as well as the long process and coordination it takes to get everything on the table. This is such a strange phrase to me. I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed…

It’s not what the author is trying to say - they’re saying the quality of food doesn’t matter but the company does - but what I will say, as someone who lives in the backcountry off a lot of home-grown and hunted produce, is that when I find myself in town, which is infrequently, nothing appeals more than a McDonald’s. Guilty pleasure, but eating healthy, flavourful food gets monotonous after a while.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#19

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

SilverBirch wrote: post #9

>Although this was a gourmet meal, in many ways it was just as great as the store-bought hot dogs and macaroni salad we had eaten together hundreds of times before; the quality of a meal is really a reflection of the company you share it with as well as the long process and coordination it takes to get everything on the table. This is such a strange phrase to me. I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed…

> I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed, mass manufactured food is looked down upon.

UK food (with the exception of dishes imported from India) is some of the blandest cuisine I have ever tasted. I would probably prefer store-bought hotdogs, and boxed macaroni and cheese.

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