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We can mine asteroids for space food

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Re: We can mine asteroids for space food

#141

Post by pests »

ada1981 wrote: post #65
Terr_ wrote: post #56

I suppose the next step beyond vegetarianism and veganism will be mineralism: Food using molecules certified never to have been part of any known living organism. I remember there was a fictional advertisement for such a product in a sci-fi story, but not exactly where.

I think such a technical advancement would parallel a moral one. I’ve been vegan 25 years and would be happy to silence the “but what about plants” people once and for all.

Some people do care about the plants though, such as Jainism. If you draw the line at plants - that's fine, but some others do not and are wondering why you arbitrarily drew that line where you did. Sure some may be joking around but its still a legit concern for some.

Re: We can mine asteroids for space food

#143

Post by coldtea »

"We can have a pie in the sky solution that's not going to happen even in 100 years to very real, very pressing problems, so don't worry too much that we're not doing enough to handle them with the actual practical means we have"

Re: We can mine asteroids for space food

#144

Post by coldtea »

mr_toad wrote: post #135
Terr_ wrote: post #56

I suppose the next step beyond vegetarianism and veganism will be mineralism: Food using molecules certified never to have been part of any known living organism. I remember there was a fictional advertisement for such a product in a sci-fi story, but not exactly where.

> Food using molecules certified never to have been part of any known living organism. Over the aeons they have almost certainly been part of some living creature. There’s only a finite supply. And humans have come to monopolise it. We should worry less about killing individual creatures and worry a lot more about wiping out entire species.

>Over the aeons they have almost certainly been part of some living creature.

There are neither enough aeons (10-20 billion years of universe), nor enough living creatures for that.

>There’s only a finite supply*

Finite supply doesn't mean all possible permutations have happenned. It's also not like an infinitely old universe (and even one like that wouldn't necessarily have permutations of molecule arrangements where thats statement is true).

Re: We can mine asteroids for space food

#145

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

jaydeegee wrote: post #117
m463 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is mined food processed food?

Every* food is processed food the amount of processing varies.

Does that apply to to self-harvested apples and berries, too? Is washing them with water a process which changes their structure and composition of nutrients? Less proteins because of less bugs and worms?

Re: We can mine asteroids for space food

#146

Post by ttyprintk »

bee_rider wrote: post #55
ttyprintk wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we can talk long term, then a survey of the asteroid belt would reveal two special bands of density: close to ice, and close to gold. Returning a gold asteroid to Earth orbit has straightforward economics. Build a small cylinder or globe around an ice asteroid and melt just enough of it to kickstart the greenhouse effect.

Gold is only really valuable because we agreed it is; it has industrial applications (good conductor, malleable) but mostly it is priced based on its prettiness. If we were suddenly totally awash in gold, I guess the price would go down. It is fairly dense, so maybe the best application for gold if you have lots of it in space (and not many morals) might be to threaten to drop it on people/cities/whatever.

In space, ices are valuable than gold. But, as part of private financing for a survey of the asteroid belt, Earth should prepare for disruptions to precious metals.

In fact, a disruption from even the whiff of effectively returning a glut of precious metals to Earth. Even a lie about such a mission.

Re: We can mine asteroids for space food

#147

Post by throwawaycities »

luqtas wrote: post #124
throwawaycities wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obviously some plants die and others don’t in harvesting. Mostly the “even broccoli screams when you rip it from the ground” is a joke more often than actual trolling. I think the valid moral argument is that as a result of modern agricultural practices substantially more animals are killed than animal husbandry. Usually the counter-arguments involves moving the moral goal posts by valuing farm animals over “pests an…

like all meat we produce is grass fed... livestock lives out of grains in a high % and if you want to take all meat production to free-roam practices, good luck destroying the entire planet for that

This is such a great response that perfectly reflects the moving of the moral goal posts that deflects the moral culpability. Thank you.

Re: We can mine asteroids for space food

#148

Post by ttyprintk »

Mistletoe wrote: post #138
christophilus wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If we were suddenly totally awash in gold, I guess the price would go down. Yes, and this has happened at least twice in history: when Europeans discovered the Americas and moved a bunch of gold into Europe, and when Europeans discovered World Wars and moved a bunch of gold back to the Americas.

https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2008/1/7/cngold106bi... This is a neat chart.

Yet 75% of all gold was mined after 1965, and that chart doesn’t seem to notice.

Re: We can mine asteroids for space food

#149

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

m463 wrote: post #80
yborg wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My brother in _Gateway_ (1977).

Still can't get this series on kindle

There is this thing called "Ocean of PDF" which has all six of them, as either PDF or EPUB. Just a few clicks, no account necessary.

Re: We can mine asteroids for space food

#150

Post by wrp »

Terr_ wrote: post #56

I suppose the next step beyond vegetarianism and veganism will be mineralism: Food using molecules certified never to have been part of any known living organism. I remember there was a fictional advertisement for such a product in a sci-fi story, but not exactly where.

> fictional advertisement for such a product in a sci-fi story

Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl

The artificial food was called CHON.

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