this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2024
161 points (97.1% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27259 readers
2194 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected] or [email protected]


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Bananas are ridiculously cheap even up here in Canada, and they aren't grown anywhere near here. Yet a banana can grow, be harvested, be shipped, be stocked, and then be purchased by me for less than it'd cost to mail a letter across town. (Well, if I could buy a single banana maybe...or maybe that's not the best comparison, but I think you get my point)

Along the banana's journey, the farmer, the harvester, the shipper, the grocer, the clerk, and the cashier all (presumably) get paid. Yet a single banana is mere cents. If you didn't know any better, you might think a single banana should cost $10!

I'm presuming that this is because of some sort of exploitation somewhere down the line, or possibly loss-leading on the grocery store's side of things.

I'm wondering what other products like bananas are a lot cheaper than they "should" be (e.g., based on how far they have to travel, or how difficult they are to produce, or how much money we're saving "unethically").

I've heard that this applies to coffee and chocolate to varying extents, but I'm not certain.

Anyone know any others?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] MisterChief 35 points 11 months ago (4 children)

I agree with you but there are more ethical ways to eat meat while also saving money. Last year my wife and I purchased 1/4 of an entire cow from a farm about 35 miles north of us (friends and family bought the other 3/4). This cow was responsibly raised, grass fed, on a small, local farm. We received 200 pounds of meat with probably a dozen different cuts of meat. This includes dozens of pounds of excellent steak and the meat is simply amazing. We will definitely be going this route moving forward as we averaged the price per pound to ~$4/lb which is far less than the local grocery.

I understand this isn't possible for everyone as we also had to purchase a chest freezer which requires space but has made our grocery bill far smaller and the meat we are eating much better in many ways.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The problem is that you are still contributing to demand for meat. It would be impossible to meet all of the current demand by "ethical" means, so the only way for meat to become more ethical across the whole industry is for the demand for meat to go down massively (or the supply is reduced by legislation). And I don't see that legislation being likely if people are still so invested in eating meat.

[–] federatingIsTooHard -4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

the only way for meat to become more ethical across the whole industry is for the demand for meat to go down massively (or the supply is reduced by legislation).

this presupposes that ethical production is not the norm despite animal welfare laws and humane slaughter being the norm in the entire developed world, and also shows a great lack of imagination and a misunderstanding of economic theories.

industry creates is own demand. you aren't going to stop big meat by buying beans. there use no amount of beans you can buy that will change how many head of cattle a rancher keeps.

[–] JubilantJaguar 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Factory farming is indeed legal. You seem to be suggesting that it is ethically defensible as well. That's a serious stretch if you know what it really looks like, even in the most restrictive jurisdictions, i.e. Western Europe. The only charitable explanation is that you have not looked into the subject very deeply.

[–] federatingIsTooHard -3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

what I said is that animal welfare laws and humane slaughter laws are the norm in the western world. I said nothing about legality of factory farming implying morality. I'm saying there are legal restrictions to ensure it is humane.

[–] JubilantJaguar 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yes, and I am saying that you clearly do not understand the reality of what goes on in the average factory farm. Or do not care. But I prefer to imagine that it's ignorance, that is less disturbing.

[–] federatingIsTooHard -2 points 11 months ago

you have no basis for these accusations. you have no idea what I know or what I care about.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

I wish I could do that. Gotta save up for a chest freezer and hope I can make it work! Lol

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Yes but did the cow go to college? Was it provided with cable TV? These cows live boring farm lives, and we could do so much better.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Even if the cow is responsibly raised, there's still the question of how it was conceived. No farmer simply let's a bull on top of a cow, since our modern cows are too big to safely mate. So usually a cow is artificially inseminated, which is an inherently violent procedure. The milk industry could simply not exist without this institutionalized rape

[–] Slowy 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

That’s only really true in dairy. Most meat cows are conceived using ‘natural cover’, where several bulls are just left with the ladies to do their thing.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

Their method isn't perfect, but taking steps is a good thing, imo

[–] JJROKCZ 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

As you said, they can’t mate… so what’s your solution? Let them go extinct and we lose not only a beautiful creature but a significant part of our species food source and history? We’ve been drinking milk and eating beef since the dawn of animal husbandry

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (8 children)

Wait you're saying it's better to be genetically experimented on, caged, forced to breed, and be killed in your early adulthood than not have children?

That's it's actually more ethical to make a creature who you later kill for your own pleasure than not to do that? because the alternative is only wild cows and cowlike creatures existing?

They're living beings, not museum exhibits ffs. Species don't have preferences, individuals do.

[–] JJROKCZ -2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Point out the wild bovine to me bruh, they don’t exist, they’re one of the many species dépendant upon humans for their survival.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)
[–] JubilantJaguar 4 points 11 months ago

Very frustrating to argue with people who claim to have no concern for living creatures when in fact they probably love their dog or cat and would find it just as hard as anyone else to watch a video of what goes on in factory farms. Food choices are such a fundamental part of human culture that most people just cannot stand having them questioned, it's as if you are questioning their religion. Alas.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] federatingIsTooHard -4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

artificial insemination isn't rape. it's a veterinary procedure

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

If I artificially inseminated you would you feel raped?

[–] federatingIsTooHard 0 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I'm not a cow and I somehow doubt you are a veterinarian

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

So it would be abhorrent right? What makes it ok to do to a cow then? Is it the prop stethoscope? the certificate of graduation on the wall? Do cows just not matter? if so why not?

[–] federatingIsTooHard -4 points 11 months ago

if you have something to say, say it. what I said is true.

load more comments (1 replies)