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105 sats \ 1 reply \ @sophostheliberator 1h \ on: Why do you eat meat? food_and_drinks
Great questions, to which I have also pondered a bit as I was vegetarian in 2017-2023 for 5,5 years and have gone back to eating meat again.
So does humanity “need” to eat meat, the simple answer is no, to survive we don’t. But this then pegs another question, to live life to our fullest potential then the answer might be different. To get most of our bodies and minds, there are certain meats that are of high nutritional value for us.
Most modern societies today consume meat in one form of another. One of the biggest vegetarian oriented cultures is India. Where there are at least 20 % of the population vegetarians. [1]
So why do I eat meat? First I gravitated towards vegetarianism as a form of spiritual and mental cleansing. Two triggers for me were in 2017 the raising of environmental concerns and most importantly the spiritual book Bhagavad Gita. Overall as I reflect the experience I have to come to a few conclusions:
- Diet should be a health choice, and you should prioritize health in decision making, not to worry about the environment at this stage. Besides, hurrying and forcing does not lead to good decision making anyway.
- Evaluate “new research” slowly and critically. In terms of health and food, there is so much contradictory research, recommendations presented to you my all kinds of influencer groups that it is easy to find recommendations for each day. If you need to read research, seek neutral and time tested evidence, not from the headlines of news or latest government recommendations. 3.Do your own research. As you find new information to apply to your life and health seek ways to confirm if the claims are right and true. Also start the experiments in your own life small, without great commitment to it. If it is something worthwhile, you can always continue and if not, discontinue.
- Give weight to tradition and common sense that has proven itself healthy. By tradition I mean your roots and the roots of civilization. I understand that not everyone has touch with their roots, or they have grown up in an urban environment where the tradition is to eat some fast food. What I mean by tradition is that for example here in Finland my parents and many older people pick up blueberries, lingonberries and mushrooms from the forests for example and store them for the winter. Or there are simple dietary preferences such as butter and rye bread that they prefer even though modern research attacks butter, butter is an example where you can do your own research. Put a slice of butter and vegetable oil based margarine outside for few days and see what happens, living things prefer butter because it is necessary for the brain and life, while they neglect vegetable oil based margarine because it does not provide much nutritional value or may even be harmful.
And based on these conclusions I decided to start eating meat again as I started to exercise more like hitting three times a week gym and two times a week running exercise. I have found that now I am in the best shape of my life. So each one of us has to make choices for ourselves.
Sources
[1] Vegetarianism by country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country
I disagree with Jeff's Booth idea that it essentially must be used as a medium of exchange. During the high upward volatility in adoption, it is understandable that the MoE side of it is not in wide use. I do think it will eventually in upcoming decades be up for widespread adoption again, but first I think it needs to become universal measure of value (unit of account), when most people start to think in sats around the world, it also makes it easier to pay with sats instead. And I think the MoE think is likely to happen outside U.S. and dollarized countries quicker.
Interesting question.
Inflation under a hard-money standard (e.g., gold or silver-based monetary systems) generally exhibited very different characteristics compared to modern fiat systems:
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Stable Prices Over the Long Term Prices under hard-money systems tended to remain stable or even decline over long periods due to productivity growth outpacing the supply of money. Example: During the 19th century under the classical gold standard, the purchasing power of money increased in many countries as industrialization and technological advancements lowered production costs.
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Short-Term Volatility While long-term inflation was negligible, short-term price fluctuations were common, often driven by:
- Economic shocks (e.g., wars or crop failures).
- Gold/silver discoveries (e.g., the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s increased the money supply, temporarily causing inflation).
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Deflationary Tendencies Because the money supply was constrained by the availability of gold/silver, economies sometimes experienced deflation (falling prices) when demand for money grew faster than its supply. This was common during periods of rapid economic expansion or financial crises.
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Regional Variations Inflation or deflation was influenced by the local supply of and demand for gold and silver. Regions with gold/silver mines or higher trade surpluses could experience localized inflation.
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Impact on Wages Wages adjusted more slowly than prices, leading to periods of economic hardship during deflationary episodes, especially for debtors whose debts became harder to repay in "harder" money.
Historical Examples:
A. Gold Rush Inflation (1848–1855): The influx of gold caused a temporary increase in money supply and inflation.
B. Deflation in the Late 19th Century (1873–1896): Known as the "Long Depression," many economies experienced deflation due to rapid industrialization and limited monetary expansion under the gold standard.
Inflation on a hard-money standard was typically minimal or even negative over the long term, with periods of short-term volatility. While this system ensured monetary stability and trust, it could also cause economic rigidity, making it difficult to respond to crises or accommodate rapid growth. This contrasts sharply with the fiat systems of today, where inflation is often persistent and centrally managed.
Further reading:
a) Historical Studies
"Prices and Wages in England" by Arthur Gayer, W. W. Rostow, and Anna Jacobson Schwartz. A detailed study of price levels and wage changes during the gold and silver standards.
"The Gold Standard in Theory and History" edited by Barry Eichengreen and Marc Flandreau. Discusses the operation and economic effects of the gold standard, including inflation and deflationary episodes.
b) Research Papers
"The Gold Standard as a Rule" by Michael D. Bordo (NBER). Examines the historical gold standard and its role in stabilizing inflation and economic growth.
"The Deflation of the Late 19th Century" by Hugh Rockoff. Focuses on the period of deflation during the classical gold standard era and its implications.
"Commodity Money Inflation: A Lesson from American History" by Peter L. Rousseau. Explores periods of inflation and deflation in the U.S. under hard-money and fiat systems.
Sure thing. For me, the decision to convert boiled down to one question in the end: will this help me to become a better person?
Of course, I had sought to answer that question long before I even came into contact with the church. I read a lot, and some books quite many times. Some of them included 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Road Less Traveled, and Jordan Peterson's books 12 Rules for Life and Maps of Meaning, which certainly influenced my thinking and behavior somewhat already.
So then I met a person who would later become my wife. She had an interesting combination of admirable characteristics like courage, vulnerability, observation, and a certain intellectual drive that caught my attention rather quickly. The first time we met, we weren’t on a date yet. I showed her an opening from my notebook, she read it keenly and pointed out that the concept of service is also important to her. Most of the people I knew or who were in my life were like from a different planet compared to this woman, so this perhaps was the first encounter that made me wonder how she came to be the way she is.
Later on, as we were on our second date, I asked her one of my favorite questions back then: what is the one book I can read that would help me get to know you better? Even though I knew by then that she was religious, her response still kindly surprised me as she gave me the Book of Mormon with a dedication and some tips on where to start.
She also invited me to go to church the next day, and I went. I’ve had this principle in life to see things with my own eyes before making any decisions. Overall, it was an okay experience. I also remember that missionaries came to talk to me, but I kindly rejected them at the time, saying I would figure things out at my own pace.
At first, when I tried to read the Book of Mormon, it did not go very well. I was skeptical, questioning, and resistant. There were historical details, like the mention of an iron bow, that didn’t make sense to me. So I read some and then left it there.
We had started dating by then, but we were living in different cities quite close by. My religious progress was almost nonexistent at first. But a big thing happened soon after when she asked if I would like to meet the missionaries at her place, and I agreed. So I met these two brothers (who were really exceptional people). They almost immediately found a way to connect with me on a meaningful level by starting a conversation about interesting ideas and books. I was soon amazed to find out that Stephen Covey, the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was also a member of this particular church (although this is mentioned in the introduction of the book, I am living quite far away from the US, and the Church is not widely known here, so I had connected zero dots before).
That was a big “wait a minute” moment for me. Another happened soon as well. In Civilization IV, there is this incredible theme song in the menu called Baba Yetu. I had found online an interesting version by Alex Boye, which I had been listening to. And as I played it for my future wife, she wondered if the choir was BYU people. Then we found out that indeed it was, and also found out that Alex Boye is a member of the Church.
Although these kinds of “connecting the dots” moments were fun and meaningful, the actual dialogue with Church members and especially with my future wife was important.
Particularly, there are a few ideas that resonated with me:
The idea that we are all children of God, and that this earthly existence is a temporary state which we have entered out of our own choice in order to progress to become more like Him. So we all have the potential to become godlike if we choose to. Put in these words, it is inspirational.
Eternal perspective. We have been in some plane of existence before we came to earth, in some form, and we will be in some form or another after earthly existence. And our conscious choices will matter as well.
The Church is about Jesus Christ, most importantly, and He is the perfect example because He was a man but became a god. Jesus followed the will of the Father and showed the way. We all should follow His example. I’m not saying this is easy, or that I or almost any man on earth can do this perfectly. But His love and mercy are deeper than we understand.
So, as I was equipped with some of these ideas through conversation and our relationship was developing quite well, I decided to start learning more, on my own terms. I started off with the Biblical Series by Jordan Peterson (on YouTube), which really deepened my interest in the overall question of God. Around that time, I also decided to move to the same city as her, so I began attending church on Sundays—although at first, most of it was online streaming because it was around the time of COVID.
Then I picked up the Book of Mormon again, this time with a more open mind and less focus on picky details. As I started reading it more as a spiritual book and less as a history book, it started to open up to me: like the subtitle suggests, it’s another testament of Christ. For me, the important message and feeling was that Christ lives. It was a feeling I had never had before in my life. The strongest I have felt it is through following the teachings of Christ and the commandments of God. So I started committing more.
My wife showed me a temple from the outside, and we talked about it. I heard that these are special places where one can feel especially close to God and that they are also places where families can be united for eternity.
When I first heard about the idea of eternity, I was again skeptical. I thought, “Why would someone want to be with anyone for eternity?” But as I had grown up in a kind of broken family with more negative examples of life than positive ones, I started to change my mind as I met her family members, relatives, and other people who had built their lives on the foundation of Christ. It became very obvious to me that if I wanted something different, I could choose which foundation to build my life upon. In this sense, I respected my principle of seeing things for myself first, then making decisions.
By this time, I had reached a saturation point with both information and experience. I had been attending church, I had read the Book of Mormon, and I felt it had a lot to offer me. The Church in general had a lot to offer me. I knew that even though I was living a pretty good life, there were still some changes to be made. As I approached the missionaries and asked if they could start teaching me, I had already quit alcohol earlier and had just quit coffee as well in order to follow the Word of Wisdom commandment.
A difficult commandment for me was the law of chastity, which I still struggle with sometimes, often repenting because my mind is not as clean as I would hope. But I’ve gained perspective and motivation for it as well, especially now that I’m happily married, because I want to protect my wife and family.
After a few more weeks of learning, I got baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. It has been three years now, and I feel like that was only the beginning of a grand spiritual journey that I am still on. Faith is more of a process than just an event. Nowadays, I ask myself: does what I’m doing invite more of the Spirit or less? This helps me become better and also learn the Father’s will.
Many times, here are some biggies:
- "green" energy, used to think wind and solar are great, but now I know better. Energy is best done efficiently and abudantly, i.e. Nuclear fission or fusion when time comes.
- eating meat: I went on vegetarian diet for 6 years, then I changed my mind as I had started to hit gym more often and started to think about the quality of the food more.
- Jesus Christ: kind of "raised" as a evangelical Lutheran, but not really living it at all and officially quit the Church when I hit 18 or so and started pursuing all kinds of oriental philosophies and other philosophies of men as well. Later I got introduced to the Jesus Christ again and baptized as member of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
- inflation is good - not. Well Bitcoin has changed the way I think about many things incl. money, government etc.
Great theme.
Preparedness is fascinating topic with infinite depth, taking step at a time is important. My household has taken some steps towards it recently:
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We don't grow yet foods, but we have utilized nearby forest to pick up berries and mushrooms. This year we learned about two new edible mushrooms which we found kind of plenty to eat and also to store for the winter. Also we picked up berries for the winter.
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Another thing has been container as a additional food storage. So there we have now food with which we could survive few weeks. In addition to actual crisis it helps also everyday life as every now and then there comes a situation where something runs out from the kitchen.
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We have gone through 72 hour preparedness material together. We still have some things to take into account, but awareness is beginning.
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As we have now up to date hiking gear, it also brings capacities to household such as the ability to cook without electricity (gas) and sleeping bags (during winter without eletrcity might be very cold up here).
Also from the original post, I want to start thinking more about the home defense.
Any interaction with the culture influences it.
After years of working in change management consultancy I got realization which I am firm believer in. Realization goes: people change only when they start something new or are in a crisis.
So to answer if the culture has changed, short answer is yes. It is due to the new beginnings and minor crises. But for the big change, I would like to see grander crisis.
Sounds like you are well preparee already. I would like to suggeet a minor tweak called "setting a definite date" not just to the content of the two liner, but also to your mind set. So that would mean you say: Hey, I'm Fabs and I'd really like to get to know you and go out with you. And then not just leave the date for "someday" but to agree a time and place with her or ask if they have time now to do 😊
When I met my wife for the first time, we were having a lunch and it was not a date. I however asked there her out and we went for a dessert date...
If you want to explore that definite date concept more see How to be 3% man by Corey Wayne, recommended read.
Good luck!
Is your better half vested in Bitcoin? Did you have the honour of orange pilling her?
Yes. I would say I introduced her to it, rather than "orange-pilled" her. I believe "orange pilling" is a selfish metaphor for something as brilliant as Bitcoin, which has been given freely to everyone. Therefore, I think freedom of choice should be respected when introducing Bitcoin.
When we first met, I was just starting to write a book about Bitcoin jo. It was my peak excitement. And I didn't say a word about money or Bitcoin to her until she brought the topic up on some date. We sat on the park bench and we talked about the fundamentals of money.
Then maybe two months later as I showed her this "Don't Buy Bitcoin. It's Going To Crash!!!" -video as a joke https://youtu.be/XbZ8zDpX2Mg?si=0N_s4hf-ud43Mjrn
And after that she was asking where and how to purchase some. Before telling her that I gave her lecture about hodling for long term. Later on I also gave her a lesson about proper self-custody.
Now days she can often explain Bitcoin in more understandable way to many people who ask about it than I can. But to be fair, she has heard more than enough about money, Bitcoin and economics from me ever since she first asked to talk about money 🤠
Yeah they have killed the innovation through directives, bureaucratization and regulation. In fact most people in my country don't know what "productive work is" even in companies and instead they are doing some kind of mandatary sustainable communication plans.