Lies Our Culture Tells Us: The Lives Of Primitive People's were Nasty Brutish Short

[Bloodsoul]

Woe be our ancestors who did not possess Twinkies.

[lordlundar]

Not likely.

Thanks to industrialization, we can produce far, far more with far, far less labour than at any time in the past.

Actually, you proved the point quite well. Granted the time and energy isn't being applied by the specific person, but when you factor in all the steps in processing the food for consumer consumption, a lot more time and energy is being spent per person.

[Boozy]

Actually, you proved the point quite well. Granted the time and energy isn't being applied by the specific person, but when you factor in all the steps in processing the food for consumer consumption, a lot more time and energy is being spent per person.

I can't believe this is actually being argued. I thought that the explosion in "production per hour of manpower" over the past few hundred years was so widely accepted that this would be the equivalent of arguing that the world is flat.

My father is a farmer. His two man operation produced nearly 3000 dry tons of grain last year. They can do this because they use machines.

How many people does it take to turn that grain into an edible product? Not as many as you'd think. Because food processing plants use machines too. This is the beauty of industrialization.

It really bothers me that the average person is so out of touch with how their food is produced.

[lordlundar]

How is that a bad thing?

Never said it was a bad thing, just making a statement.

I can't believe this is actually being argued.

Wait, what? I was arguing? You extrapolated that I was offended in some way by that one line?

I thought that the explosion in "production per hour of manpower" over the past few hundred years was so widely accepted that this would be the equivalent of arguing that the world is flat.

My father is a farmer. His two man operation produced nearly 3000 dry tons of grain last year. They can do this because they use machines.

How many people does it take to turn that grain into an edible product? Not as many as you'd think. Because food processing plants use machines too. This is the beauty of industrialization.

I never said the manpower. I said time and energy. Guess what, that does not mean manpower. Those machines do not work or are built by magic. They take time and energy to make and require fuel in some fashion to function. This does not magically vanish because a person did not have direct contact with the product. It all counts toward the food people consume, and yes, it does amount to more time and energy being spent to feed a person.

It really bothers me that the average person is so out of touch with how their food is produced.

And it really bothers me when people make wild accusatory statements off of a single misinterpreted line.

[Boozy]

I didn't think you were offended, lordlundar. I usually assume people are simply having a debate absent of an emotional reaction, unless they specifically say otherwise.

It seems to me that you are NOW offended, however, so I apologize. It wasn't my intent.

I still disagree with you, though. Factoring in the time it takes to build the machines is cheating. It's like factoring in the amount of time it takes a day labourer to reach adulthood from birth, and claiming those as hours it takes to pick the crop.