I’m seeing an interesting parallel between my work gigs on energy transition stuff (fossil fuels + combustion tech to renewables+electricity tech) and personal life efforts to gradually move to a plant-based diet. Cc
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Cooking meat over an open fire is a very old human ritual. I don’t see it going away any time soon.
That said, top chefs & restauranteurs need to lead the charge on presenting alternatives to the public. It’s risky bc people eat what’s familiar but more options = more successes.
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It's already a dated ritual. Barbque/kebab culture is a special-experience thing. Most meat is not cooked that way today anyway :)
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Depends where & how you live - but point taken.
I just don’t think people will give up their real meat so easily. And while there’s demand there will be supply. So like I said, the tastemakers need to lead the charge on demand.
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Yeah, as with energy, it's the aggregates that count. As % of protein needs met by plants increases and economy starts to shift in response, it will get more and more normalized. People didn't think it would be possible to reduce smoking to a culturally marginal behavior either.
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I think it’s much deep in our psychology.
Granted, many of my Indian relatives haven’t eaten meat across many generations but they do rely heavily on dairy & blindly on eggs. And how far back before omnivores?
BTW, tobacco is relatively novel in human span & not as ubiquitous.
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You think Indians would give up milk and dairy from cows? I’m skeptical about this. And I can’t see China giving up on meat and seafood either - well I guess the Party could insist upon it if they want another revolution.
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We're talking 100-200 year timeframes here, so yes to both. 150 years ago, Americans viewed beef meat as a rare treat and lobster was low-class food. Beef protein intake shot up (along with heights) over just 1-2 generations and it went to everyday-food.
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And if you're talking Indian food: consider that things as basic as potato and chillies in Indian cuisine are American imports. Bengali sweets are all derived from British era cheese introduction. Nan and samosas are foreign foods :D
As is the tomato - sure. I would be stunned to learn that the cow only became sacred after the Brits imported it. After all, they make their chai the Indian way. ;) seriously though, while not ancient, milk seems vital in South Asia:
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Anthropological evidence suggests the cow became sacred fairly late, and not for dairy but because bulls were of high value as draught animals, and as population in south asia grew, cow slaughter taboo emerged to protect draught power. Dairy gained centrality as a side effect.
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