[ExI] Don't be a locavore fundamentalist

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

Nice to see you here again, Anders!

On Sun, Sep 27, 2009 at 8:43 AM, Anders Sandberg <asa at nada.kth.se> wrote:
> Food is the new religion: besides having presumed effects on you (that are
> expounded by an expert priesthood), it is an effective way of signalling
> social status, culture and values to oneself and others.

### Hanging out with Robin sure has an effect of on people! Yes,
signaling is probably the main mechanism for the spread of the
locovory meme, for reasons you describe below. Otherwise why would
they bother with the bumper stickers?

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>
> My suggestion is that we form our own high-status food-cult, "rational
> eaters". We want food that actually *is* good for us, the environment and
> the rest of mankind. Of course, researching it and getting it is going to be
> a major undertaking - which is good, since that demonstrates committment and
> makes the group more impressive. Sometimes you can have your cake and eat it
> too.

### Here I am bit skeptical - rationality goes against the grain of a
lot of common attitudes (chauvinism, pessimism, make-work bias,
authoritarianism), and being conspicuously rational can make you an
outcast. Away from this list I'd rather stick to talking about the
weather, tchotchkes, spiritually elevating rapport-building
mumbo-jumbo, and the like. YMMV.

Rafal