Status Updates From Dinner on Mars The Technolo...

"If we imagine looking around at the people living on [the Martian city] BaseTown about a generation after it has been established, ...we figure that practically no one in BaseTown would be overweight..." yes because as we all know refined carbs are the only thing that leads to people being, quelle horreur, fat

[gently but firmly takes Ms. Newman and Mr. Fraser by the shoulders] you can't title a book Dinner On Mars and put an astronaut on its cover and then not talk about Mars. you have tempted me with eating space meals on the Red Planet but haven't even had the decency to write up a recipe card. i don't care if i would need a biofoundry to feasibly make the meal. i signed up for FOOD not EARTHLY GUILT SLEDGEHAMMER

“The real kicker, though, was when [head vintner of a large winery] said that although the technology has allowed her organization to reduce the number of people working in the field, the winery has increased its payroll by hiring more data technicians and software engineers, sommeliers, marketing gurus, and a whole host of people with other skill sets.” hell is empty and all the devils are here

I haven’t read Braiding Sweetgrass yet but I have a feeling it’ll be a necessary counterweight to all this “imagine a world with no animals and you don’t even have to think about your food before it’s on your plate!” hyperfuturism. like. I don’t know. am I being too much of a dumb millennial hippie? there’s been a St Francis statue watching over me my whole life, I CAN’T HELP IT

the argument that people should be freed up from exploitative labor is good and sound but the idea of robots working farms, “freeing up” humans to do the “human work” instead of any actual farming… like, maybe it’d be beneficial some places, but there’s something chillingly Genius Bar about trying to save the earth by disconnecting people from it.

you just can’t get away from gnosticism even if you’re a progressive vegan food scientist, huh

“Having huge numbers of people so repetitive hand labor is a waste of [brainpower and problem-solving]. …It’s akin to using a massive supercomputer to do basic arithmetic and is a waste of human potential.” while keeping in mind that many current labor conditions are horrible and exploitative, what a weird way to view human beings, as nothing but Potential Machines in a meat case.

"I really don't think there will be many, if any, animals on Mars, and that end of an epoch will likely happen on Earth too." i'm disconnecting from this narrative they're creating right the fuck now

"(it's possible that ice could also be used as a building material for [Martian greenhouses)" why have you been going on about how corn syrup is destroying the planet when you could be talking about MARTIAN GREENHOUSES MADE OF ICE