The Frugivore Diet

Reflection on the Safety of a Technocracy

2012-02-12T08:55:44.000Z

For years, I've been a supporter of the ZeitGeist Movement and the idea of Resource Based Economy. I'm certainly for a major change in the political-economical paradigm that the world is currently suffering from. However, James Corbett's recent discussions on the history of Technocracy (of which RBE is certainly one) have left me feeling unsure.

My first concern with the (then) combined Venus Project/ZGM was when either Peter Joseph or Jacque Fresco proposed forcing vaccination on the public as a means of making efficiency savings in health care. I wondered then if the scientists would wind up forcing us to eat space-age food, live in laboratory conditions and give birth from test tubes but supposed that some common sense would prevail should the RBE ever come about.

Corbett's point, however, is that Technocracy is nothing new and in all previous attempts at selling the idea, it has been very much controlled by the same "masters" who we are trying to break free from today.

What's your opinion?

Corbett Report Podcase - Episode 217 – Against Technocracy

Automation of fruit/berry/veggie planting/tending/harvesting

2010-07-11T18:50:18.000Z

This thread is for posting things that are relevant to an "80-10-10 version" of a TVP|RBE society when it comes to food cultivation, tending, harvesting, transportation, storage as well as food abundance in general, and what effect that would have on the populace of such a society.

In the documentary 'We Feed the World', a UN representative states that according to assessment reports we could, with today's outdated agricultural technology, feed 12 billion people. Of course, with today's tech., monocultures and all, that wouldn't be sustainable in the long run, but people are already investigating and utilizing the techniques of permaculture, vertical farms, and other methodologies.

To go with what this UN representative said is the fact that today so much food is thrown away (and when it comes to fruit, a lot is thrown away when it is just about ripe, or only slightly over-ripe, or a bit bruised), that people could almost feed themselves well, day-by-day, by dumpster diving (assuming that the homeless population isn't already very large where you live). Of course, if things are free, the economic system doesn't work, so locks are put on dumpsters.

A large part of the one billion starving or hungry humans today used to be farmers who were put out of business because of rich countries selling their subsidized crops so cheap in the countries of these farmers, that said farmers could not compete (as explained in the documentary 'The World According to Monsanto'), and thus went out of business. The idea of supporting local food initially makes less sense to people brought up in a monetary culture, if that food is more expensive and one doesn't have much money to thrown around to begin with.

In other words, today, and moreso tomorrow, and even moreso in the tomorrow of a fulfilled Venus project, we could just give away food to people at distribution centers. And with global access and cooperation, improved technologies, and without a corruptable elite governing the logistics (and with improved upbringings that make it highly improbable that someone would want to become part of such an elite, and would be disgusted by the idea), it won't be the equivalent of deprived Soviet distibrution centers.

What happens if people are just given food? Will they become lazy and take things for granted, or will they love the society that so cares for them, that they, with their more positive upbringing (less time needed to work to afford food, etc., allows for more time to spend with one's parents, neighborhoods, etc., who are all for sustaining the value system necessary for a TVP society) will want to contribute in such a way that they maintain and/or improve the functioning of the society?

Below is the beginning of a link collection. If you mention something smart and/or link to something, that bears relevance to things I have written and/or what could be useful for 80-10-10 food production, then I will update this post to include it (what I have written is very much just a draft - I should word myself more precisely and concisely, as well as post more references).

Methods, paradigms, techniques, etc.:

www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/Spinoff2008/ch_3.html
www.verticalfarm.com

Mechatronic technologies (farm robots, etc.):

www.newscientist.com/article/dn17224
www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/ingelligent-harvesting-robot-to-take-over-uk-farms.php
http://narc.naro.affrc.go.jp/projects/agrobots/rice_t_e.html
www.associatedcontent.com/article/290850/robotic_fruit_pickers_revolution_in.html
www.singularityhub.com/2009/04/14/mit-and-the-constant-robotic-gardeners
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fKDi-F_d0o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcvhtn7I2qw&feature=player_embedded

Bananas being grown on Iceland. With improved tech. and clean energy generation and transporation, we could grow and supply anything anywhere in the world, and do so sustainably.

In a Venus project society, there will be such a thing as a 'free' lunch - but people who want to forage instead of lazily waltsing about in a distribution center could do so on trips into the nature "reservations" (which might be everything outside our cities, as we will likely simplify transportation, as well as making it more effective, along with changing other things that will allow us to leave large areas of nature untouched by things other than our bodies and truly clean and non-intrusive technology, while still going about our business. These areas could be thus be free of most human intervention other than scientific observation.)

The Venus Project World Lecture Tour

2010-06-30T12:41:43.000Z

This had slipped my mind and notice for some time.

I don't know what countries are represented by all the members of this group, but Fresco and Meadows, of the Venus Project, are currently on a world lecture tour. If you attend, you'll have the chance, during the Q&A to get to pose a question / make a statement regarding [high-fruit low-fat raw] veganism, if you so desire, and what say might be recorded along with the rest of the event, and uploaded for all to hear and ponder.

They've already been in many places, but as of June 30th, the following countries have yet to be visited:

Portugal
Spain
Austria
Sweden
Denmark
Scotland
Ireland
United Kingdom
Germany
France
Iceland
Canada

http://www.thevenusproject.com/lecture-locations-dates/

Check the link for more details, and don't forget to notify your friends in these countries who have the chance to go see them.

Ideas for community thread:

2010-06-16T10:41:54.000Z

So Prad recommended starting an informative thread on zeitgeist, TVP, to help organize and educate more ppl about the movement. He suggested adding a topic a week to give ppl time to 'digest' the new info.

I'm thinking we start with creating unity throughout the community by listing shared values, ie we all need: fresh air, water, abundant healthy food, clothes, shelter, etc. Then explaining what is wrong with our current economic system i.e. creation of scarcity, cyclical consumption, competition, planned obsolescence and destruction of the environment in favor of the profit incentive. Then, explaining how TVP will correct about 90% of our TECHNICAL problems through a resource-based economy..

So here's the email from Prad:

I think watching the videos is an excellent idea provided people get some background and idea of what is happening. the problem is that many people have no idea what this is and haven't even bothered to consider its merits. to plunge them into a revolutionary movement would be asking a lot, imho.

it would be like my telling people to go watch earthlings or some peta video without preparation. while some obviously will, a bit of guidance provided by a knowledgeable individual would likely generate greater enthusiasm and eventually commitment.

so my suggestion would be to start a thread like "insights into zeigtgeist" or even something amusing like "everything you wanted to know about zeitgeist but were afraid to ask" and then do a brief intro about what you are going to present in the initial post. you can post the video links there and suggest people watch them.

after that do may be a topic a week so people can have time to absorb and discuss ideas. here are 3 examples of how we did things:
http://www.30bananasaday.com/group/30badinternetoutreachguerrillas/forum/topics/30badigo-hq-discuss-strategy
(notice the running table of contents as well as the high degree of participation)
http://www.30bananasaday.com/forum/topics/i-told-you-so-science
http://www.30bananasaday.com/forum/topics/are-humans-unique-in-the
(the latter two are more intended as resources though there is some discussion there too)

so those are just some suggestions. from what i found, if you want people to learn, you can provide them with links. however, if you want people to act, it helps to get them to participate in smaller steps.

i think you'll get a great following here - and i'm sure we can help things along. ;)

in friendship,
prad

I'm assuming everyone here has watched Zeitgeist I and Addendum, Movement orientation video, PJ's lectures, Jacque's Lectures, read the Activist Guide, and Designing The Future by Fresco.

Ventrilo

2009-09-22T04:27:46.000Z

Are all you guys aware of the Movement ventrilo server?Download it here > http://www.ventrilo.com/download.phpCreate a nickname.Add a new server, name it: thezeitgeistmovementFor "Hostname or IP", put in: nyc2.ventriloservers.bizPort number: 3795And connect! :D