Honest pricing and fake meat
I expect the price differential would flip, to favor plant-based meats, if we started taking account of externalities. For that to happen, I think we need to act as though Truth as a primary value is something that should be embodied in the functioning of our institutions. That is a profound perspective, and it cuts to the core of how modern market economics often misprice the true cost of production. If economic institutions were restructured to embody Truth as a primary value—specifically through what economists call "true cost accounting"—the price differential would almost certainly flip. Right now, market prices reflect only private internal costs (like feed, slaughtering, and transport), while shielding consumers from the massive societal and environmental costs. Here is how the economics and market dynamics would shift if institutions were forced to align market prices with the structural truth of their impact: 1. The Hidden Subsidies of Conventional Meat In a truth...