Item — HN Reader

> supplementing with foods that are at least as unethical as factory farming practices

That's the first time I ear about supplement being unethical, let alone "compared to factory farming". Stretching the usual arguments, it may be almonds' water or soy in brazil ? I'd be glad you clarify your point.

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The harvesting of a number of the common foods used to supplement vegetarian and vegan diets—eg, soy, agave, quinoa—are variously destructive to the environment and based on labor practices exploitative enough that they sometimes verge on slavery.

Oh I understand the confusion: soy, quinoa and agave are not supplements but food. I guess we might agree on "alternative" but the word choice isn’t your point.

Soy is a strange pick at it’s mostly cultivated to feed livestock (77%) and using it instead for humans instead would require substantially less crops.

https://www.deforestationimportee.ecologie.gouv.fr/en/affect...

Agave… is mostly water and glucose, without much minerals or protein. How does vegs requires or tends toward that aliment more than other?

Quinoa original region doesn’t have the same working standards as un US/UE but I’m not aware of a difference with banana, coffee, avocado, cacao, vanilla, coconut, palm oil (or soy)… however Quinoa also grow in other regions: here in France you can find local quinoa at the same price as the one from Bolivia: around 8€/kg (organic). It’s super healthy but not very popular through.

Beans and lentils are more popular I think (self non-scientific estimation) but yeah soy is great and tasty.