The Economics of Going Vegan: Recession

Wow, hello friends and strangers. It is once again time for a blog post, because I have something (that I think is interesting) to share. I haven't posted in forever, mostly because I have been without inspiration I think, and not feeling worthy because I was not performing well with my veganism. But lucky you, I am feeling inspired. Economics often does that to me. :)

Alright, so this post may cater to those of you (not many, I presume) who like economics! But perhaps it is more especially for those of you who have not yet developed an appreciation for it. Perhaps I can foster some.

Although I didn't really realize it until I took a class in college, I have enjoyed economics since I was little. I've just always enjoyed being economical... saving my candy, collecting "rations" like wild berries and feathers when we were outside playing house, recycling, etc. It just makes sense to and is fun for me.

Economics is really just common sense, because it's the study of human action, and it's often performed through "thought experiments" on how people (including oneself) would react to certain situations. This means that anyone can understand basic principles of economics, because all people are economic actors. We make economic decisions all the time, like how we spend our time, money and effort. There are definitely a lot of mumbo-jumbo figures and terms that are over my head (I'm guessing some of yours as well), but don't let those things scare you, because true economics is fairly simple.

There are a few different major schools of economic thought. My school teaches Austrian Economics, which is definitely not as mainstream, and is based very basically on the proven idea that government controls and regulations (for example tariffs, subsidies, legal tender laws, lots of regulations on businesses like hair-cutting and childcare restrictions, etc.) hamper the economy, which functions well on its own. Libertarian. Ronald Reagan. Ron Paul. It's not as mainstream, in part because many powerful special interests can profit from regulations like those mentioned above, and these interests will pay or vote for politicians who keep or implement these policies, often promoting the regulations as protections for consumers.

THE BOOM / BUST CYCLE 
Even if you knew nothing about economics before this post, you may have heard of a particular housing boom, tech bubble or other such event. Even more likely is that you've heard people saying we're in some sort of recession (we're not). These phenomena are parts of a boom or bust in the economy. A follow-up idea that goes along with the, as they say, "praxeological" causal-realist view that Austrian Economists adhere to, is that the Boom/Bust cycle of the economy is not inherent, but is caused by the US Central Bank inflating the money supply (printing or electronically creating more money). That's bad. Basically, here's what goes down:
BOOM PHASE
The Central Bank creates money out of thin air, then by buying Treasury Bonds, increases the reserves of commercial banks. Commercial banks then lend out this new money to entrepreneurs or businesses looking to expand production. This is called an economic BOOM! because there's a lot of production going on and people are spending money and everything seems to be going well. But it's not.
Here's the problem. In order to lend this money out, commercial banks have to decrease the interest rate. This decreased rate is artificial and doesn't reflect reality because it is a result of the new money supply and not a result of people's preferences (time preference, to be exact).
So when entrepreneurs examine the rate of interest on a loan vs. the rate of return on a project they are considering undertaking, their calculation of whether or not a project will be profitable is totally thrown off. For example: say the rate of interest on a loan would normally be 8% and the return on a project is 6%. It is obvious that that project is not going to be profitable because the loan would cost more than the project will generate (6% < 8%). But say the interest rate is artificially lowered to 5%. Then it looks as if the project will be profitable because 6% > 5%. They end up undertaking a lot of projects that will not be profitable. This is called "mal-investment".

WOW GUYS SORRY THIS IS A BIT COMPLEX FOR BEGINNERS. I DIDN'T MEAN FOR IT TO BE. WE'RE ALMOST THERE, I PROMISE. The connection to going vegan is coming up.

If the Central Bank keeps on printing more money, and banks keep loaning more money to these poor entrepreneurs, no one will know that there's something wrong until we hit hyperinflation and everything crashes down. But this economy, even though it seems to be working well, is really sick and messed up. People are producing things that nobody wants (unprofitable projects). They're wasting money on these things when it could be spent on things that people do want.

BUST PHASE
But if the Central Bank slows money creation down, and so less loans are available, the BUST! phase will happen, and a Recession will occur, because the consequences of the mal-investments will finally to be realized. Entrepreneurs and Producers will want more loans to finance their projects because consumers aren't buying their products/using their services. But now, banks won't have enough loans to go around and so these businesses will incur losses or go bankrupt. This, although painful, is necessary for the economy to regain its health because without it, people would go on wasting resources and therefore making everyone poorer than they could be.

Ben Bernanke (the chairman of the US Central Bank and NOT an Austrian Economist) might say, "See? Inflation of the money supply is necessary and good. Do you see what happens when we stop inflating the money supply? We go into a Recession." But the Austrian Economist says, "No! The Recession occurs because of the inflation of the money supply. It is only when inflation is slowed or stopped that the consequences are realized, and only then can the healing process from inflation begin."

GOING VEGAN
How does this relate to veganism? I hope you're able to see. [I'm talking to myself as well, when I say that] if you have been eating a lot of animal foods or relying on caffeine etc. etc. for energy, and then switch to a plant-based vegan diet, you can expect to feel poorly. Your body is getting rid of toxins and the results of eating a lot of foods that our bodies are not optimally designed to use. It's normal to feel tired or gross during this "Recession". But stick with it and as time passes (we're talking not just a week here) if you are eating enough good lower-fat plant-based food, you will feel better and stronger than you were. :) Go Econ.

Tootles ~
SB

I Leave You This Without Commentary

Genesis 1:29-30

God also said, 'Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. this food will be for you, for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth - everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so.

My Thoughts This Evening

So how many times does someone post on their “inspirational” blog or Instagram about when they are feeling wretched and uninspired? I imagine people do post at those times, but it is obviously way more difficult and not as “fun” like the blog was supposed to be. Well, I am a hypocrite because I am feeling better about my “journey” hah than I have been the past week or so. But I confess to the world that I have NOT been eating vegan since about three days after I started one or two weeks ago. In order to defend my frail ego I’ll say that normally when I make a promise in my heart I want to keep it and I don’t normally break them/feel guilty if I do, but in honesty I’m sure I do not stick to my standards way more than I think I do. Personally I have a really hard time finding a balance with a lot of things in life. I want to be extreme and do things “the right way” and I love the excitement of that. I feel good when I’m “on track”. Not just with eating a vegan diet either.

Anyway a week or so ago I was thinking about that and also feeling deprived of anything not spinach or apples since it’s rather difficult eating raw vegan at school (although I did do so last year for several months yay me), and I think it may be wise to start slow. I need to learn balance and not just be a crazy yoyo person. I feel guilty saying that like I’m letting people down, but anyway I definitely want to eat more raw (as far as it depends on me) once I get out of school. But not to the point that it hinders my relationships with other people.

Another point. I had a rugby practice today (pre-off-season) and things like that always help me want to eat better. Takes away my appetite in a healthy way. I tried out for the basketball team earlier this year and I ate pretty well during that time. It was slightly out of fear, because I didn’t want to if I knew I would regret it later. Kind of like the fear of God, I think. Some people may have a problem with the fear of God concept, but it makes sense to me. For example if you have a teacher who is very buddy-buddy with their students, the students don’t have as much of the “fear” of authority and don’t learn as much. That’s honestly how it works, even though you may not like it. Teachers who are friends are great, but if you want to stretch yourself, you need someone who is going to make you uncomfortable, and that’s where that healthy “fear” comes in.

Also I've been watching some of the Winter Olympics this weekend! If any of you haven’t been it’s worth watching. Gives me a sort of pride in the world. If I ever have kids I’d like that to be something we watch together.

Goodnight !

As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God? Psalm 42:1-2

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44

Vegan Bull Shit

I recently read an essay by one of my professors about BS. In this essay, my professor talked about how 90% of the time, we are BSing ourselves and others, by using our minds to “defend the opinions we do hold” rather than to “discover the opinions we ought to hold.”

This is so despicable to me, but it is the truth. I often use my mind to find a rationale for ideas that I have already latched onto – in my case especially certain religious ideas and veganism (among other topics I am sure). That doesn’t mean that the ideas I hold are wrong, but rather that they are “wrongly held,” which is way more dangerous. And the first step to approaching truth and using my brain is to recognize that I do BS myself. Ok.

I have decided to really test my rationale for veganism. Here. Basically this is going to be my blog about being raw vegan in college and deciding for myself to which extent I believe in it.

I have been vegan or raw vegan on and off many times. In high school I looked and probably felt my best when I was eating a strict vegan diet and last year in college I ate raw vegan for a few months and lost over 20 lbs. I seem to keep “falling off the wagon” though. Christmas or cookies in the cafeteria or feeling lonely.

Anyway, the point is I do have a lot of reasons to believe that a vegan diet is optimal. In addition to having lost weight and feeling pretty good on a raw/vegan diet in the past, I have also experienced:

Clearer skin

Lack of that gross after-binge feeling (even if I eat a lot)

ALSO (tmi I am SO sorry) I have noticed that when consistently eating a raw vegan diet, I use the bathroom (#2) so much more cleanly! And that makes sense, because Adam and Eve didn't have toilet paper, now did they? Speaking of those fellow humans, here are two more reasons a raw/vegan diet makes sense if you believe in what the Bible has to say.

If you believe in God and the traditional story of Adam and Eve in the Bible, then you probably believe that Adam and Eve basically ate fruit and vegetables… mostly fruit I imagine. And if that was a “perfect” environment before sin, then that would imply they were eating the “perfect” pre-fall diet as well.

Also, in the book of Daniel in the Bible, Daniel and his friends who were undergoing training in Babylon asked to only be served vegetables and water (maybe veggies includes other types of “vegetation” than we typically think today, but I don’t know). After 10 days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the other young men who were eating the royal food provided for them.

Lastly, even if eating meat and eggs or whatever isn’t that bad for you if the animals are raised in a healthy (not to mention humane!) way and not fed hormones or genetically-modified foods, or genetically modified themselves, most of the animal products you can buy in stores today are. And that is obviously bad.

Have you seen any of those Netflix documentaries about eating? I like documentaries and I have watched several of those… I don’t think there’s any denying it. These and several other pieces of evidence combine to a massive overwhelming amount that I cannot ignore. I have to eat vegan again.

The point of this post and its BS title is that it would be dishonest for me to press an agenda or idea that I did not actually discover and believe for myself, but rather that other people did. Am I just BSing myself with this ideal saying, “That’s a good idea. I think I’ll believe that too, because I want to believe that I can eat as much as I want and still be skinny and healthy”? Well this is the test. Here I go. This is my blog. This is my life. God help me.