Diet Monger Ass Kicker -- Javascript version

[jts]

You ask: why put this under 'Ethics'? What does nutrition have to do with ethics?

My reasoning is ethics is defined in Objectivism as that branch of philosophy that has to do with values. (Bob Kolker will disagree but we are talking about ethics in Objectivism.) What is a value? A value is what we act to gain or keep, again in Objectivism. I figure food, nutrition, and health are values. Probably most people will disagree with me on those things, but that's what I figure. I even go so far as to say they are rational values as opposed to irrational values. I figure every person who aspires to live rationally would value food and nutrition and health, among of course many other values. To value something means to act to gain or keep it.

Therefore I think I'm probably not too far off the mark when I post a link to a nutrition program under 'Ethics'.

This program attempts to give you all information known to man about 7500 foods and 140 nutrients. It is almost like a game. The goal is to put together a nutritionally perfect diet, a diet with no excesses and no deficiencies. I put in every feature I could think of to serve that end, or at least every feature that has a reasonable ratio of usefulness over clutter.

This program uses local storage, a new thing in HTML5. It stores data on your own hard drive. Local storage is much superior to cookies. It stores fave foods, rejected foods, and your own edited sets of nutrient requirements.

Diet Monger Ass Kicker -- Javascript version

http://jtstory.onlin...pt/dmak-js.html

It might take a while to load the data (7500 foods and 140 nutrients). Maybe take a break while the data loads.

Several things can be discussed.

1. The minimums and maximums probably can be improved. Even the experts are not all agreed on how much we need of some nutrients or how much is too much. No one size fits all. That's why you get to edit your own. What numbers would you put in for yourself?

2. The USDA data is only averages. The Rutgers experiment (included) proves that the nutritional value of foods depends on the soil that it grows in. The variation in nutrient content can be so extreme (in one case nearly 2000 to 1) that one might wonder whether a nutrition program is of any value.

3. Bugs. Can you find any? No matter how many I squash, there is usually one more.

[BaalChatzaf]

JTS, a veritable fount of wisdom.

Why is it that there is no starvation in the U.S. Our soil is not all that good, but maintained by artificial chemical fertilizers for the most part. How much of JTS' wit and wisdom is scientifically vetted? Probably not that much.

Ba'al Chatzaf

[Xray]

Therefore I think I'm probably not too far off the mark when I post a link to a nutrition program under 'Ethics'.

<...>

This program attempts to give you all information known to man about 7500 foods and 140 nutrients. It is almost like a game.

<...>

Diet Monger Ass Kicker -- Javascript version

http://jtstory.onlin...t/dmak-js.html

I'm afraid my idea of 'game' is a bit different - seeing all these charts and lists makes my head spin and connotes "you've got to learn about a subject matter" to me, with the pleasure aspect in eating getting somehow lost.

If I feel like eating e. g. a generous helping of crispy, greasy French fries, I give in to the craving and don't feel 'immoral' at all.

[jts]

JTS, a veritable fount of wisdom.

Why is it that there is no starvation in the U.S. Our soil is not all that good, but maintained by artificial chemical fertilizers for the most part. How much of JTS' wit and wisdom is scientifically vetted? Probably not that much.

Ba'al Chatzaf

I don't know what you are talking about. I suspect that you don't know what you are talking about but are responding in a knee-jerk unthinking way. Obviously you did not look at the program and you did not look at the Rutgers study.

I had nothing to do with the USDA data. That was put together by the United States Department of Agriculture. If you have a problem with that, I am not responsible. Bad as it might be, it seems to be the only source of data that I can use.

[jts]

I'm afraid my idea of 'game' is a bit different - seeing all these charts and lists makes my head spin and connotes "you've got to learn about a subject matter" to me, with the pleasure aspect in eating getting somehow lost. Or is there a place for e. g. a generous helping of crispy, greasy French fries in there?

It's not a game but if you like you can pretend it's a game. You don't need to learn anything in order to eat but you can if you want to. Numbers don't prevent enjoyment of food. You can find greasy French fries among the 7500 foods if you look. Obviously you are just not interested. It's not for you.