from The Machine Starts: One takeaway from the 2013 European horse-meat scandal "is that a huge system was constructed of which individuals (both professionals and consumers) struggle to have a comprehensive view or understanding. We created a giant process to send us beef cheaply and efficiently. But it turns out that, disturbingly often, it has been sending us bits of horse instead. The appearance of horsemeat, indeed, could be described as an expression of entropy in this system."
thought of this again during the 2026 "diarrhea lettuce" scandal