Food-Based Currency A Viable Alternative?

[Shams al-Ma'rifa]

I've been thinking lately and it seems to me that a food-based currency (such as wheat), would be a great replacement to stream of Monopoly Money being circulated around the world today via the Federal Reserve. It seems like the whole point of our current economic system is to prevent total economic meltdown by inflating the debt bubble for as long as possible. It's a scary thought because eventually that bubble will pop and we will all be witnesses to the greatest financial collapse in human history.

Food-Based currency is great because food is the most basic human necessity, the reason economics developed in the first place. We'll simply store grain in a storehouses and peg the paper notes to a certain amount of grain. People can exchange paper notes at these storehouses for a certain amount of grain or they could deposit grain for a certain value of paper notes.

Of course, the government would probably have to buy out most of our country's wheat supplies first. Then we must find a way to preserve the wheat but I heard that grain doesn't go bad if stored properly.

This is a more practical currency than even gold or silver. Food are highly valued in times of war or other disaster because of the basic human need to consume food. Gold and silver or the other hand.. not so consumable.

[Exarch]

food stamps
sure u can trade food stamps for things like a camera or sex

we are talking about some warzone economy yes?
or 1991 russia?

[Plant]

Food-Based currency is great because food is the most basic human necessity, the reason economics developed in the first place. We'll simply store grain in a storehouses and peg the paper notes to a certain amount of grain. People can exchange paper notes at these storehouses for a certain amount of grain or they could deposit grain for a certain value of paper notes.

What is the difference to pegging paper currency to gold or silver then? Gold and silver to do not need special ways to be stored and are so much more easier to store and carry. It is also an attractive substance which is used to display wealth. What you are appearing to be arguing for is to peg paper money to something of real material value as opposed to fiat currency.

[Shams al-Ma'rifa]

What you are appearing to be arguing for is to peg paper money to something of real material value as opposed to fiat currency.

Yes

food stamps
sure u can trade food stamps for things like a camera or sex

Why not, we're practically using Monopoly money as a currency right now.

[Town Watch]

problem for a food currency would be that it's not easily storage-able and transferable.

Then again, in ancient Babylon, you had currency like clay tablets, where it said basically like "this man is entitled to 50 bushels of wheat" or whatever." Clay tablets ENDURE the test of time, as is evident in the discovery of such clay tablets through archeology! Food rots and becomes worthless (for its primary function at least), this is even different from inflation and such because it's common knowledge that food always goes bad quite predictably.

There would be massive problems because you would have a "hot potato" in your hands if your cash was actually food that would go bad in a certain amount if time, there would be panic sells and the price of food would drop etc. I don't think such an economy could work with food as a currency. Such an economy would collapse and probably stagnate into a simple bartering economy (you trade different things directly with each other, things that you actually need.)

[Shams al-Ma'rifa]

problem for a food currency would be that it's not easily storage-able and transferable.

True.. Maybe there are ways to preserve the wheat, I heard that rice can last indefinitely if stored correctly so.. maybe if we lived in a rice-consuming culture.

[Dr. Croccer]

Why not, we're practically using Monopoly money as a currency right now.

Anything is monopoly money if there's no faith in it.

[Jingles]

Money was never designed to literally grow on trees.

[Farnan]

Do you know how money works?

[Shams al-Ma'rifa]

Do you know how money works?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Something like this?

[Farnan]

Not at all. That is a very childish view of money.

Money works on faith. People put trust in the money, that that money will be used to exchange for goods at a later date. As long as people have trust in it, money is valuable no matter what its backed on. If people have no trust in money its worthless, even if it is backed by blow jobs.

[Shams al-Ma'rifa]

Money works on faith. People put trust in the money, that that money will be used to exchange for goods at a later date. As long as people have trust in it, money is valuable no matter what its backed on. If people have no trust in money its worthless, even if it is backed by blow jobs.

In all honesty that would probably be a very trustworthy currency if we would allow ourselves to degrade to such a level.

[Farnan]

In all honesty that would probably be a very trustworthy currency if we would allow ourselves to degrade to such a level.

Not really, once people lose trust in a currency it is worthless, no matter what its backed on. Backing it on nothing tangible is exactly the same as backing it on something tangible. Trust is all that matters in currency.

[Shams al-Ma'rifa]

Not really, once people lose trust in a currency it is worthless, no matter what its backed on. Backing it on nothing tangible is exactly the same as backing it on something tangible. Trust is all that matters in currency.

People would be more motivated to trade and acquire such currency don't you think?

Throwing your exciting currency notion behind, I think that a currency backed on food would be more trustworthy than currency backed on debt.

[Enemy of the State]

Supply would fluctuate too much, gold is better.

[Shams al-Ma'rifa]

Supply would fluctuate too much, gold is better.

Yea but gold doesn't have any inherent value either, worst case scenario is it becomes devalued, like any other currency.

Food will always have a value. Worst case scenario is we have monstrous grain supplies to feed the population in times of emergency.

It might become a little inflated if everyone starts growing their own grain in exchange for currency but increased food production is great for the entire world. We'll simply just export surpluses overseas in exchange for other commodities.

What about counterfeit wheat lol! Would we be arrested for growing food?

No that's the point, we're encouraging people to become self sufficient by literally growing their own money.

[Dubh the dark]

I've been thinking lately and it seems to me that a food-based currency (such as wheat), would be a great replacement to stream of Monopoly Money being circulated around the world today via the Federal Reserve. It seems like the whole point of our current economic system is to prevent total economic meltdown by inflating the debt bubble for as long as possible. It's a scary thought because eventually that bubble will pop and we will all be witnesses to the greatest financial collapse in human history.

Food-Based currency is great because food is the most basic human necessity, the reason economics developed in the first place. We'll simply store grain in a storehouses and peg the paper notes to a certain amount of grain. People can exchange paper notes at these storehouses for a certain amount of grain or they could deposit grain for a certain value of paper notes.

Of course, the government would probably have to buy out most of our country's wheat supplies first. Then we must find a way to preserve the wheat but I heard that grain doesn't go bad if stored properly.

This is a more practical currency than even gold or silver. Food are highly valued in times of war or other disaster because of the basic human need to consume food. Gold and silver or the other hand.. not so consumable.

What about counterfeit wheat lol! Would we be arrested for growing food?

[RO Citizen]

And with what would you buy the food, sir?

[Dubh the dark]

And with what would you buy the food, sir?

Yup, without money would would entrepreneurs create any form of technology?

[Shams al-Ma'rifa]

And with what would you buy the food, sir?

We'll simply make the hypothetical "Grain Bills" legal tender, people come and deposit grain in the store houses in exchange for transferable "Grain Bills".

If the government could build trust in "Federal Reserve Notes" I'm sure "Grain Bills" would be no problem.. Maybe we'd have to wait for the next great depression to come up with a valid excuse for executing such monetary changes but there's no doubt it's possible.