“Red-teaming PowerSmoothie.org by Holden Karnofsky” by JamesÖz 🔸

[This is a belated submission for the EA Red-teaming contest]

Having recently discovered PowerSmoothie.org, a website founded by our very own Holden Karnofsky, I felt compelled to share some concerns with the EA community about the nutritional framework and ethical implications of this project.

While the site presents itself as an evidence-based approach to nutrition, several troubling issues emerge upon closer inspection. PowerSmoothie.org applies naive utilitarian analysis to nutrition in a way that undermines EA values and the system change we need in the food system.

Is Holden a lizard in a human suit?

First, some of the writing is so strange that I suspect Holden might be a lizard masquerading as a human. For example, take this statement:

Was anyone really considering putting bread in the blender? Most humans intuitively understand that bread doesn't belong in a blender without requiring an explicit cost-benefit analysis of bread-blending [...]

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Outline:

(00:45) Is Holden a lizard in a human suit?

(01:38) Nutritional disinformation

(02:18) Promoting eating insects....didn't turn out so good

(03:45) Epistemic Rigour

(04:04) Conclusion

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First published:

April 1st, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/mkkM9GqpFuj9xFbyZ/red-teaming-powersmoothie-org-by-holden-karnofsky

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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