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Comment by xhkkffbf | Hacker News Reader

Or does it matter that the petroleum came from the forests, the deserts and some underseas equivalents? Petroleum is a natural thing.

There are no doubt problems with the refined versions of petroleum but natural oils have issues too.

The right solution might still be to ban petroleum oils from this job. But it seems foolish to pretend they are any less natural than vegetable oils.

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It’s true that literally everything on Earth is natural by definition, either naturally-occurring or produced by natural forces like erosion or beavers or humans. But that’s tautological, and not interesting.

Refined petroleum does not occur naturally and is toxic to all life. Vegetable oils are produced by stepping on or chewing nuts or vegetables. There is no comparison.

> Refined petroleum does not occur naturally and is toxic to all life.

Not all life[1].

[1] https://iscsales.com/item/55-gallon-oil-eating-microbes-lfs-...

Not all petroleum either. I bet a lot of people here have a jar of refined petroleum they apply to their skin regularly.

> Vegetable oils are produced by stepping on or chewing nuts or vegetables.

Not really. Rapeseed/Canola oil in particular involves extensive use of solvents, bleaches, etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfk2IXlZdbI

> Petroleum is a natural thing.

Cyanide is also a natural thing. Is it compatible with complex life in this planet? No.

Natural occurrence is not a sufficient measure for compatibility in an ecological context.

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