Vitamin deficiencies

[qwerty88.livejournal.com]

http://alt-sirius.livejournal.com/11368.html?thread=48744#t48744

I had never considered whether the reliance on transfigured foods would result in vitamin deficiencies. My guess is that these are wizard deaths, not muggle. Anyone have another theory?

Comments

[brimtoast.livejournal.com]

the wizarding population is really too small to be self-supporting

Maybe you can explain to me what makes you certain about this. It's not that I disagree - I simply don't know enough to be sure either way, and a group of 10,000 people sustaining themselves seems at least plausible to me. So I am curious what additional information you're drawing on.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking about several things. In this case - most of the wizarding world is not trained in food production, just like the rest of the modern world. Food and textile production, even in a technological/magical world, is labor intensive. If you go for automation, the factories and so on need maintenance and supply. If you have an agriculture based society (and since the Protectorate seems to be cut off from the rest of the world, it needs MUST be an agriculture based society or they would have no food at all. As I said, Britain is not and has not been self-sufficient since the Victorian age), you have to spend time and labor on that production - time and labor you can't use for anything else.

There's also the genetic component. Purebloods have to be highly inbred already, since the population is so small. And it's going to get smaller and more inbred - aren't they talking about sterilizing muggleborns? I seem to remember that, although I'm not sure. And Muggles are clearly out of the question. If the Lord Protector has his way, this will be the last generation of halfbloods (like himself.) If they have no Muggles to work the land, they will not be able to even send the children to school. They will need them for farming.

Yes, there were times that Great Britain probably had a very small population like that. They were not wizards. They were nomads. And the country was conquered very easily.

Meanwhile, the poor nutrition and the diseases (the talk of epidemics is terrifying - the camps are going to be breeding grounds and ripe for it, and it will spread to the wizarding world, too) are going to take their toll.

Seriously, just wait another generation - even if Harry doesn't wise up, join the Order and get rid of Voldemort, with Draco at his side - and the European wizards could just walk in. Or maybe just a few years - this place is a nightmare for all concerned.