Soylent

[Andrew]

https://campaign.soylent.me/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_(food_substitute)

Soylent is basically a food substitute that claims can supply all of your daily nutritional needs.

What are your thoughts on this? Would you give up eating if you were given the option to have Soylent instead? Do you think that Soylent will work (to provide all the nutrients and make people full/not starve)?

I am skeptical about this because I feel as if nothing can replace food. Your body needs food to survive, and without it you could die. With Soylent, I don't know if it really can replace food, or how reliable it is.

 

[NightWizard]

what? o.o

that's so creepy cuz of that movie soylent green where it is ground up people they are eating but no one knows it

 

[Elegance]

From reading the Wikipedia article, it seems a bit dangerous. But if they work all of those side effects out, I think it's a great substitute for food. I'd actually try it for a week at least. It seems like it'll be cheap too if it ever makes it on the market.

 

[Klamath]

Nutritionally, it seems like a good idea, because a lot of people have problems getting all their daily nutrients (like me: where do I get biotin?! lol). But it just feels a lot like what you're given in the hospital when you are unable to eat... or like Ensure/Glucerna (which I don't want to touch).

It seems okay once in a while, if you didn't eat enough for the day... but like in Soylent Green... no thanks. :P I'd stick to enjoying real food.

 

[Shane]

But... The green is people food.

... :/

 

[Aka]

I quickly skimmed the links and in theory Soylent would be a fine food option for nutrition buffs if made more visually pleasing. Aesthetically it looks like vomit so not very appealing to typical buyers who value taste over substance, although actually in the ingredients listed on Wiki seems to have the essential minerals and vitamins most people lack in their diet as America is notorious for carbohydrate, processed, oily, salty, sugary foods versus organic/whole foods which is and has been changing especially in certain locations where good nutrition is on the rise. It all comes down to knowledge and whether someone wants to use that knowledge to develop good dietary habits although it is admittingly hard when most "American" food is usually served in larger portions of more of the nonessential things to be ingested when we should be eating smaller meals adequately proportioned according to the food groups in moderation especially carbs, dairy, oils and sugars...and eating more healthy alternatives of white meat/certain seafood/beans etc. for protein, fruit, and more green/leafy vegetables. Anyways Soylent in theory may provide as an understandable dietary option, but its marketability aesthetic-wise is lacking although it may be relatively "cheap" in terms of the cost-benefit yet doubt people of the masses would choose to buy the product because of its lack luster. People with the knowledge would most likely opt to buying whole foods than buy something that looks like vomit and probably isn't very appetizing.

 

[Thrill]

Purely from a utilitarian standpoint, it sounds pretty good. It's cheap, it should hit all the main nutritional bases.

Problems: dependence on fish oil (it requires fish, so doesn't solve overfishing issues), and who knows if it actually provides the same nutritional value as a balanced diet. Yes, it has your protein and calcium, but does it have other, minor nutrients that might have anti-cancer effects and whatnot? I'm a little concerned that the inventor's nutritional knowledge comes entirely from the internet.

 

[MelancholyDreamer]

But... The green is people food.

... :/

That's all I thought, as well. "soylent green is people o_o"

 

[allison]

This stuff seems pretty shady


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Princess_Stitch]

I find this pretty funny, but just from a "food of the future" point of view.

I'm not sure that I fully understand it, but the only benefit I see in this is if it's cheap and can help with world hunger/malnutrition, people who physically can't eat, or for extremely under/overweight people. Otherwise, for most of us, I don't see how this would be any more beneficial than any other nutritional drink mixes, diet drinks like Almased, or plain ol' multivitamins and supplements added into a healthy diet of whole foods and exercise. I personally believe chewing food and consuming fresh foods is extremely important. It might be "easier" or more efficient (the environmental bit it debatable), but you wouldn't get to enjoy meals with family & friends, and honestly, how could someone be happy having to consume and taste the same boring thing every single day? That's not appetizing. We need a variety of different foods in our diets for a reason.

Another thought I had was you'd THINK health nuts would be the ones attracted to it and spend their "extra" times exercising and living a healthy lifestyle, but others may use not having to go grocery shopping or clean to kitchen as another excuse to be lazy. This could possibly be very appealing to the lazy crowd and possibly college kids, as well. Basically what I'm trying to say is I can see it being used for unhealthy intentions.

I love to cook and taste different foods, so I'd personally never do it. I'm not saying it won't work for others, as I'm pretty curious to see how it goes. As long as it truly fuels your body and Adipose babies don't start popping out, it might do some good. We'll see.

Nutritionally, it seems like a good idea, because a lot of people have problems getting all their daily nutrients (like me: where do I get biotin?! lol). But it just feels a lot like what you're given in the hospital when you are unable to eat... or like Ensure/Glucerna (which I don't want to touch).

It seems okay once in a while, if you didn't eat enough for the day... but like in Soylent Green... no thanks. :P I'd stick to enjoying real food.

Basically all veggies, fruits, berries and nuts, as well as eggs, fish, and milk are rich in biotin. If you eat real food, you most likely get plenty of it.

I quickly skimmed the links and in theory Soylent would be a fine food option for nutrition buffs if made more visually pleasing. Aesthetically it looks like vomit so not very appealing to typical buyers who value taste over substance, although actually in the ingredients listed on Wiki seems to have the essential minerals and vitamins most people lack in their diet as America is notorious for carbohydrate, processed, oily, salty, sugary foods versus organic/whole foods which is and has been changing especially in certain locations where good nutrition is on the rise. It all comes down to knowledge and whether someone wants to use that knowledge to develop good dietary habits although it is admittingly hard when most "American" food is usually served in larger portions of more of the nonessential things to be ingested when we should be eating smaller meals adequately proportioned according to the food groups in moderation especially carbs, dairy, oils and sugars...and eating more healthy alternatives of white meat/certain seafood/beans etc. for protein, fruit, and more green/leafy vegetables. Anyways Soylent in theory may provide as an understandable dietary option, but its marketability aesthetic-wise is lacking although it may be relatively "cheap" in terms of the cost-benefit yet doubt people of the masses would choose to buy the product because of its lack luster. People with the knowledge would most likely opt to buying whole foods than buy something that looks like vomit and probably isn't very appetizing.

I can't speak for portions, but many (if not the majority) Americans can't afford much fresh produce, let alone organic produce or free-range chicken/grass-fed beef. Most don't have the knowledge or space to grow and make their own food, either, so they buy what they have coupons/sales for which are for chips, cookies, and frozen meals. That has become our way of life, and not always by choice. Of course, there are many healthier alternatives that are cheaper such as dried beans and frozen veggies, but many people simply don't have the knowledge or desire to look. That's where the first problem lies, in my opinion. Americans have forgotten sustainable living.

With that being said, Solyent might work for that if it goes mainstream, but I think we'd be better off reteaching America sustainability and healthy living rather than relying on a drink to supply them with their necessary nutrients. When you can afford it, I believe there are far more benefits to cooking and eating real food than just drinking it. It goes further than nutrition alone.

 

[Thrill]

I find this pretty funny, but just from a "food of the future" point of view.

I'm not sure that I fully understand it, but the only benefit I see in this is if it's cheap and can help with world hunger/malnutrition, people who physically can't eat, or for extremely under/overweight people. Otherwise, for most of us, I don't see how this would be any more beneficial than any other nutritional drink mixes, diet drinks like Almased, or plain ol' multivitamins and supplements added into a healthy diet of whole foods and exercise. I personally believe chewing food and consuming fresh foods is extremely important. It might be "easier" or more efficient (the environmental bit it debatable), but you wouldn't get to enjoy meals with family & friends, and honestly, how could someone be happy having to consume and taste the same boring thing every single day? That's not appetizing. We need a variety of different foods in our diets for a reason.

I fully agree that food is culturally important, but at a certain point, we need to make some cultural concessions in order to remain sustainable. Food production (especially red meat production) is incredibly resource-intensive.

Maybe a compromise: imagine a machine where you insert raw Soylent ingredients (iron whatever, sulfur whatever, protein whatever, etc.). You tell the machine what real meal(s) you'll eat that day, and the machine will formulate a custom Soylent drink to fill in the nutritional gaps. This way, you can continue to enjoy family dinners, while enjoying the nutritional balance that comes with Soylent throughout the day (and the environmental and financial savings).

Another thought I had was you'd THINK health nuts would be the ones attracted to it and spend their "extra" times exercising and living a healthy lifestyle, but others may use not having to go grocery shopping or clean to kitchen as another excuse to be lazy. This could possibly be very appealing to the lazy crowd and possibly college kids, as well. Basically what I'm trying to say is I can see it being used for unhealthy intentions.

I see this, but at the same time, it's a whole lot better to have free time than shopping/cleaning time. People might use it to be lazy, but on the off chance that they go for a run or what have you, their lifestyle is dramatically improved.

I can't speak for portions, but many (if not the majority) Americans can't afford much fresh produce, let alone organic produce or free-range chicken/grass-fed beef. Most don't have the knowledge or space to grow and make their own food, either, so they buy what they have coupons/sales for which are for chips, cookies, and frozen meals. That has become our way of life, and not always by choice. Of course, there are many healthier alternatives that are cheaper such as dried beans and frozen veggies, but many people simply don't have the knowledge or desire to look. That's where the first problem lies, in my opinion. Americans have forgotten sustainable living.

With that being said, Solyent might work for that if it goes mainstream, but I think we'd be better off reteaching America sustainability and healthy living rather than relying on a drink to supply them with their necessary nutrients. When you can afford it, I believe there are far more benefits to cooking and eating real food than just drinking it. It goes further than nutrition alone.

Problem: organic food is not sustainable. GMOs and synthetic pesticides were created to yield more crops with fewer resources, and they work. Extremely well, I might add. If I recall correctly, we'd lose a billion or so people if we switched over to all-organic farming and distributed the food perfectly.

In terms of meat, factory farms are really scary, but efficient. Antibiotics, growth hormones, animal cruelty; none of these things are good for us, but we couldn't eat as much meat as we do without them. The problem is that we eat way too much meat. We should be eating free-range meats, but in much lesser quantities.

So in terms of sustainability, a Soylent might actually be the best thing. It's extremely low on animal products, and I'm pretty sure it uses processed versions of high-yield crops.