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[minor effort]

The creator of Soylent seems to have an interesting, incredibly self-indulgent take on sustainability.

http://robrhinehart.com/?p=1331

The streets were originally made for people. The automobile’s takeover has destroyed more than millions of lives (cars have killed far more Americans than war and AIDS combined), it has trampled the prime conduit of community in our cities and exiled us to the indoors to sit in front of televisions. I hope the next generation of transportation technologies will give us back the streets.

...

For today though, Uber works pretty well. Traffic isn’t so bad if you’re sitting in the back with a book, and since I buy everything I need online I’m never running errands, which makes UberPool cheaper and more convenient than car ownership. I also found myself constantly distracted by my phone while driving, and knew other drivers were too. So, with a simple lifestyle adjustment I find Uber eliminates the pain points of transportation much the same way soylent eliminates the pain points of food.

At some point we are going to have to admit that we suck at cooking, and we suck at driving. Let’s automate them already so we can focus on art, and science, and exploration. Food can be art, and driving can be exploration, but it’s mostly manufacturing and commuting. I don’t miss them.

I have not done laundry in years. I get my clothing custom made in China for prices you would not believe and have new ones regularly shipped to me. Shipping is a problem. I wish container ships had nuclear engines but it’s still much more efficient and convenient than retail. Thanks to synthetic fabrics it takes less water to make my clothes than it would to wash them, and I donate my used garments, helping out those in need. More on that later.

I have not set foot in a grocery store in years. Nevermore will I bumble through endless confusing aisles like a pack-donkey searching for feed while the smell of rotting flesh fills my nostrils and fluorescent lights sear my eyeballs and sappy love songs torture my ears. Grocery shopping is a multisensory living nightmare. There are services that will make someone else do it for me but I cannot in good conscience force a fellow soul through this gauntlet.

I buy my staple food online like a civilized person.

Astounding.

 

[Kaffeemann]

Would you kindly shut up? I love cooking for my friends and other people, cooking is my life. So you can put that opinion where it belongs, in the trash.

Wow, all the salty people in this thread. What are you even doing here if you're not interested in the product?

Different people have different views on eating and cooking. Is that so hard to comprehend?

On topic: I'm glad they increased the amount of fat. But there are still too many carbs an not enough protein.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Hitting macros is one thing, but there are a heck of a lot of micronutrients that are essential to optimal health, many of which are likely only poorly understood (or not at all) at present and pretty much all of which are optimally absorbed and processed when present in food, rather than supplement form. Not to mention it's predicated on the notion that there is one optimal healthy eating regimen, whereas burgeoning fields like nutrigenomics will likely work toward establishing idiosyncratic dietary plans for people that take genetic and epigenetic variability into account.

Now, granted, I, myself, am a pretty poor eater and favor a shit-ton of junk food, but if one wants a low-calorie, satiating lunch, one could probably eat a Quest bar, a banana, and a handful of mixed, raw nuts and come away with a more balanced, fiber- and micronutrient-rich meal, not to mention something that tastes quite a bit better.

Edit: That creator comes across as a total nutjob in the quoted article. Jesus. As if all the day-to-day experiences of life, including the mentioned "annoyances" don't feed into the appreciation and furtherance of things like art, science, and exploration. Typical Silicon Valley STEMtopian dumbass.

 

[BigDug13]

Wow, all the salty people in this thread. What are you even doing here if you're not interested in the product?

Different people have different views on eating and cooking. Is that so hard to comprehend?

On topic: I'm glad they increased the amount of fat. But there are still too many carbs an not enough protein.

I wonder if they're working on a diabetic friendly formula.

 

[injurai]

Hitting macros is one thing, but there are a heck of a lot of micronutrients that are essential to optimal health, many of which are likely only poorly understood (or not at all) at present and pretty much all of which are optimally absorbed and processed when present in food, rather than supplement form. Not to mention it's predicated on the notion that there is one optimal healthy eating regimen, whereas burgeoning fields like nutrigenomics will likely work toward establishing idiosyncratic dietary plans for people that take genetic and epigenetic variability into account.

Now, granted, I, myself, am a pretty poor eater and favor a shit-ton of junk food, but if one wants a low-calorie, satiating lunch, one could probably eat a Quest bar, a banana, and a handful of mixed, raw nuts and come away with a more balanced, fiber- and micronutrient-rich meal, not to mention something that tastes quite a bit better.

Seeing as we as humans have drastically altered our diet multiple times over the last 100,000 years. I'd imagine it's not a huge deal to go on a diet of strictly soylent. Just in terms of mammalian dietary intake, there is a wide range of very particular and limited diets. I'd feel if you are losing any few nutrients you are probably making up for a lot of deficiencies at the same time.

 

[hunchback]

Try digestive enzymes right after your meals, as well as betaine HCL (+ Pepsin).
This should really help you digest food more easily, no need to juice everything.

What's more, an improved digestion will benefit your health tremendously. Correct mineral and vitamin absorption is life-changing.

Everyone isn't the same. You can stuff me full of that Pepsin or any other enzyme and it won't help. I can only digest 500 calories of hard food. The rest has to be liquid or I end up in the hospital. My Gastro Dr approved my diet. I wish I could have pizza, burgers or steak.

 

[M52B28]

Watch it have a gluten free sticker on it.

 

[injurai]

Watch it have a gluten free sticker on it.

It's not gluten free and they say as much.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Hitting macros is one thing, but there are a heck of a lot of micronutrients that are essential to optimal health, many of which are likely only poorly understood (or not at all) at present and pretty much all of which are optimally absorbed and processed when present in food, rather than supplement form. Not to mention it's predicated on the notion that there is one optimal healthy eating regimen, whereas burgeoning fields like nutrigenomics will likely work toward establishing idiosyncratic dietary plans for people that take genetic and epigenetic variability into account.

Since you don't identify any of the missing nutrients (or any of the specific bioavailability issues), this appears to be an invocation of the precautionary principle. It surprises me that you in particular would appeal to it.

 

[pj]

Hitting macros is one thing, but there are a heck of a lot of micronutrients that are essential to optimal health, many of which are likely only poorly understood (or not at all) at present and pretty much all of which are optimally absorbed and processed when present in food, rather than supplement form. Not to mention it's predicated on the notion that there is one optimal healthy eating regimen, whereas burgeoning fields like nutrigenomics will likely work toward establishing idiosyncratic dietary plans for people that take genetic and epigenetic variability into account.

Now, granted, I, myself, am a pretty poor eater and favor a shit-ton of junk food, but if one wants a low-calorie, satiating lunch, one could probably eat a Quest bar, a banana, and a handful of mixed, raw nuts and come away with a more balanced, fiber- and micronutrient-rich meal, not to mention something that tastes quite a bit better.

Quest bars are $2 each if purchased in boxes from amazon and are only 170 calories. I'd need 3 or 4 of those a day (plus the nuts and bananas) to replace the 1000 calories of soylent I drink for breakfast/lunch. Not to mention the HASSLE of carrying stupid fragile bananas around. There's nothing worse than eating a bruise covered banana.

It's not like it's illegal to make soylent taste better, you can do whatever you want with it. Two of the more common additives are powdered peanut butter and bananas, which basically makes it what you're suggesting.

BTW soylent has been intentionally reducing fiber in recent versions because averagely active people don't need a ton, and too much causes digestion issues (see: soylent farts)

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Seeing as we as humans have drastically altered our diet multiple times over the last 100,000 years. I'd imagine it's not a huge deal to go on a diet of strictly soylent. Just in terms of mammalian dietary intake, there is a wide range of very particular and limited diets. I'd feel if you are losing any few nutrients you are probably making up for a lot of deficiencies at the same time.

Humans are amazingly variable in what they are able to consume and derive nutrition from, but there is doubtless genetic variation that has attuned people to be able to flourish more or less on specific diets. I'm not saying one could not obtain better health drinking this, in the sense that most people are probably drinking it in lieu of truly horrendous processed garbage, but optimal health is obtained by eating a varied, moderate diet and supplementing it with regular exercise, not monotonously drinking bland goop.

To me, the problem with this stuff is it doesn't really do anything about the real problem that faces most Americans - the totally fucked up relationship that we have developed with our food, which is a conduit to the biological functions that are, in the most literal possible way, at the root of who we are. It may be better than eating sugar-stuffed, overly processed crap, but that's not saying that much, really.

Edit: Stump, where biology is concerned, I tend to be more cautious than elsewhere because humans are really, in many ways, only at the very beginning of their understanding of such things, and modern society has moved so far away from anything even resembling what humans' EEA might have been that we have a lot of work to do to untangle things and get a clear sense of what will and will not work. We've focused for decades on calcium and vitamin D as essential to bone health, which they are, yet it's only recently that we're making inroads in understanding the importance that dietary silicon (which, iirc, is quite depleted in modern soils) plays in bone strength and health. We're only recently coming to understand what benefits plant phytochemicals might have, and why they might have those benefits. It's only fairly recently that cholesterol began to be undemonized, despite several decades of evidence that it is not at the root of most cardiovascular diseases. In general, a varied diet will provide the body with a variety of potential nutrients, micro and macro, while mitigating unknown harms any one food or group of foods might present. Psychologically and culturally, it's also the more satisfying option, long-term.

 

[rexor0717]

I wouldn't use this as a total meal replacement seeing as how much I love food, but I would substitute my breakfasts for this stuff. I rarely eat breakfast to begin with, and being able to just drink something would greatly improve my chances of eating something in the morning.

 

[Coffee Dog]

I've had a few friends order to this stuff and they seem to like it enough. One eats it a lot and as far as I can tell he seems content with it.

They still eat food, but mostly for taste and recreation than for actual nutrients. Two of them say that it helped curb fast food intake, which I think is a massive benefit.

 

[ricki42]

This is something a child would say.

If you can't make time to feed yourself properly then you have your priorities very wrong.

This is something a child would say.
If you can't make time to understand that different people have different needs and preferences then you have your priorities very wrong.
And btw, I know very well how to feed myself, and I know how to cook. Only now, I cook when I choose to, not because I have to.

optimal health is obtained by eating a varied, moderate diet and supplementing it with regular exercise, not monotonously drinking bland goop.

To me, the problem with this stuff is it doesn't really do anything about the real problem that faces most Americans - the totally fucked up relationship that we have developed with our food, which is a conduit to the biological functions that are, in the most literal possible way, at the root of who we are. It may be better than eating sugar-stuffed, overly processed crap, but that's not saying that much, really.

But this isn't a problem with Soylent, that's a problem with all the sugar-stuffed crap people eat. And I think Soylent can actually address that problem, simply because that 'bland goop' is less likely to make you overeat, and it can help adjust your taste buds to food that isn't sugar-stuff and oversalted. I've found that since eating Soylent, I'm far more likely to find processed foods too sweet and too salty; I'm far less tempted by cookies or ice cream.

 

[TTG]

What's the appropriate amount of dietary fat per day in your opinion? What's your ideal macro ratio?

I don't weigh and measure anymore, but I would venture to say I eat something in the ballpark of 15/50/35 in fat/carbs/protein? I'm a bit uncertain on the carb to protein ratio.

The point is if I'm going to eat something where half the calories are from fat, it had better taste good. So while 21 in itself is not abhorrent(in a relatively high calorie diet that's mostly good food apart from that), it's way above tolerable for a liquid meal replacement.

Grab a quest bar or something instead.

edit: looked up what a chicken sandwich looks like at my local place(Habit Burger). 28/72/49. Change the French Roll to Sourdough and I'm guessing it would be slightly better than that. So the Soylent is 27% fat versus 19 for a chicken sandwich. That's a fast food place!

 

[mmazurkiewicz]

i may get some as a breakfast substitute. if it tastes like pancake batter i won't be buying again.

 

[thepotatoman]

Personally I like to quit bad habits cold turkey, but my worst bad habit is binge eating at night, and that's always a little hard to quit cold turkey when you still have to eat. I kinda wonder if Soylent's nutrition only philosophy would help with that in some way. Maybe not replacing all meals, but the nighttime meals that are most triggering for me, or getting me to properly nutrition myself during the day when there's less time to cook so there's less of a desire to overeat at night.

Worth a shot at least. I doubt it tastes good, but it shouldn't be that hard to drink if you think of it as a necessary medicine and not a meal. I also doubt it would satisfy hunger and cravings very well at first, but maybe over time it could.

 

[xbhaskarx]

I was wondering if this was vegan...

 

[speculawyer]

I'd like to eat less meat. I tried this line of products:

And it was pretty damn good. But it was expensive as fuck. You can't get me to move away from meat if it is gonna cost MORE.

 

[titiklabingapat]

$2.42 for 400 calories doesn't sound cheap. I'd rather eat eggs, milk, rice and tuna to get that much calories. It's probably healthier too. Milk comes down to $3 to $4 for 1300 calories. I'll try it as a meal replacement but I hope it comes down in price.

 

[ElTorro]

And it was pretty damn good. But it was expensive as fuck. You can't get me to move away from meat if it is gonna cost MORE.

The problem is that meat production is ridiculously subsidized. Conversely, production of vegetarian alternatives costs more due to the significantly lower demand, despite the fact that the base ingredients should be much cheaper.

 

[PanicFreak]

2.41 per bottle, need 5 bottle to be 2,000 calories complete meal. So $12.05 a day, $362 a month if you want to go soylent only, I am sorry but this is too expensive.

$12 a day is too expensive?

 

[Fracas]

I really want to try these for my lunch breaks but the cheapest option is $70 for 28 powder meals or $29 for 12 bottles. Wish there was a trial.

 

[Teknoman]

still the worse named product ever

Seriously, considering its famous connotations.

 

[thepotatoman]

$2.42 for 400 calories doesn't sound cheap. I'd rather eat eggs, milk, rice and tuna to get that much calories. It's probably healthier too. Milk comes down to $3 to $4 for 1300 calories.

It's gotta be cheaper than everything except for what you can get from the grocery store, and most of what you get from the grocery store comes with the added cost of preparation time.

I also don't get the milk comparison. You could also get a lot of calories cheaply through soda, but that doesn't exactly justify its purchase.

 

[speculawyer]

The problem is that meat production is ridiculously subsidized. Conversely, production of vegetarian alternatives costs more due to the significantly lower demand, despite the fact that the base ingredients should be much cheaper.

Yeah. Small volume and the fact that it is a frozen food (thus costs more to ship & store).

They have a coupon on their web site. I like the concept and the product. But they need to get the price down.

 

[Tenck]

Are they going to be able to fulfill their orders within three months this time?

 

[titiklabingapat]

It's gotta be cheaper than everything except for what you can get from the grocery store, and most of what you get from the grocery store comes with the added cost of preparation time.

I also don't get the milk comparison. You could also get a lot of calories cheaply through soda, but that doesn't exactly justify its purchase.

Milk is a whole lot more nutritious than soda though and is a 'whole' food.

 

[thepotatoman]

Milk is a whole lot more nutritious than soda though and is a 'whole' food.

And soylent is a whole lot more nutritious than milk.

 

[TTG]

I'd like to eat less meat. I tried this line of products:
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8734/16720232597_f6d6ae2f73.jpg[IMG]

And it was pretty damn good. But it was expensive as fuck. You can't get me to move away from meat if it is gonna cost MORE.[/QUOTE]

.
[quote][img]http://swansonquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/s07-ep02-condolences2-1000x500.jpg

 

[Irobot82]

.

Agreed. More meat for the rest of us!

 

[jett]

I'd like to try this once out of curiosity, although $3~ per bottle seems expensive.

I'm not eating raw meat

Neither am I. I'm not a wild animal.

 

[K.Sabot]

I know someone who drinks this but that doesn't mean I trust them.

 

[kswiston]

So, theoretically you could drink 5 of these a day and get 100% of your nutritional requirements, assuming a 2000 kcal diet.

That works out to about $85 a week per person. Still more money than most people spend on groceries, but not outrageously so. Whole Foods shoppers are probably spending more than that.

Still, I would imagine these things take the joy out of food.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

The creator of Soylent seems to have an interesting, incredibly self-indulgent take on sustainability.

http://robrhinehart.com/?p=1331









Astounding.

Wow... No thanks on anything this guy is a part of.

Not like I would have been interested in a soy-based meal replacement, anyway, but still...

The guy sounds like a character outside of HBO's Silicon Valley.

I don't weigh and measure anymore, but I would venture to say I eat something in the ballpark of 15/50/35 in fat/carbs/protein? I'm a bit uncertain on the carb to protein ratio.

The point is if I'm going to eat something where half the calories are from fat, it had better taste good. So while 21 in itself is not abhorrent(in a relatively high calorie diet that's mostly good food apart from that), it's way above tolerable for a liquid meal replacement.

Grab a quest bar or something instead.

edit: looked up what a chicken sandwich looks like at my local place(Habit Burger). 28/72/49. Change the French Roll to Sourdough and I'm guessing it would be slightly better than that. So the Soylent is 27% fat versus 19 for a chicken sandwich. That's a fast food place!

Your fear of fat is completely unfounded. I hope you'll realize that someday for the sake of your health.

 

[Valnen]

That's pretty damn cheap.

Not cheap enough for poor people.

$12 a day is too expensive?

FAR too expensive. Slash the price in half and it's more reasonable.

 

[K.Sabot]

Oh yeah the Soylent guy is a cult leader waiting to happen.

 

[American Eskimo]

I really want to try these for my lunch breaks but the cheapest option is $70 for 28 powder meals or $29 for 12 bottles. Wish there was a trial.

They used to offer trial packs but I guess they figured they can sell enough without them

 

[BrightEyedPanic]

I want to try this, but I'm fat as fuck. I like eating my emotions.

 

[Gr1mLock]

I'd like to eat less meat. I tried this line of products:

And it was pretty damn good. But it was expensive as fuck. You can't get me to move away from meat if it is gonna cost MORE.

That looks like its made of sadness.

 

[ricki42]

So, theoretically you could drink 5 of these a day and get 100% of your nutritional requirements, assuming a 2000 kcal diet.

That works out to about $85 a week per person. Still more money than most people spend on groceries, but not outrageously so. Whole Foods shoppers are probably spending more than that.

I don't think the bottled stuff is meant for people who want to go 100%, the powder is a lot more efficient for that. I currently have a subscription for 14 bags (2000 kcal per bag) per month for $130. That's $9.30 per bag; $75 per week isn't the cheapest, but it's pretty good. I usually have half a bag a day for lunch and snacking while I'm at work. That's $4.60 per day, if I went to the cafeteria where I work, I'd pay $6.30 for lunch. I could obviously bring something cheaper, but then it likely either takes more work (tried doing bento for a bit, gave up relatively quickly) or is less healthy (a bag of peanut butter pretzels was my go-to lunch for a while).

Still, I would imagine these things take the joy out of food.

The opposite for me I find. Now, when I eat 'real' food, I enjoy it all the more. Just like drinking water most of the time doesn't take the joy out of a good whiskey. It becomes all the more special.

 

[Zaptruder]

Hitting macros is one thing, but there are a heck of a lot of micronutrients that are essential to optimal health, many of which are likely only poorly understood (or not at all) at present and pretty much all of which are optimally absorbed and processed when present in food, rather than supplement form. Not to mention it's predicated on the notion that there is one optimal healthy eating regimen, whereas burgeoning fields like nutrigenomics will likely work toward establishing idiosyncratic dietary plans for people that take genetic and epigenetic variability into account.

Now, granted, I, myself, am a pretty poor eater and favor a shit-ton of junk food, but if one wants a low-calorie, satiating lunch, one could probably eat a Quest bar, a banana, and a handful of mixed, raw nuts and come away with a more balanced, fiber- and micronutrient-rich meal, not to mention something that tastes quite a bit better.

Edit: That creator comes across as a total nutjob in the quoted article. Jesus. As if all the day-to-day experiences of life, including the mentioned "annoyances" don't feed into the appreciation and furtherance of things like art, science, and exploration. Typical Silicon Valley STEMtopian dumbass.

Judging from the variance in diets across the world today... it's pretty obvious that the human body can tolerate a wide range of variances in nutrition.

While optimal nutrition might require tailoring to your epigenetic factors... let's be honest here - something like Soylent that provides a good balance of macro and the RDI for micronutrients is heads and shoulders above the typical shit been eaten on a daily basis by most people - even if it's not delivery in the perfect form (although liquid is hardly a poor form and is one that is regularly used for many weaker patients because of its relative gentleness in digestion).

The opposite for me I find. Now, when I eat 'real' food, I enjoy it all the more. Just like drinking water most of the time doesn't take the joy out of a good whiskey. It becomes all the more special.

This is an excellent first hand counterpoint to the naysayers. Like what the hell are people eating for every meal? Foie Gras and Steak?

I mean, I'm shoving in vegetables in lots of my meals to stay healthy. I don't enjoy vegetables! (although if cooked and prepared well can be ok - but that shit takes time and effort).

 

[Tenck]

This is nothing more than a Silicon Valley rebranded and overhyped meal replacement shake. It's not a replacement for real food and you'd be a fool to think so.

Thanks for doing absolutely no research about the product at all.

 

[Valnen]

So, theoretically you could drink 5 of these a day and get 100% of your nutritional requirements, assuming a 2000 kcal diet.

That works out to about $85 a week per person. Still more money than most people spend on groceries, but not outrageously so. Whole Foods shoppers are probably spending more than that.

Still, I would imagine these things take the joy out of food.

Normal people aren't shopping at whole foods.

 

[titiklabingapat]

And soylent is a whole lot more nutritious than milk.

Says who? It's a highly processed food stuff with supplements added. Some research is starting to show that nutrients in whole foods are better utilized by your body than mere supplements added later on.

 

[FoxSpirit]

I am allergic to soy, now what?
Also, 20% of minerals and vitamins per bottle? So 5 bottles per day?
For that money, I can make an organic whole foods diet which in addition tastes great.

 

[speculawyer]

That looks like its made of sadness.

Made largely of pea protein. Tasted like a burger.

 

[Afrodium]

I have a coworker who drinks this. Boggles my mind. What kind of joyless human voluntarily gives up eating food?

 

[RyanardoDaVinci]

I have a coworker who drinks this. Boggles my mind. What kind of joyless human voluntarily gives up eating food?

If I could have a synthetic body that ran on batteries so I'd never have to eat/sleep/shit/piss again, I'd be the happiest fucker on earth.

 

[Tenck]

Normal people aren't shopping at whole foods.

Normal people aren't feeding themselves on $6 a day either.