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[gutshot]

Chris Ziegler decided to eat (drink?) nothing but the nutrional shake Soylent for one month. He documented his experience for The Verge. Some snippets:

“It’s just food. Relax,” the Soylent spokesperson reassured me as I prepared for one of the stranger challenges of my life: replacing my conventional food intake with a thick nutritional sludge for an entire month. The thing is, Soylent isn’t just food. The smoothie-like substance, which began life as a crowdfunding sensation last year before attracting heavyweight investors like Andreessen Horowitz, is basically powdered science — human nutrition reduced to its most basic essentials. Thousands of years of culinary knowledge have been tossed aside, all in the name of efficiency.

Soylent isn’t just a science experiment for Silicon Valley movers and shakers who don’t have time to eat: eking out maximum caloric bang for your buck with a nutritionally complete substance could eventually be a huge deal in impoverished areas of the world. But these are early days, and today, we’re talking about a journalist coming to grips with surviving solely on powdered food.

The name “Soylent” is a reference to the 1973 film Soylent Green, in which it’s revealed that a futuristic new food designed to feed an overcrowded Earth is made of people. Soylent is not made of people, as far as I can tell. But there’s still a substantial level of mental preparation one goes through before substituting it for all their meals. This is my last bagel. This is my last banana. This is my last scoop of ice cream. This is my last 18-year single malt. I suppose there are people in the developed world for whom food genuinely feels like a burden rather than a pleasure, but their existence is purely theoretical to me.

Alas, here I was, getting ready to switch from real food — stuff with texture, flavor, ritual, all the trappings of overindulgent American fare — to a beige liquid. Roughly 2 liters of it per day. So, what’s it like to spend a month in the post-food era?

Making a full day’s batch is easy enough with the supplies included: dump a full packet into the pitcher, fill the rest with water, then add the oil and shake the mixture for 30 seconds. It’s actually quite a workout if you’re shaking vigorously, which you want to do to make sure all the powder gets blended in; failure to do so can result in big clumps of sludge stuck to the sides of the pitcher.

The ordeal takes some minimal planning: you can drink it right away if you throw in some ice cubes, but it’s better if you make it at night and let it sit until morning to serve as the next day’s batch — the concoction seems to break down a bit in the fridge, eliminating clumps and making the whole thing go down a bit smoother.

Soylent’s spokesperson told me that they don’t expect most people to adopt a 100 percent Soylent diet, even though you technically can: each day’s packet contains roughly 100 percent (give or take a few percentage points) of your daily FDA-recommended allowance of fat, potassium, carbohydrates, fiber, and a selection of 23 vitamins and minerals. But I intended to go all in.

Nearly a year’s worth of hype had filled me with trepidation about tasting Soylent for the first time. Reviewers haven’t been kind: Gawker described an early batch as tasting like "homemade nontoxic Play-Doh," while The New York Times’ Farhad Manjoo calls it "purposefully bland." I also worried that I was adding a literal bottle of fish oil to each batch right before I shook it. Would it taste like a fish shake? Because that doesn’t sound appetizing at all.

But I was pleasantly surprised. The best way I can describe it is if you put a few tablespoons of peanut butter in a blender and filled the rest up with milk. It was considerably thinner than I’d expected, but still rich, creamy, and strangely satisfying. It had just the smallest tinge of sweetness. And at 38 grams of protein per serving, I wasn’t surprised that it consistently made me feel full.

Of course, there’s a big difference between trying a few sips of Soylent and having it substantially replace your entire diet.

It’s a rough process, and I expected it going in. I had three or four bouts of moderate digestive distress — yes, gas. But the real problem is that Soylent ignores the social and entertainment value of eating: food is not merely sustenance, it’s a tightly woven part of our everyday lives. How many times have you commiserated with a colleague over lunch? Planned a date over dinner? Met with friends for drinks? A strict diet of beige liquid fundamentally changes the patterns of your daily life, and not entirely for the better. It isolates you in ways you may not necessarily consider.

Video: http://youtu.be/BuQk6N0ooQI

More at the source. An interesting exercise but the outcome is altogether not too surprising. Humans aren't wired to eat only one food all the time.

 

[Cornballer]

For some related reading, The New Yorker had an article about Soylent back in April: The End of Food - Has a tech entrepreneur come up with a product to replace our meals?. There was a GAF thread on it, iirc.

 

[clearacell]

I can buy it as a breakfast/lunch on the go. I know when I have to be at work at 6 AM I don't have time for a legit breakfast and this thing sounds like a good meal replacement.

 

[LyleLanley]

Interesting article but I still think that's an awful name for the product.

 

[Gaz_RB]

Not sure on the costs behind it, but it could be a very interesting method of getting nutrition to impoverished areas or areas hit by disaster. Does it spoil?

 

[Jokergrin]

everything the body needs

 

[oatmeal]

Aw, do I have to watch a video to get my answer on results.

Damn you Internet.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

I was much more interested in the health benefits than the writer's existential crisis about the social importance of food.

He lost 12 lbs, but what about things like blood pressure, blood sugar, sodium levels, serum trigylcerides, etc? It's not like this is the first liquid diet or dietary supplement on the market.

 

[entremet]

This can't be good in the long run. What about your gut flora?

 

[D4Danger]

I'd rather eat lab grown meat than this slop

 

[TheOMan]

everything the body needs

Digital pimp, hard at work.

 

[jamesinclair]

I was much more interested in the health benefits than the writer's existential crisis about the social importance of food.

He lost 12 lbs, but what about things like blood pressure, blood sugar, sodium levels, serum trigylcerides, etc? It's not like this is the first liquid diet or dietary supplement on the market.

Agreed

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

This can't be good in the long run. What about your gut flora?

You can eat yogurt or take a probiotic supplement once a week.

 

[Cmagus]

One of the Vice guys did this as well and he looked so miserable doing it lol.

 

[pj]

But the real problem is that Soylent ignores the social and entertainment value of eating: food is not merely sustenance, it’s a tightly woven part of our everyday lives. How many times have you commiserated with a colleague over lunch? Planned a date over dinner? Met with friends for drinks? A strict diet of beige liquid fundamentally changes the patterns of your daily life, and not entirely for the better. It isolates you in ways you may not necessarily consider.

This is probably the 20th blogger doing a month of nothing but soylent and the 20th one who has written that exact paragraph.

I don't get why bloggers keep doing this 30 day challenge. It's an unrealistic test since the vast majority of people who bought soylent won't be using it as their primary source of food. The writers all acknowledge that fact and then do the challenge anyway. Regular people "consider" those ways that they would be isolated and that's the reason very few people intend to be on an all soylent diet. Who is reading this and was like "hmm, I was planning on eating nothing but soylent but then I wouldn't be able to go out with friends or make dinners with my girlfriend"? NOBODY

I guess no one would click if the article was "i now eat soylent for lunch instead of greasy pizza and no probs"

 

[Fireblend]

Well at least it's nice they've done something about the taste everyone seemed to hate when the first batches were reported on. I doubt I would make it a part of my diet, but if it can be used as a food source for people in need, then this is awesome.

 

[Krauser Kat]

I was much more interested in the health benefits than the writer's existential crisis about the social importance of food.

He lost 12 lbs, but what about things like blood pressure, blood sugar, sodium levels, serum trigylcerides, etc? It's not like this is the first liquid diet or dietary supplement on the market.

This is probably the best info to have. losing 12 pounds and feeling great is pretty good indicator he met his nutritional needs.

 

[Cmagus]

Here is the Vice video the guy did for 30 days.

Soylent: How I Stopped Eating For 30 Days

 

[Enduin]

I'm interested in seeing an actual study(ies) of how Soylent, and other meal replacement drinks, do over an extended period. One month isn't that short, but it's not that long either. I would think a 6+ month study with a bunch of people would likely be a good starting point to see relative effects of such a diet, and then some longer studies to see how people do on it.

As well as comparing groups of people who use it as a total meal replacement vs those who use it a dietary supplement and what kind if impact that has on overall health. Can people really commit to a total meal replacement and is it healthy, and does using it as an supplement to normal food actually work, or will people be a poor judge of portions and end up eating more than they need to.

I would totally be up for something like Soylent as a supplement to my normal diet. I basically never have a proper breakfast, or a lunch really and that normally leaves me with a dinner that is normally too large and generally not very nutritionally diverse. So being able to have a drink in the morning and possibly for lunch every day, if it is a legit replacement, would be really handy.

 

[Ravek]

I feel like the editor misses the point when he talks about the social impact that food us on and for us.

Something like this could help billions of people who are starving and hundreds of millions who are over weight. Yet, he talks about hanging out with friends at Chilis.

Smh.

 

[Mechazawa]

I'd actually really like to take this for a spin, but what kills it for me is the price. I do not need 85 dollars to feed myself for a week.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

I'd actually really like to take this for a spin, but what kills it for me is the price. I do not need 85 dollars to feed myself for a week.

Ensure Plus or Glucerna.

Meal replacements have existed for a long time. Though I guess ya gotta ride kickstarter hype.

 

[LyleLanley]

I'd actually really like to take this for a spin, but what kills it for me is the price. I do not need 85 dollars to feed myself for a week.

Furthermore, if I was ordering Soylent month to month, I’d be paying $8.50 a day to get effectively all the nutrition and calories I needed to stay alive for the price of a standard New York City lunch.

$59.50 per week isn't too bad.

 

[flaxknuckles]

Ordered me some. Maybe this will help me stop eating pizza everyday (shit is expensive, cooking isn't an option, and ramen noodles are disgusting and unhealthy)

 

[Eusis]

This is probably the 20th blogger doing a month of nothing but soylent and the 20th one who has written that exact paragraph.

I don't get why bloggers keep doing this 30 day challenge. It's an unrealistic test since the vast majority of people who bought soylent won't be using it as their primary source of food. The writers all acknowledge that fact and then do the challenge anyway. Regular people "consider" those ways that they would be isolated and that's the reason very few people intend to be on an all soylent diet. Who is reading this and was like "hmm, I was planning on eating nothing but soylent but then I wouldn't be able to go out with friends or make dinners with my girlfriend"? NOBODY

I guess no one would click if the article was "i now eat soylent for lunch instead of greasy pizza and no probs"

Part of the problem is the pitch video on Soylent's own site, stressing the angle of this being a full on diet replacement and to be more affordable than just getting food and to free ourselves from the time spent making and getting it. It's practically inviting people to challenge this, that perhaps the time spent with food is worthwhile too.

 

[studyguy]

I always pictured the stuff as a Ensure/Slim Fast-esque shake, guess that's more or less it. Those health shakes always tasted so bland.

Better than the alternative though!

 

[daveo42]

I think I'd buy in if it was more readily available right now and use it as a breakfast/lunch replacement during the week. I'd be cheaper than grabbing breakfast at work and help to drop my caloric intake during the day. I'd save dinners and weekends for social meals.

My only issue is the amount of carbs that make up this shake that aren't dietary fiber. I'd love to see a low-carb version of this product as well and that for me would be an instant sell.

 

[Halcyon]

I already suck down 2 protein shakes a day.

I often feel like i'm a baby drinking formula. Too much powder in my life.

 

[twobear]

Isn't this article basically cribbed from a Vice documentary with exactly the same premise?

 

[Whitechocolatekrispies]

Okay.

Number 1: This is not a 100% meal replacement. They don't expect you to give up all food and only eat soylent. It's for fast quick nutritious meals you would other wise eat trash. Your lunch breaks, your early breakfasts etc etc. It's to replace shit like Raman noodles or fatty trashy fast foods. It's quick and easy to eat and it gives you a very balanced healthy meal. It allows you to really enjoy and care about actual real good food at dinner or when you have time.

Number 2: They don't want you eating this if you don't want it. It's fine if you don't want it but don't come in here under the impression we will force you to eat it and spout stuff like "I'd rather eat lab grown meat than this slop". Don't like the idea? Go away, there are plenty of people that do and are desperate for a healthy quick cheap fix.

Number 3: This is a tiny company started on kickstarter making the stuff out of a retrofitted factory. Of course it's not going to be cheap, they have to hand fill every packet. In a few years time with a properly built factory and supply line, this could become incredibly cheap, yet nutritious and healthy.

 

[poodpick]

Isn't this article basically cribbed from a Vice documentary with exactly the same premise?

I think it all started with an ars technica article though

 

[.GqueB.]

But the real problem is that Soylent ignores the social and entertainment value of eating: food is not merely sustenance, it’s a tightly woven part of our everyday lives. How many times have you commiserated with a colleague over lunch? Planned a date over dinner? Met with friends for drinks? A strict diet of beige liquid fundamentally changes the patterns of your daily life, and not entirely for the better. It isolates you in ways you may not necessarily conside

Well said.

 

[pj]

Part of the problem is the pitch video on Soylent's own site, stressing the angle of this being a full on diet replacement and to be more affordable than just getting food and to free ourselves from the time spent making and getting it. It's practically inviting people to challenge this, that perhaps the time spent with food is worthwhile too.

The marketing bears some blame for sure, but these cloned articles doing the same exact thing and raising the same exact points are ridiculous. Also, soylent kind of has to make the claim that you CAN live on it, otherwise using it for 1/3 or 2/3 of your meals doesn't give you 1/3 or 2/3 of the nutrients you need in a day.

I'd like to see ONE blogger who integrates soylent in the way that a lot of people intend to. I ordered soylent because I typically don't eat breakfast and my lunches are always crappy fast food. Unless it contains arsenic or lead, soylent cannot possibly be worse than what I eat for those two meals currently.

 

[Renzoku]

Ordered me some. Maybe this will help me stop eating pizza everyday (shit is expensive, cooking isn't an option, and ramen noodles are disgusting and unhealthy)

I have bad news about the health value of pizza for you bro.

I can see this taking the place of a protein shake in the morning or something.

Sometimes I really do just wish I could consume the necessary stuffs to keep my body going and no more.

Plus it's an incredible thing for third world countries. If they can make it even cheaper, I don't see why it couldn't solve world hunger eventually.

 

[badcrumble]

I feel like the editor misses the point when he talks about the social impact that food us on and for us.

Something like this could help billions of people who are starving and hundreds of millions who are over weight. Yet, he talks about hanging out with friends at Chilis.

Smh.

soylent isn't food magicked out of nowhere, it's preexisting food that has been processed and refined

basically, it's more expensive than ordinary food, it uses up food in its manufacture, and as such is precisely not a solution to global starvation lol

there's already more than enough food worldwide to cover all of the famines we ever get hit with; the problem isn't production, it's distribution (and we've already had methods of canning/powdering food to make it shelf-stable anywhere in the world for over a century)

 

[Zaptruder]

30 days later and he's fitter for it and doesn't hate the taste and it's cheaper than your average meal (depending on the city you live in).

Well, food here is expensive, and I need to lose some weight, and a lot of times I really don't care what I'm eating (although obviously I care about a good meal with good company).

So... perfect for a guy like me?

 

[pj]

Well said.

It's well said but it's pointless. "A strict diet.."

It's only strict because he made up and then followed a rule to only eat soylent! How about a non-strict diet of soylent where you eat it when you want to, and don't when you don't?

 

[Cmagus]

I couldn't see doing this 100% because as some have pointed out there is still a social aspect to eating. I could however see myself including something like this in my diet for sure.

I do think though that this could have potential to benefit a lot of people who don't have the luxuries of readily available food. If this became cheap and easy to mass produce this stuff could easily help a lot of people.

 

[Zaptruder]

soylent isn't food magicked out of nowhere, it's preexisting food that has been processed and refined

basically, it's more expensive than ordinary food, it uses up food in its manufacture, and as such is precisely not a solution to global starvation lol

Well... the upside of it is that they can tweak the ingredients for sustainable economics and as long as the results are same or similar, the product is designed and marketed in such a way that people shouldn't really give two hoots what the base ingredients are.

Insects? Whatever, as long as it tastes the same, provides the same nutrition at the same cost, you can make it out insects as much as you want!

 

[.GqueB.]

It's well said but it's pointless. "A strict diet.."

It's only strict because he made up and then followed a rule to only eat soylent! How about a non-strict diet of soylent where you eat it when you want to, and don't when you don't?

Yea that's true.

 

[badcrumble]

famines happen because people are literally too poor to buy food and the people with food refuse to lower the price even though that leads to mass death*, not because of a lack of actual supply, and certainly not because of a lack of ~~~~innovation~~~~

*for which, in my opinion, they are directly accountable

 

[Wuthering_Heights]

Man, I work nights, and this would be awesome for me.

I usually eat no breakfast and lunch about 2:00, then the next opportunity I have to eat anything is around 11 at night, right before bed, which can't be healthy.

It would be nice to be able to drink one of these at work so I could stop eating so late at night.

 

[ShowDog]

soylent isn't food magicked out of nowhere, it's preexisting food that has been processed and refined

basically, it's more expensive than ordinary food, it uses up food in its manufacture, and as such is precisely not a solution to global starvation lol

there's already more than enough food worldwide to cover all of the famines we ever get hit with; the problem isn't production, it's distribution (and we've already had methods of canning/powdering food to make it shelf-stable anywhere in the world for over a century)

You just killed your argument at the end of your own post. The issue isn't that we don't have enough food, it's that it goes bad before it can be distributed. Packets of power and little bottles of fish oil last a very long time and are very easy to distribute. Much more efficient to transport than canned goods and as a powdered food it is supposedly a more complete, hence more convenient, product. You only need the one item instead of dozens of powered products to make up a complete diet.

Like any venture capital product though, there is definitely reason to be skeptical. All of these companies are "changing the world" in their own self-deluded, marketing friendly way. Naming it Soylent is both awesome and betrays a bit of this youthful optimism.

 

[ebullientprism]

Wouldnt this also severely mess up your teeth as well? Having nothing to chew on would weaken them significantly right??

 

[Zona]

I'm tempted to get this to use Monday-Friday. I'm likely the odd man out here but food it a hassle to me. I hate cooking and eating out is to expensive and unhealthy. I can see myself just eating soylent the majority of the time except when I go out with friends or I get a craving for something like sushi.

 

[flaxknuckles]

Well... the upside of it is that they can tweak the ingredients for sustainable economics and as long as the results are same or similar, the product is designed and marketed in such a way that people shouldn't really give two hoots what the base ingredients are.

Insects? Whatever, as long as it tastes the same, provides the same nutrition at the same cost, you can make it out insects as much as you want!

But then you would find the occassional insect leg stuck in your teeth. *shudders*

Wouldnt this also severely mess up your teeth as well? Having nothing to chew on would weaken them significantly right??

You can chew on your tongue

 

[DrFaustPhD]

I will definitely never go on a full soylent diet (although I probably would have practically done it if this stuff was around when I was in college), but it seems like a pretty great solution for those times that preparing a meal just isn't going to happen, and would keep me from getting fast food and the like. If it was more readily available I'd probably already have a weeks supply sitting around.

 

[LostCaress]

I'm drinking a lot of protein shakes and they do remove hunger but nothing substitutes the pleasure of a real meal.

 

[LyleLanley]

I'm drinking a lot of protein shakes and they do remove hunger but nothing substitutes the pleasure of a real meal.

My problem with all of the shakes I have tried is that it feels like I'm just drinking milkshakes all the time. There's only so many sweet drinks I can take before I go crazy.

 

[jerry1594]

I'd be down to do this. But people who suggest this stuff be mandated for people on stamps are crazy.