Soylent: It's Not People. Or Food.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/geek-life/hands-on/soylent-its-not-people-or-food

by testrun • 12 years ago

14 13 12 years ago

spectrum.ieee.org

sj4nz2• 12 years ago

Not calling it "food" is a little off-putting, since it is "nutritously edible" unlike a lot of industrial food marketed to the time-money-impovershed. This is fascinating stuff, and people are trying to make their own formulas as well, here's a couple sites:

http://lesswrong.com/lw/h2h/soylent_orange_whole_food_open_s...

http://diy.soylent.me/

Personally I've already invested so much in organics that I'll have to work my way through that before I can give it an n=1 go.

noonespecial• 12 years ago

Or food.

Neither is half the stuff on the shelf at 7-11 but people still literally live on it. At least Soylent took a stab at engineering for health instead of merely addictive taste over-stimulation.

MetaCosm• 12 years ago

The arguments against Soylent that compare it to some perfect diet are just obnoxious and disingenuous. McDonalds feeds 68+ million human beings A DAY... just McDonalds.

If there is a solution that is convenient, simple, healthier cost-effective replacement for fast food calories, I am all for it.

orillian• 12 years ago

You all know this article is from a year ago right? Relevance?

sj4nz2• 12 years ago

Thought it was newer, had friend that started his second day (today) on Soylent with positive results.

XorNot• 12 years ago

Saw the IEEE domain and was intrigued, but this is just another "I don't get it" piece, wherein the author reveals himself to also not get it (or more likely, is being deliberately obtuse because it makes for a 'better' article).

nationcrafting• 12 years ago

Soylent and food are not mutually exclusive. Soylent replaces feed, not food.

If anything, soylent makes those times when you eat out extra special, since you get to eat out for the sake of flavour rather than to fill up your belly, and you get to spend the money you didn't spend on regular meals.

muhuk• 12 years ago

I stopped reading after:

    ...effort to produce a single foodstuff that could
    be consumed, to the exclusion of anything else...

I am interested in Soylent. I am interested in what people, who took the time to find out about it, say about Soylent. But this is a strawman at best, and ignorant at worst.

aianus2• 12 years ago

I could lease a new BMW with the money I'd save eating Soylent. There is no food in the world that produces more happiness than a new BMW.

nlh• 12 years ago

I can't tell if you're serious or not. If you're not, well, cool.

If you are, well, your perspective might need a bit of realigning. As someone who's driven nearly every new BMW that's been made in the past 10 years, I can _assure_ you the happiness they produce is short-lived, at best.

aianus2• 12 years ago

I'm pretty serious. I have an old one now and driving it makes me happier than any meal I've ever had. But that's mostly because I hate food :)

Karunamon• 12 years ago

I could go for a new MBA myself, but to each their own :)

nazgulnarsil• 12 years ago

We were also a little put off by the "it's not food" hyperbole, which is why we made MealSquares. I think it will be appealing to a lot of people who like the concept of Soylent but not the execution.

Soylent: It's Not People. Or Food.

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