Some company actually markets a product under the name “Soylent”?
Scary.
When individuals reach, in my opinion, that point they are starving for more than food.
Food is the first basic impulse we get satisfied and it is intermixed with confort, closeness and bonding. Later it will upgrade into a communal moment and the sharing of time and exchange of experiences.
Again, in my view, to see eating as a chore says how lonely and dehumanized a person is. How little self worth they have.
Yo I’m the person the one above was talking about! I was on a Soylent only* (I mean I had other food and snacks occasionally) for roughly 2 years. Lost 10 lbs (I barely had anything to lose to begin with) and stayed in excellent shape. I definitely enjoy food, but not as much as the other things I want to do (video games, movies, d&d, reading, hiking), and I’d rather down a quick shake than spend time preparing something.
BTW Soylent is very tongue-in-cheek in their branding, of course they intended to invoke Soylent Green. As with the stuff in the book, it’s something that’s nutritionally complete that you can subsist on for 100% of your diet.
I mean, it can be miserable after a while, and now they go with: Soylent shouldn’t replace every meal, but it can replace any meal. And it’s great! If I’m going for a run or have a busy morning, I can chug one and I’m all set. And unlike most protein bars, it’s not loaded with sugar.
As far as the communal aspect, I was single at the time I was on that diet, but I spent most of my time hanging with my friends online (World of Warcraft and other online games). I definitely wasn’t starved for socializing, and I look back at that time as a great period of my life.
I’m glad to know you lived a fullfilling life at the time and it is obvious after your reply it wasn’t about you or those like you I was thinking about.
Although I still lack the capacity to view Soilent as a good name for a brand…
Besides some cultural differences, I respect your view. It made your life easier (still does, if I’m understanding correctly), you don’t seem a person who enjoys cooking that much (fair enough) and it freed time for things you had higher in your list of priorities.
I can’t do that. If need be, I would, but I’d hate every single moment of it.
I actually do enjoy cooking! I’m usually the one preparing meals since my wife works a later shift. Nothing terribly complicated, but I do stews, stir fry, pasta, etc. I like making my own pizza dough, and I have a great pizza stone for it.
But again, it can often feel like a chore to cook, and if my wife were more receptive to it, I’d probably rely on Soylent more. As it is, I’ll drink about one 400 calorie bottle a month if I’m busy or especially lazy.
Soylent certainly isn’t for everyone though. It’s like a protein shake in terms of consistency. The premade flavors are pretty good, and back when I was buying the powder I was adding my own flavors (peanut butter powder was the best). But doing that for a few meals in a row really messes with you the first time. You kind of feel both full and starving at the same time.
Have you considered applying for a sales representative at the company? The best pitch comes from the person that knows the product, inside out.
There is the cultural difference I can’t get past: yes, cooking may very well be a chore but I would more quickly change my entire diet than resort to substituion mixes.
Nothing replaces the contact with real food items. The smells, the textures, the colours, the flavours. The pleasure that comes from it.
I can be very pragmatic and utilitarian towards what I eat, borderline spartan, but a mix is not food and not even very sick I will consider it as such. It’s fuel, sustenance, not food. I could live off it but, again, I would hate every moment of it.
I sincerely admire your apparent indiference towards relying on that mix. I would rely on it to keep me alive, in a serious emergency, sure. But as a means to get to an end, not the end itself.
Great point. Eating is such a large part of culture. It’s why there are countless cooking/food/travel shows out there (Bourdain being the GOAT). Anyone not participating in this collective ritual is separating themselves from a large part of society.
Bourdain was a genius. Controversial but they all tend to be as such.
I agree with you. But please take a moment to consider this as well: people need time to eat. And by extension, to live. Something we are colectively slowly being drained of, through “work ethics”, “fashion trends”, “healthy life styles”, etc.
We need to live. To eat. To sleep. To be together. To get angry with each other and make amends afterwards. And we are being robbed of our humanity by not having it.
Some company actually markets a product under the name “Soylent”?
Scary.
When individuals reach, in my opinion, that point they are starving for more than food.
Food is the first basic impulse we get satisfied and it is intermixed with confort, closeness and bonding. Later it will upgrade into a communal moment and the sharing of time and exchange of experiences.
Again, in my view, to see eating as a chore says how lonely and dehumanized a person is. How little self worth they have.
Which is sad.
Yo I’m the person the one above was talking about! I was on a Soylent only* (I mean I had other food and snacks occasionally) for roughly 2 years. Lost 10 lbs (I barely had anything to lose to begin with) and stayed in excellent shape. I definitely enjoy food, but not as much as the other things I want to do (video games, movies, d&d, reading, hiking), and I’d rather down a quick shake than spend time preparing something.
BTW Soylent is very tongue-in-cheek in their branding, of course they intended to invoke Soylent Green. As with the stuff in the book, it’s something that’s nutritionally complete that you can subsist on for 100% of your diet.
I mean, it can be miserable after a while, and now they go with: Soylent shouldn’t replace every meal, but it can replace any meal. And it’s great! If I’m going for a run or have a busy morning, I can chug one and I’m all set. And unlike most protein bars, it’s not loaded with sugar.
As far as the communal aspect, I was single at the time I was on that diet, but I spent most of my time hanging with my friends online (World of Warcraft and other online games). I definitely wasn’t starved for socializing, and I look back at that time as a great period of my life.
I’m glad to know you lived a fullfilling life at the time and it is obvious after your reply it wasn’t about you or those like you I was thinking about.
Although I still lack the capacity to view Soilent as a good name for a brand…
Besides some cultural differences, I respect your view. It made your life easier (still does, if I’m understanding correctly), you don’t seem a person who enjoys cooking that much (fair enough) and it freed time for things you had higher in your list of priorities.
I can’t do that. If need be, I would, but I’d hate every single moment of it.
I actually do enjoy cooking! I’m usually the one preparing meals since my wife works a later shift. Nothing terribly complicated, but I do stews, stir fry, pasta, etc. I like making my own pizza dough, and I have a great pizza stone for it.
But again, it can often feel like a chore to cook, and if my wife were more receptive to it, I’d probably rely on Soylent more. As it is, I’ll drink about one 400 calorie bottle a month if I’m busy or especially lazy.
Soylent certainly isn’t for everyone though. It’s like a protein shake in terms of consistency. The premade flavors are pretty good, and back when I was buying the powder I was adding my own flavors (peanut butter powder was the best). But doing that for a few meals in a row really messes with you the first time. You kind of feel both full and starving at the same time.
Have you considered applying for a sales representative at the company? The best pitch comes from the person that knows the product, inside out.
There is the cultural difference I can’t get past: yes, cooking may very well be a chore but I would more quickly change my entire diet than resort to substituion mixes.
Nothing replaces the contact with real food items. The smells, the textures, the colours, the flavours. The pleasure that comes from it.
I can be very pragmatic and utilitarian towards what I eat, borderline spartan, but a mix is not food and not even very sick I will consider it as such. It’s fuel, sustenance, not food. I could live off it but, again, I would hate every moment of it.
I sincerely admire your apparent indiference towards relying on that mix. I would rely on it to keep me alive, in a serious emergency, sure. But as a means to get to an end, not the end itself.
Great point. Eating is such a large part of culture. It’s why there are countless cooking/food/travel shows out there (Bourdain being the GOAT). Anyone not participating in this collective ritual is separating themselves from a large part of society.
Bourdain was a genius. Controversial but they all tend to be as such.
I agree with you. But please take a moment to consider this as well: people need time to eat. And by extension, to live. Something we are colectively slowly being drained of, through “work ethics”, “fashion trends”, “healthy life styles”, etc.
We need to live. To eat. To sleep. To be together. To get angry with each other and make amends afterwards. And we are being robbed of our humanity by not having it.