Brian Burt's Blog: Work in Progress - Posts Tagged "soylent"
Soylent - Not Green, Not People (I Hope)
Okay, who among us in the SF world can hear the term "soylent" and not think of the movie Soylent Green, based on Harry Harrison's Make Room! Make Room! When I first heard about this "engineered food product" from my oldest son, I couldn't help myself: the immortal cry "Soylent Green is people" reverberated inside my skull, and my gag reflex kicked in. As an SF fan / writer, though, I realize it's crucial to keep an open mind. My son educated me on the origin of this "traditional-food substitute," the way it's gone viral on the web, and the hundreds of early adopters who swear by its efficacy in simplifying their lives, improving their nutrition, and even ameliorating pre-existing medical conditions. Okay, I'm paying attention now. Soylent creators, convince me that it's truly a nectar-and-ambrosia smoothie and not a snake-oil shake.
I have seen Rob Rhinehart, the inventor of Soylent, interviewed on The Colbert Report, my family's favorite source of unbiased news (along with the Daily Show, of course). Yes, it is intriguing, I admit: kind of like Carnation Instant Breakfast on steroids (which, in retrospect, may not sound all that healthy, eh?). Or maybe a "next-gen" fusion of the kid-classic snack of Space Food Sticks and Tang from my Apollo-era youth? Rob was frustrated by the time (and money) it took to concoct healthy, nutritious meals three times a day, every day, and decided to experiment with engineering a food product that provided all of the essential nutrients in a simple, easy-to-store, easy-to-make, easy-to-consume powdered drink.
We've been down this road before. The supplement industry and processed food manufacturers have repeatedly claimed to capture human health in a bottle (okay, a pouch that you mix with water into a bottle?). In truth, these claims haven't panned out. The slow-food movement has arisen in direct opposition to this trend, pointing out (reasonably) that many millennia of evolution have adapted humans to efficiently extract needed nutrients from natural, whole-food sources in ways that no human engineer can fully duplicate. It's a fair criticism. But, at one time, a similar argument could be made for traditional folk remedies vs. modern pharmaceuticals, and yet few of us would forego that miracle medication prescribed by our doctor when we're seriously ill.
So does Soylent actually work? It's too soon to tell, for my family. My son recently received his first official shipment of a week's supply of the product. Our whole family has at least tried it, and it's surprisingly palatable. My oldest has used it for a couple of days and claims to have slept better in the last two nights than he has in months. (He suffers from a medical condition that makes insomnia the rule rather than the exception, so this is a pretty big deal.)
Is Soylent a miracle food product, a decent time-saving substitute for traditional meals, or just another pricey supplement that can't ultimately live up to its hype? I don't know yet. But I, and my family, are intrigued. We plan to join the Soylent experiment. As we gain more experience with it, we'll share the results for the benefit of others.
I have seen Rob Rhinehart, the inventor of Soylent, interviewed on The Colbert Report, my family's favorite source of unbiased news (along with the Daily Show, of course). Yes, it is intriguing, I admit: kind of like Carnation Instant Breakfast on steroids (which, in retrospect, may not sound all that healthy, eh?). Or maybe a "next-gen" fusion of the kid-classic snack of Space Food Sticks and Tang from my Apollo-era youth? Rob was frustrated by the time (and money) it took to concoct healthy, nutritious meals three times a day, every day, and decided to experiment with engineering a food product that provided all of the essential nutrients in a simple, easy-to-store, easy-to-make, easy-to-consume powdered drink.
We've been down this road before. The supplement industry and processed food manufacturers have repeatedly claimed to capture human health in a bottle (okay, a pouch that you mix with water into a bottle?). In truth, these claims haven't panned out. The slow-food movement has arisen in direct opposition to this trend, pointing out (reasonably) that many millennia of evolution have adapted humans to efficiently extract needed nutrients from natural, whole-food sources in ways that no human engineer can fully duplicate. It's a fair criticism. But, at one time, a similar argument could be made for traditional folk remedies vs. modern pharmaceuticals, and yet few of us would forego that miracle medication prescribed by our doctor when we're seriously ill.
So does Soylent actually work? It's too soon to tell, for my family. My son recently received his first official shipment of a week's supply of the product. Our whole family has at least tried it, and it's surprisingly palatable. My oldest has used it for a couple of days and claims to have slept better in the last two nights than he has in months. (He suffers from a medical condition that makes insomnia the rule rather than the exception, so this is a pretty big deal.)
Is Soylent a miracle food product, a decent time-saving substitute for traditional meals, or just another pricey supplement that can't ultimately live up to its hype? I don't know yet. But I, and my family, are intrigued. We plan to join the Soylent experiment. As we gain more experience with it, we'll share the results for the benefit of others.
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Work in Progress
Random musings from a writer struggling to become an author.
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