As a busy working parent, I admit that I sometimes (ok, frequently) grab a granola bar as a substitute for lunch... and breakfast.
I am not saying that it is the healthiest choice. But, in today's world of running from work to school to the gym to everything else - sometimes there is no time to sit down and prepare a well balanced meal - or any meal at all.
This is exactly the space that Soylent, a full time meal replacement product, is trying to fill.
What is Soylent? Just in case there was any doubt, the informative video on the soylent website states right away that "soylent is food" and "although it it not intended to replace every meal, it is able to replace any meal."
Although the mainstay is a "ready to drink" drink called Soylent 2.0, the website includes Soylent snack bars (currently unavailable) and the original Soylent powder. The drink, offered in three flavors of original, cacao and nectar, provides 20% of your daily nutritional requirements and 400 calories in each 14 oz. bottle. Just in case you are too busy for a cup of coffee in the morning (wow - that's busy) there is "coffiest" - the original soylent drink combined with the amount of caffeine found in a cup of coffee. If you have some time on your hands (but not enough to make actual food) you can even go with the higher maintenance powder which you have to (gasp!) mix with water. As for where the nutrition comes from - in the drink, the protein comes from soy, the carbohydrates from beets and the fat from algal oil (from algae.)
The story behind the creation of Soylent is as intriguing as the product itself, and has been written about widely. Soylent was started as a kickstarter campaign in 2013, by the then 25 year old Rob Rhinehart. It turns out that people were interested in meal replacement as the kickstarter campaign took off. By "took off", I mean that it was the largest crowdfunded food related project ever with more than $3 million raised. The product was first made available in May 2014 and now the company has received a total of $74.5 million in funding to date.
Soylent claims that they have a mission beyond efficiency or being the status symbol of millenials who are professional gamers. In an interview, Rhinehart talks about getting the cost of Soylent down to be able to provide daily nutrition to people who cannot afford it. The website states that Soylent can "drastically reduce the ecological impact of food production and encourage a shared future of abundance." Their mission statement found on the website is as follows.
"Our mission is to expand access to quality nutrition through food system innovation. We strive to create a world where access to affordable, complete nutrition - one of the most basic human needs - is no longer a challenge, but a means of empowerment. To help achieve this vision, we are proud to support World Food Program USA in their work to help make hunger history."
Feeding the world is certainly an admirable and lofty goal. But, for those of us who can afford food, will the efficiency of subsisting on a ready made drink replace our more traditional ways of eating? What about Saturday morning pancakes, or popcorn at the movies? Soylent certainly seems convenient, but, eating food is not always a bothersome task. Sometimes it is an event, a picnic, a date, a celebration. To that, Soylent is certainly not saying that you need to rely on their products for 100% of your food - they are simply saying that you can.
