Some Thoughts on Soylent (Or, Why I Won't Stop Worrying and Love the Futuristic Gruel)

[faerieboots]

So john_in_boston linked me to a fascinating article about a new medical food product being pioneered called 'Soylent.'  My first thought, expressed to him in incredulous tones, was 'Is this for real?'  He assured me it was. I read on.

On first blush, this product scans like Slim-Fast:  Now For Manly Men.  The articles I read stressed diet management, eating

Comments

[londo]

Because sixty-four is eight squared, you see.

[contradictacat]

Wait, that's actually become a real product? And not just some soulless asshole's pet "body hack" project? (Yes, I look upon anyone who actively disenjoys food as a weird soulless mutant) (I am only half kidding- I have met people like that

[mirrored_echo]

Yay, I'm a weird soulless mutant. :p

[contradictacat]

I've seen you bend. You're definitely a mutant. I'm pretty sure you have a soul, though, so...one out of two ain't bad? (also, you've had good reasons for weird with food, so you get a pass. Some people, though...)

[mirrored_echo]

This... looks better than the crap they currently serve at prisons and hospitals. I'm honestly not seeing the problem -- this looks like any standard meal replacement powder, except with a catchier name.

(although not listing the ingredients on their campaign website kind of sets off alarms. yes, I'm not expecting it to be made out of people, but it'd be nice to know about potential allergens beyond "it's probably Vegan." with a capital V and everything!)

[gaudior]

Huh. On the one hand, I'd be in favor of everyone in the world getting enough calories and nutrients not to starve.

On the other hand-- you're absolutely right, I can absolutely see that happening, and it would be amazingly dehumanizing for people who are already in a dehumanizing position. Gah and feh.

I think the trick would be in making sure that the only people fed Soylent (or whatever it ends up being called; whether or not this is the thing that gets popular, I'm willing to bet something along these lines will be) are the people who either actually want it, or the people to whom we absolutely couldn't get food otherwise. And barring massive famine, I'm not sure that there really are that many of the latter out there.

Huh. The future's gonna be... interesting.