Is this a joke?

[GrannySmith]

A farce? Fake news? I'm confused. Especially given the name choice...SOYLENT?? at least it's not green?

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/08/05/could-soylent-powder-replace-solid-food

[Reginald Ret]

Hmm, Can't tell anymore.
World has gotten too strange.
I mean, labgrown meat is a thing now, so why not this?

[McGrupp]

It's for real. I've read about the guy.

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/rob-rhinehart-no-longer-requires-food

It sounds neat, although the drawback is that it hardens into a paste after a day and the prep time seems like longer than it takes to just make a meal. Still could have some cool benefits once worked out, though.

One problem he will face is that medicine doesn't exactly agree on what nutrients we need and not everyone is the same in that regard.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

AS CHEAP AS A CUP OF COFFEE

The sounds of blind ignorant privilege... a cup of coffee in the US costs more than most poor people have for their daily food budget.

And where do these nutrient isolates come from? Oh yeah, from food.

HE IS MAKING FOOD. Just a particularly processed and sterile form of food.

Contrary to his misguided belief, the body is an amazingly efficient machine for processing the nutrients from food.

With efficient sustainable farming practices we could even feed four billion MORE people than are already on the planet. We have food production and distribution problems, but inability to produce the food we need is not one of them. I have the feeling that pretty much everyone on the planet would rather go vegetarian than switch to a diet of Soylent.

[Junkenstein]

One problem he will face is that medicine doesn't exactly agree on what nutrients we need and not everyone is the same in that regard.

It would seem to be a fairly simple exercise to alter the required levels of nutrition. In many ways it seems quite close to nutriotion shakes and the like you would give to those undergoing radio/chemotherapy or the like.

To be blunt, I'd probably be the target market for this product. I'm fairly apathetic about eating at most times. When I do bother it tends not to be "healthy". At some point there will probably be visible indications of these things and this product would probably prevent/eliminate that.

I'd quite like to see this get to market really.

[Junkenstein]

HE IS MAKING FOOD. Just a particularly processed and sterile form of food.

Kinda. Like I mentioned above it's probably closer to a high nutrition drink than food. In fact, he states it tastes sweet which is quite typical of such drinks.

There's another similar product that junkies use when detoxing as it provides practically everything the body needs and these people have typically been deprived of all these things for quite some time.

Either way, I still think of that matrix scene whenever he describes the drink.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

One problem he will face is that medicine doesn't exactly agree on what nutrients we need and not everyone is the same in that regard.

It would seem to be a fairly simple exercise to alter the required levels of nutrition. In many ways it seems quite close to nutriotion shakes and the like you would give to those undergoing radio/chemotherapy or the like.

To be blunt, I'd probably be the target market for this product. I'm fairly apathetic about eating at most times. When I do bother it tends not to be "healthy". At some point there will probably be visible indications of these things and this product would probably prevent/eliminate that.

I'd quite like to see this get to market really.

Human beings can survive, and even do OK, on a less-than-optimal diet (hey, I lived on cheeseburgers for a month and felt fine http://cheeseburgerexperiment.blogspot.com/), but scientists don't really understand nutrition that well, and on top of that the lack of enzymes and fiber in such a product seems like a recipe for future gut health problems including cancer.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

HE IS MAKING FOOD. Just a particularly processed and sterile form of food.

Kinda. Like I mentioned above it's probably closer to a high nutrition drink than food. In fact, he states it tastes sweet which is quite typical of such drinks.

There's another similar product that junkies use when detoxing as it provides practically everything the body needs and these people have typically been deprived of all these things for quite some time.

Either way, I still think of that matrix scene whenever he describes the drink.

Liquid food is also food. Any significant calorie and nutrient source is a food. Protein shakes are food, that is why they call them "meal replacement". Sort of like how milk is food. The semantic distinction that it is food which you drink does not make it magically "not food".

food 
/fo͞od/
Noun
Any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth.
Synonyms
nourishment - fare - nutriment - aliment - pabulum

[McGrupp]

Either way, I still think of that matrix scene whenever he describes the drink.

Me too! Runny eggs. Also Farscape food cubes.

With efficient sustainable farming practices we could even feed four billion MORE people than are already on the planet. We have food production and distribution problems, but inability to produce the food we need is not one of them. I have the feeling that pretty much everyone on the planet would rather go vegetarian than switch to a diet of Soylent.

From a brief skim of his blog I get the impression that the feeding the poor was a marketing/attention grabbing afterthought to his 'I must never eat solids again' obsession. I didn't even think about the wasted byproduct of isolating the nutrients.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Either way, I still think of that matrix scene whenever he describes the drink.

Me too! Runny eggs. Also Farscape food cubes.

With efficient sustainable farming practices we could even feed four billion MORE people than are already on the planet. We have food production and distribution problems, but inability to produce the food we need is not one of them. I have the feeling that pretty much everyone on the planet would rather go vegetarian than switch to a diet of Soylent.

From a brief skim of his blog I get the impression that the feeding the poor was a marketing/attention grabbing afterthought to his 'I must never eat solids again' obsession. I didn't even think about the wasted byproduct of isolating the nutrients.

Plus, this has been done before, in the 1940's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Clinton

Clifford E. Clinton (August 3, 1900 – November 20, 1969) was a California restaurateur who founded Meals for Millions, one of two parent organizations of Freedom from Hunger, in 1946.

In 1944, Clinton asked Dr. Henry Borsook, a Caltech biochemist, to develop a food supplement that would provide proper nutritional values while costing no more than five cents per meal. Clinton offered $5,000 of his own money to finance the research. In less than one year, Dr. Borsook had developed Multi-Purpose Food (MPF), a high-protein food supplement that could be made for just three cents per meal. This led to the founding of Meals for Millions as a not-for-profit organization in 1946. During the next ten years, 6.5 million pounds of MPF were distributed to relief agencies in 129 countries, including the United States.

Clifford E. Clinton, was also owner of a restaurant named Clifton's Cafeteria, which still exists today in Los Angeles, CA.

I had a vintage can of MPF, until my ex left it at his roommate's house.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

So basically, the guy is making expensive protein shakes. Why people are even writing articles about it is beyond me.

[Junkenstein]

So basically, the guy is making expensive protein shakes. Why people are even writing articles about it is beyond me.

Yeah that pretty much covers it. There's the shiny "SCIENCE!" part where it's actually good (or at least not bad) for you, and it doesn't seem to make crazy health claims like slimming drinks do. Appreciate the correction on the sloppy thinking about food too.

[McGrupp]

Clifford Clinton seems much cooler than the soylent guy.

I think this guy got picked up by calling it 'soylent' and making the ridiculous 'no food' claim. (which I kinda knee jerked into buying myself.)

I guess no one will be impressed by my watermaker invention. It runs on ice.

[Ben Shapiro]

The guy needs to be reminded how excess protein can strain your kidneys.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

So basically, the guy is making expensive protein shakes. Why people are even writing articles about it is beyond me.

Yeah that pretty much covers it. There's the shiny "SCIENCE!" part where it's actually good (or at least not bad) for you, and it doesn't seem to make crazy health claims like slimming drinks do. Appreciate the correction on the sloppy thinking about food too.

That's how they suck you in, all right; I seriously resent bad/sensationalist science writers, which is almost all of them.