# What is the appeal of Soylent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228 "2015-02-09T15:55:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/21 "2015-02-11T18:10:00Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > It is also manufactured under conditions that are not proven to be hygenic. Boy, do I have bad news for you about these things called “farms.” ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/22 "2015-02-11T18:10:44Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > All the extravagant claims surrounding it. It is a somewhat nutritious paste designed by a man with no background in biology or nutrition. It is also manufactured under conditions that are not proven to be hygenic. Once we move beyond "this is somewhat better than you starving yourself or eating a diet of bacon grease on whitebread sandwiches,’ everything is hyperbole (to be charitable). The claims, as far as I can read, is that it gives you nutrients. Is that what you mean? It may be manufactured in the worst. most un-hygienic conditions ever, for all I know, but that wouldn’t make it more or less of a scam, would it? Whether it does what it claims it does or not would. So. Which are the specific claims you believe to be untruthful, to make it a scam? ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/23 "2015-02-11T18:12:35Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > There is also a set of people who (like me) enjoy food, but not having to eat it twice a day, every goddamn day of my life. Like almost everything else in life, food is more enjoyable after a suitable absence. But I do still need nutrition to live. A food which I can consume quickly and with a neutral flavor would make “real” meals all the better. This describes me. I love premium food, such as holiday home-cooked spreads, or nice restaurants, but if I had them for every single meal I would be extremely fat and unhealthy. Most other types of food don’t have enough pleasure or flavor to me to be worth the effort. Note, I am quite able to cook and prepare kick-ass top-shelf tasty meals myself, but I get zero pleasure from the shop/store/prep/cook phases. Those phases greatly diminish the reward of the final meal, nearly to the point of genuine resentment toward the final meal. It is a chore. Soylent fits that nice niche that water does. It quenches a survival urge in a simple easy manner, with no labor expended toward worrying about nutritional value, side effects, preparation, etc. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/24 "2015-02-11T18:12:42Z")
How is it “prepared” (at home by the consumer) and would it be suitable for sending to famine-stricken crisis areas, like PlumpyNut? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/25 "2015-02-11T18:13:26Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > Boy, do I have bad news for you about these things called “farms.” You’re so cute when you think you’re being clever. Meat and produce from farms receive extra processing from the consumer in the forms of washing and cooking. One of the primary marketing points for Soylent is that those steps are eliminated. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/26 "2015-02-11T18:15:04Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > The claims, as far as I can read, is that it gives you nutrients. Is that what you mean? It may be manufactured in the worst. most un-hygienic conditions ever, for all I know, but that wouldn’t make it more or less of a scam, would it? Whether it does what it claims it does or not would. > > So. Which are the specific claims you believe to be untruthful, to make it a scam? Before I answer any more of your questions, you answer one of mine. Why are you so defensive of this product? ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/27 "2015-02-11T18:23:01Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Before I answer any more of your questions, you answer one of mine. Why are you so defensive of this product? I’m not. At all. Not even interested in trying it. What does interest me is the vitriol it causes, like it’s sheer existence is going to make “real” food disappear forever. That is quite astonishing. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/28 "2015-02-11T18:43:35Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > So, it’s the precursor to food pills, eh? You can get all your micronutriets–vitamins and minerals and such–in a pill. But you can’t get your fiber or macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, lipids) that way. You have to have bulk protein and calories, it can be dried into pellets but once you’ve wrung all the water and air bubbles out of it you still have a large brick of material. So yes food bars or food bricks or food paste or food slurry, but no food pills. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/29 "2015-02-11T18:45:30Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > The claims, as far as I can read, is that it gives you nutrients. Is that what you mean? It may be manufactured in the worst. most un-hygienic conditions ever, for all I know, but that wouldn’t make it more or less of a scam, would it? Whether it does what it claims it does or not would. > > So. Which are the specific claims you believe to be untruthful, to make it a scam? Their website is quoted upthread. They are claiming it is wholesome. Wholesome isn’t associated with production under unhygenic circumstances for a powdered product that is simply mixed with water and consumed. They aren’t claiming just that it provide nutrients. They are claiming this product provides “all the essential nutrients required to fuel the human body.” That is rather an extravagant claim for a product designed by a guy with no background in nutrition or health. One of **Tuxie’s** links indicates that the product has already caused the designer himself health issues due to iron and sulfur deficiencies. The stuff is a scam just like all the supplements and powders on the shelves at GNC that promise weight loss/muscle growth/prolonged youth. The owner seems to have bought into his own scam. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/30 "2015-02-11T19:16:28Z")
The question I want answered is why they have a wait time of _4-5 months_ on first-time orders. Having that long of a wait is a major disincentive for a prospective customer, and if their demand is so high that it takes them that long to fill an order, then they really ought to be raking in enough capital with which to upgrade their production facilities. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/31 "2015-02-11T19:27:07Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Soylent fits that nice niche that water does. It quenches a survival urge in a simple easy manner, with no labor expended toward worrying about nutritional value, side effects, preparation, etc. That’s ultimately what the goal is; something that some person who basically doesn’t have time to eat, and doesn’t enjoy eating can drink really fast and get back to whatever they were doing, and do that indefinitely without any nutritional deficiencies or caloric deficiencies. It’s not just a meal replacement shake; it’s intended to be a food replacement over the long term- as in, you live off of Soylent, and you get everything you need without having to shop, prepare or spend much time concerned with food. Kind of like Bachelor Chow, but in a shake form. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/32 "2015-02-11T19:50:49Z")
Yup, that’s the appeal. It’s Bachelor Chow. Will it last? No, it’s a flash in the pan, but for now it’s making money so they’re making money while the sun shines. The company’s owners probably know it’ll be dead in a few years but they’re pocketing the dough in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/33 "2015-02-11T20:33:35Z")
There are a bunch of [make your own soylent](http://diy.soylent.me/recipes) recipes out there for people who don’t want to wait 4 or 5 months or are concerned about the factory. I haven’t tried to make it yet, but I kind of like the idea for those days where you just don’t want to think about food. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/34 "2015-02-11T21:09:38Z")
I assume you can add some cocoa powder to make it taste better… ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/35 "2015-02-11T21:32:33Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > There are a bunch of [make your own soylent](http://diy.soylent.me/recipes) recipes out there for people who don’t want to wait 4 or 5 months or are concerned about the factory. > > I haven’t tried to make it yet, but I kind of like the idea for those days where you just don’t want to think about food. Yup, from the website you can find the Soylent wiki and find a recipe: [http://diy.soylent.me/wiki/example-recipe](http://diy.soylent.me/wiki/example-recipe) It even has suggestions for flavoring. With flavor extracts, of course. I don’t know where one would buy maltodextrin, dextrin, cellulose, lecithin, potassium gluconate, magnesium gluconate, calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate though. Any ideas? ETA: > [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I assume you can add some cocoa powder to make it taste better… Yes, cocoa powder is explicitly mentioned at the bottom of the page. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/36 "2015-02-11T21:57:41Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I don’t know where one would buy maltodextrin, dextrin, cellulose, lecithin, potassium gluconate, magnesium gluconate, calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate though. Any ideas? All that stuff is available in bulk from online sources like Amazon or eBay. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/37 "2015-02-11T22:06:49Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > All the extravagant claims surrounding it. It is a somewhat nutritious paste designed by a man with no background in biology or nutrition. It is also manufactured under conditions that are not proven to be hygenic. Do you have any evidence that it is manufactured under conditions less hygenic than, say, the bulk food bins at a supermarket? You know, the ones where kids grab handfuls of granola with their grubby maws? Mixing dry powder just doesn’t have the same cleanliness requirements as other food manufacturing like canning or brewing. You just mix it and make sure you don’t get too many [insect parts](http://www.fda.gov/food/guidanceregulation/guidancedocumentsregulatoryinformation/sanitationtransportation/ucm056174.htm#CHPT3) in it. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/38 "2015-02-11T22:07:52Z")
My personal observation is that we’ve been whipped into such a state of anxiety about our food sources that it can become overwhelmingly stressful to a lot of people. We need to know if our food is organic, non-GMO, gluten free, humane, grass fed, hormone free, vegan, sustainable, toxin free, Omega-3 rich, anti-oxidant containing and comes in non-BPA cans. There’s a persistent nagging fear that your diet is not optimal in some way. Soylent shifts the burden of responsibility off of your shoulders by ostensibly providing a scientifically backed, specially designed diet that cuts through the paradox of choice. Regardless of whether it lives up to it’s claims or not, if you can convince yourself that it does, it removes the guilt from your brain and that itself is worth money. Even the packaging reinforces that notion with the nutritional information containing a neat line of 33%s of your RDA for every single imaginable nutrient per serving. That’s why I think Soylent has been extraordinarily successful from a marketing perspective while remaining so controversial. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/39 "2015-02-11T22:29:03Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Do you have any evidence that it is manufactured under conditions less hygenic than, say, the bulk food bins at a supermarket? You know, the ones where kids grab handfuls of granola with their grubby maws? > > Mixing dry powder just doesn’t have the same cleanliness requirements as other food manufacturing like canning or brewing. You just mix it and make sure you don’t get too many [insect parts](http://www.fda.gov/food/guidanceregulation/guidancedocumentsregulatoryinformation/sanitationtransportation/ucm056174.htm#CHPT3) in it. Right now, I have more questions about the stuff than I do answers. Nothing I’ve read makes it sound one whit different from the various nutrient powders that have been scamming people from the pages of body building magazines for decades. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is one of them purchased in bulk, labelled as Soylent, and resold. You trust Scammy McScammerson? Buy his sludge and drink up. His level of honesty WRT this stuff is such that cleanliness is the least concern. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228/40 "2015-02-11T22:42:39Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > It’s made from people? > [@cochrane](#): > > It varies from person to person. > [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > … > > The question I would like to understand is, why is its very existence so offensive to so many people? Perhaps because the name is associated with something that’s made from people? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-appeal-of-soylent/712228.md?page=3)