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Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

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Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#51
post #26

Man, this is a bummer. As much as I hate the concept of Soylent as food, I see it as the only way to scale food production for the growing population, without killing our planet. The other options are still in the labs. Artificial tissues for instance. Vertical farming is one alternative, but that is again fraught with massive energy consumption. I hope Soylent gets to solve this.

It's a fair concern, though many people forget that reducing food wastage is a great way to scale too: Roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, which amounts to about 1.3 billion tons per year. http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/mb060e/mb060e00.htm

At Infinite Food we are working to offer a broader, home kitchen-like degree of choice in personalized hot meal preparation, but using technology to reduce waste in areas like transport, processing and storage through features such as seasonal ingredient discounts, shared transport infrastructure, electronic monitoring, personalized servings and discounts on reduced packaging/cutlery/napkins. http://8-food.com/

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#52
post #44

A well cooked meal and wine - my greatest joys in life. Simple, romantic and fulfilling. Add butter. Add cream. A beautiful pan sauce from a well timed reduction. A cool glass of white wine in the hot kitchen as all the flavors come together. The scent of fresh cut shallots still lingering as the garlic in the pan sweats. I don't judge anyone for making food and drink a footnote in their life. I enjoy cooking as much…

Soylent is like birth control for food: it lets you choose whether food is going to be for pleasure or for sustenance. I eat it often because it's healthy, quick, and I actually enjoy it. That said, I also very much enjoy food with family and friends. They're too completely different things though, but previously we had to use the same tools for both needs.

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#53
post #31

I'm really amazed by all the supporters on here. When I first heard about Soylent, I thought it was a terrible terrible idea. I mean, there's so much to food. It's not just eating it, it's all the flavours and ingredients and cooking with friends and loved ones and parties and such. I'm guessing most people on here use it as a supplement + regular food, but when I saw it originally, it seemed like it was intended to…

Rhinehart asserted from the start that Soylent was meant to replace shitty meals like the Big Mac consumed at your desk alone. There was and still is a lot of misunderstanding about this. One of his interviews took place at some LA hipster fried chicken place. He's not antifood or antisocial.

Really? When Soylent was first announced, I'm pretty sure I read something where Rhinehart was positioning Soylent as the primary source of meals, with the occasional real meal thrown in as a luxury.

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#54
post #53
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rhinehart asserted from the start that Soylent was meant to replace shitty meals like the Big Mac consumed at your desk alone. There was and still is a lot of misunderstanding about this. One of his interviews took place at some LA hipster fried chicken place. He's not antifood or antisocial.

Really? When Soylent was first announced, I'm pretty sure I read something where Rhinehart was positioning Soylent as the primary source of meals, with the occasional real meal thrown in as a luxury.

Can't both be true for different people?

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#55
post #44

A well cooked meal and wine - my greatest joys in life. Simple, romantic and fulfilling. Add butter. Add cream. A beautiful pan sauce from a well timed reduction. A cool glass of white wine in the hot kitchen as all the flavors come together. The scent of fresh cut shallots still lingering as the garlic in the pan sweats. I don't judge anyone for making food and drink a footnote in their life. I enjoy cooking as much…

Soylent is like birth control for food: it lets you choose whether food is going to be for pleasure or for sustenance. I eat it often because it's healthy, quick, and I actually enjoy it. That said, I also very much enjoy food with family and friends. They're too completely different things though, but previously we had to use the same tools for both needs.

Isn't this why we invented the "sandwich"?

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#56
post #44

A well cooked meal and wine - my greatest joys in life. Simple, romantic and fulfilling. Add butter. Add cream. A beautiful pan sauce from a well timed reduction. A cool glass of white wine in the hot kitchen as all the flavors come together. The scent of fresh cut shallots still lingering as the garlic in the pan sweats. I don't judge anyone for making food and drink a footnote in their life. I enjoy cooking as much…

As someone with a herb allergy, I cook basically every single meal I eat. It gets old quickly.

Take away is almost a non option bar the maccas cheeseburger.

Soylent is one of the most freeing things for me. It means I don't need to worry about my next meal, and I can just gulp down an tasty drink.

Sure I love a well cooked steak, but sometimes you need a break from cooking.

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#57
The name "soylent" comes from Soylent Green, a 1973 sci fi film about overpopulation, where people survive by eating mass-produced plankton, which later turns out to be made out of old people.

Naming a product "soylent" has always struck me as borderline sociopath. In this light, the company’s slogan "healthy, convenient, affordable food" is an outright mockery of its costumers.

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#58
post #44

A well cooked meal and wine - my greatest joys in life. Simple, romantic and fulfilling. Add butter. Add cream. A beautiful pan sauce from a well timed reduction. A cool glass of white wine in the hot kitchen as all the flavors come together. The scent of fresh cut shallots still lingering as the garlic in the pan sweats. I don't judge anyone for making food and drink a footnote in their life. I enjoy cooking as much…

"Deconstructed essence of cuisine"?

I couldn't agree more. Food is one of the most accessible luxuries. The most expensive meals, with fine wine, cost less than most business class tickets (to wherever). On the other hand, a soft cooked egg on a piece of toasted bread after a workout can be just as delicious and costs pennies, available to all.

Next they're going to tell us they've found a way to eliminate that pesky sexual reproduction that's been plaguing us...

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#59
post #44

A well cooked meal and wine - my greatest joys in life. Simple, romantic and fulfilling. Add butter. Add cream. A beautiful pan sauce from a well timed reduction. A cool glass of white wine in the hot kitchen as all the flavors come together. The scent of fresh cut shallots still lingering as the garlic in the pan sweats. I don't judge anyone for making food and drink a footnote in their life. I enjoy cooking as much…

[deleted]

Re: Soylent halts sales of its powder as customers keep getting sick

#60
post #44

A well cooked meal and wine - my greatest joys in life. Simple, romantic and fulfilling. Add butter. Add cream. A beautiful pan sauce from a well timed reduction. A cool glass of white wine in the hot kitchen as all the flavors come together. The scent of fresh cut shallots still lingering as the garlic in the pan sweats. I don't judge anyone for making food and drink a footnote in their life. I enjoy cooking as much…

> A beautiful pan sauce from a well timed reduction.

Well timed reduction? Sorry, don't know what that means, please explain?

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