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How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

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181–190 of 297 posts

Re: How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

#181
post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a difference between "meat", and grain-fed, antibiotic treated cow meat. And last time I made bread, it didn't magically develop high fructose corn syrup or ammonium chloride, and yet, somehow it appears in the "bread" of a McDonalds hamburger. It goes without saying that the condiments are more or less by definition artificial processed foods. And let's not even get into the amount of sodium in this thing. Y…

I can't tell if this is just hyperbole or if you actually believe what you're saying.

Proposing counter arguments is considered to be an effective way of reconciling two differing beliefs, as opposed to simply questioning my sincerity. I would be more than happy to know the factual inaccuracies I have stated, and to change my position accordingly.

Re: How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

#182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are also those of us that derive no joy from eating. Eating is an inconvenience to me. I have zero sweet tooth, and I don't have many cravings for specific foods. I'd rather be doing any number of other things, like reading, working out, yard/car work, calling up family, etc. I work for myself (and work reasonable hours). Of course, all of this anecdotal, but the point is that this isn't a dystopia scenario for…

I accept that fact that some people like yourself find a product such as Soylent to be convenient, and I am in no position to criticize such personal choices. But there are lots of existing products on the market, that have been available for quite some time now, everything from nutrition shakes to complete food replacements for people with chronic diseases (Crohn's, IBS, etc...), and Soylent seems to be more of the…

I broke my jaw twice and had to subsist on this stuff for 2 months at a time. It just plain sucks, and after 2 months of not chewing your teeth feel soft, and everything hurts when you do (eventually) chew. Also lost weight really quickly, went from 183 to 127 in 2 months.

Re: How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

#183

The angry comments in every solyent article are pretty silly imho. You are under no obligation to use it. Those that do are still permitted to dine with family. :/ Any bugs will get worked out over time. These days I usually make a smoothie for a quick breakfast... perhaps some unsweetened almond milk, protein/vitamin powder, ground flax seed, a bit of fruit/veggies, sometimes even a healthy oil. The concept is not t…

> Any bugs will get worked out over time.

Meanwhile, they'll still market it as optimized nutrition to put you in perfect shape and fine for everyone even if they have allergies etc etc.

Re: How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

#184
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its funny because we already live in this dystopia and you simply don't notice it because the plastic food we eat "looks real" and "tastes good". What is the difference between the completely artificial hamburger people get at McDonalds and Soylent? The fact that its basically "molded" to look like the real food we used to eat? The reality is that we long ago crossed the line into having a society that mostly eats ab…

Ah yes...the "McDonald's is bad, so let's feed people glop instead" argument. How about this: let's help people get access to, appreciate, and learn how to prepare "real" food, instead of jumping to the lowest common denominator. That's what I'd call "disruption".

Except the "glop", as you put it, is nutritionally healthy and McDonalds is not.

Re: How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

#185
post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its funny because we already live in this dystopia and you simply don't notice it because the plastic food we eat "looks real" and "tastes good". What is the difference between the completely artificial hamburger people get at McDonalds and Soylent? The fact that its basically "molded" to look like the real food we used to eat? The reality is that we long ago crossed the line into having a society that mostly eats ab…

> What is the difference between the completely artificial hamburger people get at McDonalds and Soylent? No one tells you that you can live on McDonald's alone.

Sure you can.

Dan Gorske has lived on almost nothing but Big Macs since 1972. At age 59, he is apparently still in good health.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Gorske

Re: How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

#186
post #69

Soylent might, technically, work. It might be safe and healthy, it definitely looks simple and allows you to forget anything related to grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up afterwards. But thinking about the prospect of the future makes me sick to my stomach. Soylent paints a disgustingly frightening dystopia where humans are fed 100% "correct" food to allow them to continue being cogs in the business machine, n…

There are also those of us that derive no joy from eating. Eating is an inconvenience to me. I have zero sweet tooth, and I don't have many cravings for specific foods. I'd rather be doing any number of other things, like reading, working out, yard/car work, calling up family, etc. I work for myself (and work reasonable hours). Of course, all of this anecdotal, but the point is that this isn't a dystopia scenario for…

With all due respect, deriving no joy from eating sounds like an eating disorder of some kind. It's like a basic part of you is not functioning.

Re: How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

#187
post #13

It's unfortunate for Soylent to end up in such a situation given how easily it could have been prevented. For me however it does not discount the product in the least, and I would expect a rethinking of the production process to be posted soon in response.

> For me however it does not discount the product in the least You can get better products from reputable companies. Or you can buy this gloop, from a bunch of people who clearly have little clue about what they're doing.

Plus, at least one of those products is available a block away from me at the supermarket.

Re: How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

#188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its funny because we already live in this dystopia and you simply don't notice it because the plastic food we eat "looks real" and "tastes good". What is the difference between the completely artificial hamburger people get at McDonalds and Soylent? The fact that its basically "molded" to look like the real food we used to eat? The reality is that we long ago crossed the line into having a society that mostly eats ab…

> let's tell everyone carbohydrates are the most important staple to eat and let's put corn and sugar in everything Seems to be conflating two parties here. The USDA guidelines are written by government nutritionists and there are sound scientific reasons for recommending the base of any diet be grains. Though being a free country, whether or not the private sector decides to put corn syrup in everything is their own…

I would not trust the government's nutritional guidelines. Scroll down to "Monsanto Hijacks Regulators".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/fda-promotes-uns...

Re: How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

#189
post #134
post #69

Soylent might, technically, work. It might be safe and healthy, it definitely looks simple and allows you to forget anything related to grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up afterwards. But thinking about the prospect of the future makes me sick to my stomach. Soylent paints a disgustingly frightening dystopia where humans are fed 100% "correct" food to allow them to continue being cogs in the business machine, n…

The Soylent guy keep mentioning that current food system will not scale, but gives no evidence that his system will. It appears to be very wasteful to grow or synthesize each components in their original form, separate them and then finally mix them, compared to naturally occurring food.

Current agricultural practices are highly unsustainable. We are mere decades to depleting all groundwater aquifers in North America. Fertilizer pollutes most waterways. Pesticides are seeping into most groundwater in the central US. And you think we should scale our processes larger? Insanity.

Re: How I Ate No Food for 30 Days

#190
post #69

Soylent might, technically, work. It might be safe and healthy, it definitely looks simple and allows you to forget anything related to grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up afterwards. But thinking about the prospect of the future makes me sick to my stomach. Soylent paints a disgustingly frightening dystopia where humans are fed 100% "correct" food to allow them to continue being cogs in the business machine, n…

Not to worry, the last two paragraphs explain why it won't take over the world: " I was euphoric. I felt the endorphins rushing through my body, the gob of chicken skin wandering down my esophagus, the juices staining my chin. Rob, who'd joined us, led a conversation about the food technology; the chicken was sublime. Before long, I might as well have been stoned. For a half an hour, I sat there, overwhelmed, unaware…

This is how food is supposed to make you feel. It's as basic and primal as sex. Soylent is like a culinary celibacy, apparently without any sort of spiritual edification.
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