A California entrepreneur is preparing to ship a product designed to replace meals for people who have neither the time nor the inclination to cook real food. Soylent, says its inventor, comes as a powder to be mixed with water to form a slurry, and its inventor says it provides all the nutrition people need.
Nutrition experts aren鈥檛 convinced, but apart from that, there鈥檚 something distinctly unappetizing about deconstructing a daily diet and reproducing it as bland sludge.
Software engineer Rob Rhinehart came up with the formula for Soylent because he wanted to refuel without the bother and expense of cooking. 鈥淚 just thought, what if you could get the same effect [as food] with something that is very simple and very easy,鈥� he said.
The name he borrowed from a 1966 science-fiction novel called Make Room! Make Room! that was made into a movie called Soylent Green. The story is set in the future when the burgeoning world population has begun to outstrip its resources and most people 鈥� other than the very rich 鈥� live on a food substitute called Soylent.
It鈥檚 a grim tale that is not likely to enhance the product鈥檚 appeal, something that would be difficult in any case, given that Rhinehart鈥檚 Soylent is made from powdered starch, rice protein, olive oil and raw chemical powders, hardly the ingredients of gastronomic delight.
Analysis shows Soylent lacks some essential nutrients, and continued use could cause medical problems.
If that happens, don鈥檛 worry 鈥� we recommend as treatment a meal of wild Pacific salmon, served with steamed Vancouver Island vegetables, followed by a cobbler made from sa国际传媒 apples.
