Your days of slaving over a kitchen stove and food shopping may be over thanks to a beverage called Soylent. The nutrient packed powder was created by 24-year-old Rob Rhinehart, a software developer, who decided that he wanted to make people's lives a lot easier by never having to eat, clean up, or go to the supermarket again. You see, Soylent is supposed to replace all your meals without the messy cleanup or effort to make it in the first place. It EVEN helps you lose weight and gives you energy!
I guess you can say that if this is the wave of the future, then you'll be drinking your favorite meal (or something like it) instead of eating it very soon. If you're like me and think this is a bit strange, then you'd be surprised to know that Rhinehart ALREADY has over $410,000 raised in his campaign to mass produce Soylent. So… will it be available to the rest of us?
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Rhinehart believes that Soylent is the future of food and says after experimenting and research, created a meal complete with all the nutrients humans need to survive. He was inspired by his poor neighborhood where he saw people struggling to eat healthfully and wanted to create a way for them to eat better. He was inspired by the 1970's film Soylent Green, in which a cheap Soylent based food is made out of soy and lentils to feed the growing population of people in the world.
Rhinehart's invention's campaign already has over 3,400 backers who helped raise more than $400,000, plus the 1,000 backers who have paid over $230 for a month supply of his futuristic stuff. But medical professionals who aren't crazy about the idea point out that Rhinehart doesn't have a medical background, and he's only tested it on himself.
Tracy Anthony, an Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Rutgers University, is against the formula and says that other health issues can derive from trying to live off of this beverage. It is also missing flavor and variety, therefore an easy trap to become bored with the meal replacement. Rhinehart remains adamant that his product is the future of food and says that his company is planning on hiring experienced nutritionists to improve the formula.
I'm all for trying new foods, but Soylent makes me feel apprehensive. I get that everyone is trying to find the next big shortcut to eating, exercise, and whatnot, but this could be dangerous to a person's health if they don't know what they're putting into their body. And as stated before, Rhinehart isn't a health professional either which also makes me feel less inclined to try it out. I'd say we should all just stick to eating as naturally as we can and avoid this product for now–even if it is the "future of food."
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