I was just wondering what the nexus thinks about Soylent and the other liquid foods which are circulating from a few years.
I'm referring to their health impacts principally, since I'm pretty sure everyone agree with the fact that they're not the most tasteful and social way to feed ourselves.

Personally I've tried joylent for a few days and I felt perfectly fine.

I have never read any studies on the effects of these drinks so what I say is purely a (hopefully) informed opinion:

I dont doubt that you can have some sort of 'standardized' drink with many nutrients that will take care of most of the basic nutritional necessities... Yet I doubt that you can have any single food product that can really completely fulfill the necessities because nutrition is not only an additive science, but it relates to interaction of different nutrients and how they affect each other's absorptions. (Here's one source for example )

I would like to know how do they take this in account, as well as potential anti-nutrient content which are a part of some food products that may be included in their formulation.

I think its probably fine to consume these things as a temporary substitute in times of hurry or what not, but I would definitely not do it long term, specially before knowing what I mentioned above.

Lastly, as you yourself mentioned, food is not just about nutrients, but also about the social interaction and bonding, as well as the pleasure that different foods give.

How about you, whats your take on it?

Before reading your link I was completely enthusiastic about such food replacements. But what's written in the article makes perfectly sense in my opinion.

Well, I'm nor an opponent actually.

The main point is simply that the user will still have some deficiencies, but I think anyone would agree that every diet carries at least some minor defieciences.
We should also calculate how (for an exemple) the iron absorption is effectively diminuished by the amount of zinc and copper we can find in a portion. Maybe it's significative, but maybe not.

So my opinion is that they're an efficient, cheap and pretty (not completely) good feed-way. I hardly doubt it can give any problem, both short term and long term. There are many users which have been using it for months without any bad result. Nonetheless, they even claim their life has improved overall, but I think it's for the most part a placebo or the result of the joy such an eccentricity can give.

I've had a 1 week of food per month subscription to soylent for ~9 months. It certainly feels healthy compared to normal food. I'm not a big fan of the liquid soylent, so I use the powder as a substitute for flour in cookies (almond/hemp/coconut/vanilla/stevia). It works pretty well and is very efficient for basic sustenance. I stay full for longer and never have a food coma after eating. I eat it for roughly 40% of my meals. I think it would be better if they offered a version without the bulk nutrients so that the vitamin mix could be added to other foods or different bulk nutrients (hemp seed, for example).

That's a nice recipe.

I don't know exactly how soylent is manufactured, but I'm pretty sure that they don't add every single compound, they start from mixture which could have different amounts of different vitamines and macros.
I think this is one of the major reasons why they don't send all divided.

I guess "scientifically formulated" foods might help people, especially those who live a hectic urban lifestyle, eat a more complete diet... but one has to be wary of the fact that the act of chewing textured food is important for our brain health.

https://www.ted.com/talks/sandri...w/transcript?language=en

as a limited niche food for survival type missions, i can see it.

as for the general public,
i see it as fit for cattle and slaves.

agri biz would love it if we all ate " people chow".
profits would soar, and it would be excellent.
(for political manipulation of the proles...........)

when its produced, it could be cheapened, modified, or adjusted,
by robotics, or slaves or prison labor,
with the guidance of the worst possible corporate filth, under the guise of health ,
with the ingredients kept secret, for patent rights, trade agreements and national security.

combined with leaded water and the usual dirty tricks associated with gov-aculture/subsidies,
its a recipe for big profits thru GMO chow genoicide.
convienient in an age of the rise of industrial robots indeed!

and, you better believe rich white people aint gonna eat it.
and you can bet they would profit off you eating it while laughing.
the last 40 yrs of govt , should convince anyone theres no love on food safety for the poor.
nutrition of the lower classes, is a joke at best.....
im banking they get it with food stamps first!
thank gawd we dont have to pay for their health care as a result.

essentially, this stuff is one notch from weaponized food.
it could clear out urban areas over a generation or 2 for gentrification, with ease.
the upside, billions in land grab profits, in a collapsing economy for the .1%........
id suggest its almost irresistable.
if i didnt have one shred of morality left, id invest totally.

im in the " real food or fight" camp on this one.

I see your point Anne, and it does sound pretty dystopian...

The unfortunate thing is that at least in the US, poor people are actually fed worse stuff than any of this "people chow". In countries with better food regulation, much of the junk in a typical American supermarket wouldn't be allowed as feed for livestock, let alone food.

If the question is whether people eat fake food made of chemically altered components of maize, soy and mineral oil that are made to look and taste something like real food, with zero nutrient content, toxins and a bucketload of calories, or something that was at least scientifically formulated to provide full nutrition, the first sounds far worse.

It's not that you aren't right, it's just that the war is already lost. Looking at all the diseased, obese American urban poor, teenage girls and boys with heart problems, elevated cholesterol and type II diabetes, and people in the prime of their lives riding around on little electric scooters because they cannot walk any distance to speak of, I'm afraid your vision is the past, not the future.

never too late to grow real food for people.

annies never gonna lay down arms and eat people chow.
never gonna ask the poor to do it either.

its a logistics question.
and better logistics can be achieved.
to accept people chow, is to accept defeat.

best bet is to decentralize agri biz , not surrender.