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Due to the bizzare 'soyboy' meme, I was made aware of the existence of soylent. Thanks for turning me onto this, alt-right! (thelemmy.club)
submitted 7 months ago* by to c/soylent@suppo.fi
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[–] 20 points 7 months ago (18 children)

imo, it's disgusting, hugely overpriced and dystopian as hell... they even named it after soylent green ffs.

beans and rice is cheaper, tastier, healthier and can be made in a microwave in less than 20 mins!

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  • [–] 7 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    Okay, but you have to be near a microwave for that.

    I worked delivery for a long time and that meant 8-9-10 hour days in a truck all over back countries no where near drive thru, much less vegan friendly places . Soylent was a lifeline for me, caffeine, protein, doesn't need refrigeration. Haven't had Soylent in years but it was a lifeline in those days.

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  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    I get it, but my position is that we shouldn't be working as much as we are, we should have more free time to actually enjoy food, one of the simple pleasures in life. We need to admit this shit is dystopian and actually work on changing our world so we have more time for ourselves.

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  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago

    Some people don't get the same enjoyment out of eating than others. I'm honestly considering just starting to replace lunch with one of these meal replacements because I often find deciding on and making/eating food to be very draining sometimes.

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  • [–] 7 points 7 months ago (13 children)

    I can down a soylent easily in 3 minutes, or less than 30 seconds if I'm in a rush. And each one is about the same price id be spending on other food for my lunch at work anyways. And you can get them for like 20% off if you buy in bulk.

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  • [–] 12 points 7 months ago (12 children)

    the thing is, this kinda leans into the "grindset" mentality. eating food is an important human activity which has been vital for building social cohesion and culture going back all the way to the paleolithic era, it deserves some time and love dedicated to it, IMO.

    soylent/huel are like the AI art of food. soulless, bland, slop.

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  • [–] 5 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    I have ADHD and hate even online shopping. Before I used soylent, I absolutely hated having to think about making sure I get enough of this or that, it took my enjoyment out of shopping and food in general, I ended up malnourished and feeling like garbage all the time because I didn't have the energy to prepare food.

    Using soylent I can be sure I have my bases covered nutritionally and then shop for things that I actually want to make/eat. I can actually make food because I want to, not just because I have to. It's made grocery shopping more fun for me and kept me from feeling malnourished. Obviously it's not a replacement for ALL food especially in social settings, but it's good for the filler episodes of dining.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago* (1 child)

    I also have ADHD, and I also hate shopping, even online shopping, so I am totally sympathetic to your position. What I believe is that there should be publicly funded communal diners located within walking distance of all residential neighborhoods where people can get a nutritious, tasty, handmade meal at low or no cost, so that we can feed everyone regardless of health issues and disability, encourage social cohesion and build back towards having a less individualistic society. This is something we used to have, they were called automats, but most of them got converted into restaurants so they could maximize profits rather than providing an important third space and nutrition to their communities.

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago

    bro, it is calories. It isn't leaning into the grindset mentality when I can have a default that solves the constantly reoccurring hunger problem without overthinking it and without an annoying level of effort. This stuff is actually made of rice and beans already, just in flour form or at least the Dutch version I purchase is: queal.com. Why is your 20mins of prep/cooking, every meal, plus dishes, for a meal I am going to eat by myself better?

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (7 children)

    Unfortunately most of us live in a society where we're beholden to predetermined schedule. I don't mean that in a snarky way. If I didn't have a job, I'd eat two meals a day at 10am and 8pm. That's when I naturally get hungry.

    But I start work at 7 and even though I'm not hungry in the morning, I have to eat out of necessity. I don't drink this stuff but boy do I see the appeal. The last thing I want to do when I'm half awake is cook a meal

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (6 children)

    I totally understand it, and I get the appeal, but we should be honest with ourselves and admit that it's fucking dystopian. The product itself tastes terrible and it just further deepens the problem, if we all start using this product then the bosses can cut our lunch breaks even shorter.

    The real solution to the problem you've identified is labor organizing, and I'd encourage you to consider unionizing - check out the IWW, it has great resources.

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  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago (5 children)

    First let me say that I agree that society is becoming more dystopian every day. BUT I don't think some people enjoying not having to think about nutrition a sign of it.

    From what I can tell, I'm the outlier. Everyone I've ever lived with wakes up and is hungry for breakfast. People love eating in the morning so much it's become it's own cuisine.

    I also don't think it's dystopian for society to have standardized working hours. For most collaborative professions, it's way easier to get stuff done when you're working at the same time as your coworkers.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (4 children)

    Eating food has historically been a communal activity where people get together, share a meal, talk about their troubles, have a laugh and a good time together. Our society is so individualistic and obsessed with maximizing productivity at the cost of everything else, so many of us now eat alone -- but this is a very modern development.

    Even as recently as the 1970s there were automats in many communities - communal diners where working class people went to eat a very cheap meal and would hang out with other workers - they were social venues (third spaces) as well as serving to fill the role of nutrition.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    The choice isn't between eating with people or not. It's between cooking food I'm not really craving or eating something quick. I wouldn't be eating breakfast with anyone at any point in history - either because I live alone or because I'd eat when I naturally got hungry which isn't the same time as everyone else

    My atypical apetite is a result of biology, not society. My point is that the existence of a product that caters to people like me isn't dystopian in itself

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago* (2 children)

    I understand your point, what I am saying is that everyone should be able to walk to their nearest communal diner, any time of the day, and get a quick meal either for free or for very cheap, and either take that away with them or stay at the diner and eat with your neighbors. That's how food was consumed historically, a few members of the society would cook food for the others and share it communally. The fact that there is a market for this product is a sign that our society is deeply broken, because I'm sure if it came down to picking between a tasty homemade meal cooked by someone else and provided very cheaply, or buying some yucky expensive slop in a bottle/powder, you'd go for the meal, right?

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (1 child)

    Well no that's what I'm saying, I wouldn't go out of my way for the meal. Even if I didn't have a job. Getting my morning nutrition is a burden and on the weekend I get annoyed when I have to stop doing what I'm doing to make/get food

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago

    Fair enough, but I have to say, I think you'd be part of a very small minority, I'm autistic and I have a lot of sensory issues around food and despite all of that I still feel like eating a meal is one of life's few simple pleasures, but I understand, because I'm not really interested in sex, despite being in a small minority who feel that way. Look at the way that meal replacement products are marketed, it's very much targeting people who want to maximize productivity so they can spend more time working in front of their laptops. It's a fundamentally dystopian product, and I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree on that

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