Soylent is being talked about more and more, particularly in the tech world. The New York Times wrote about engineers who are ditching lunch so they can get more work in…
Boom times in Silicon Valley call for hard work, and hard work — at least in technology land — means that coders, engineers and venture capitalists are turning to liquid meals with names like Schmoylent, Soylent, Schmilk and People Chow. The protein-packed products that come in powder form are inexpensive and quick and easy to make — just shake with water, or in the case of Schmilk, milk. While athletes and dieters have been drinking their dinner for years, Silicon Valley’s workers are now increasingly chugging their meals, too, so they can more quickly get back to their computer work.
This is just the kind of ridiculous attitude about something that comes from Silicon Valley. Hustle. Grind. Drink lunch at your desk so you can keep on working. Give me a break.
I find soylent incredibly interesting, but not so I can spend more time at my desk working. Something more like this:
The best meals to replace with Soylent are the meals you aren’t excited about. I’m talking about boring sandwiches, generic lunches near the office, hasty breakfasts, or even “I just need to eat something” dinners. Those aren’t fun eating experiences. They don’t bring delight to your life. They probably cost more than they should, waste time, and are often unhealthy. If you are on a diet, these are the meals where you are likely to cheat and then regret it.
I often don’t eat breakfast or I eat crap for lunch because I don’t have the time, energy, or materials to make something proper and decent for me. I see Soylent as a good solution to that. It’s an easily made and balanced meal to replace all that junk.
I also like that I don’t have to worry about the conditions soylent ingredients were raised in. Unlike the bacon and eggs I had for breakfast or the burger I’m having for lunch, the ingredients to soylent don’t require massive slaughterhouses.
I don’t want to stop eating food I enjoy. I can still go out to dinner with family and friends. Or I can have the occasional bacon and eggs in the morning. I just want to replace some of the crap I waste time on with something healthier and easy to make. I think Soylent provides that.