What if?

Now I was skeptical when I first heard about Soylent. I read the blog awhile ago intrigued more about someone who decided to use their own body as an experiment, since he was so “tired” of having to fill himself with food.

Having interviewed ice cream shops across the world, I have learned and confirmed that food brings people together. Everyone eats. I had wondered how life would be like if food was just a secondary need…or even the bottom need. That hunger didn’t exist. Would we be robots? Would we even be human? Could I even be that person?

And why would they ever name a product Soylent? Especially after the film where a crying Charlton Heston wails in agony after he discovers the truth about Soylent Green?

And yet.

Do people even care about the name? Or do they even know about the movie, besides its witty punchline? Or do the potential users are as oblivious and think it has soy!

A few weeks ago, I attended a startup meetup that happened to go to crowdtilt—the platform that helped fund the first round of Soylent. And there with the abundance of packets, I got one packet to experiment.

And so being the people we are, Chris and I hosted a Soylent party where we pour shots of Soylent. We took the powder in one packet—usually made for an individual’s three servings in one day, mixed it with water and ice cubes, and finally dousing the oil into the mixture. Then pressing the liquidfy, it spun into a plain cream-colored mess.

First, just the plain version. Then second, a banana mixed with soylent. Then third, drinking chocolate mixed with soylent. Then fourth, two bananas and drinking chocolate mixed with soylent. The final variation was the best, smoothing out the grit and taking away the nastiness of it all.

I didn’t feel full. Quite naturally, I only felt slightly bloated (perhaps from other things that I stuffed down my stomach.) There are days that I barely eat, especially when I am not at an office. I nibble on snacks, drink water, and fall asleep with an emptiness. But at least twice a week, I splurge. I find my favorite cuisine and order the best dishes—often full of protein and carbs…and the most that I would probably eat that week. Then it starts again. So wouldn’t it be better (and healthier) if I did have Soylent?