project 1

Jack Hamill

Professor Jessie

ENG 110

13 February 2023

Project 1

In the article “The End Of Food” by Lizzy Widdicombe, we as a class had explored many of the pros and cons in an active in class discussion of what the potential new super food could have on many world problems. This concept was first introduced in 2014 and has since provided many in-place meals that people tend to drink on the go or in a crunch of time. And with every nutrient you need in a meal why would anyone want to keep a few of these in their fridge? This raises the topic of is it appropriate to use this “meal” as a tool or is this going to be what people substitute for day to day meals? Many health nutritionists believe that this should not be used as a substitute for every day meals but the creator of the soilent has said otherwise. “He was healthy-looking which was encouraging-for the last year and a half he’s been living almost exclusively on soylent, drinking it for “ninety per cent” of his meals“(The end of Food). The creator himself proves a soylent diet is possible and has worldly potential to solve many issues such as children’s nutrition and world hunger, and at the same time this compromises what we value during sit down meals such as culture and heritage.

In a 400 calorie bottle of every nutrient you could need in a meal, people have made great use of this on the go or when they need to quickly sacrifice a meal in an effort to conserve time. It’s a satisfying and in a way addicting process knowing you are able to measure out exactly how much of a nutrient you are receiving and what you are receiving when you look at the nutrition facts label stamped on every bottle made. But when receiving a mostly liquid diet, you become susceptible to many health related problems such as fatigue, dizziness and you are put at a greater risk for heart damage. Although this may seem scary it’s not to be confused with the countless benefits this could have on the starving population throughout the entire world. If people’s awareness of this product would increase then I believe many different companies would begin to do similar acts and make a new “superfood” ready and packaged to go. 

There are thousands of benefits that this product can provide for you and your families but what happens when we lose touch with the actual process of preparing and indulging in a meal with family. The following quote was taken from “My Favorite Meal” essay and what I believe encases what it means to have a home style meal with the people you love, “My mom or ma as I call her saw the excitement in my eyes as she had known this was an unfamiliar dish to our family. She gave me a spoon full of the appetizing mac and cheese and after one bite I knew this new dish was going to be making its return for years to come. To this day whenever I taste this meal I know it’s been made with care and precision leaving no room for error”. This was my first memory of Mac and Cheese but what I remember diligently was the setting I was placed in. I felt warm and happy with the sensation that everything was at peace. This meal has been a part of my life and what I now happily consider a culturized meal in our family. This is not something that can simply be replaced with the convenience of a drinkable meal.

The author Lizzy Widdicomb goes into depth of how this product is made stating “The liquid is smooth but grainy in your mouth, and has a yeasty, comforting blandness about it” (The end of Food). And how the headquarters are filled with different testing products, grains and nutrients. This product over the years has evolved with many tweaks being added to the formula as research is performed year in and year out but something that never changes are the recipes passed down from generation to generation. In conclusion I do agree with Rob Rhinehearts vision of how soylent can be used to help solve real world problems but I also believe that the Idea that this can be replaced with meals made from natural products is something that can never be substituted or sacrificed for a long period of time. I believe it is an unrealistic vision of how we as humans and as a society move forward in the produce industry and once again can never be trumped.