Rob Rhinehart’s vision of his creation Soylent, has the possibility to solve real world problems and replace meals for people. But there are so many people including myself that truly love spending time either making or eating their food. Soylent could definitely be a great alternative for someone like Rhinehart but this also sprouts the question whether or not this will ruin the experience of sitting down for dinner as a family or something as simple as getting fast food with your friends. These events are what a lot of people look forward to as their “downtime” during the day especially if they are at school or working all day. So clearly there is definitely a lot of grey area when you try to jump to conclusions about what Rhinehart’s Soylent could do for the world, but, it clearly has positives that could be taken advantage of by everyone.
Some can make the point that yes, our lives do revolve around food, but others can feel that it’s a hassle and waste of time. I personally say that I am mixed on making a choice as to which side I support. Mostly because there have been many times when I simply do not have the time to prepare or buy a meal for myself. On the other hand, there are times when I believe the experience of eating food is priceless whether it’s the great conversation created around the table or just the amazing tastes. I stated in my favorite meal essay “Mac & Cheese may be one of the key factors in the friendships I am lucky to have today.” Even if it’s something as simple as grabbing food in the middle of the day or at night, eating seems to put people in happier moods. So in a way for me, in most cases, I can say my life revolves around food. And this is most likely due to my interests and priorities in life. AS humans we need to eat food to survive right? It is how many cultures around the world have gained their own identities distinguishing them from other cultures. Without culture and preferences, are people really expressing their own interests? I think not. I believe everybody has either had a home cooked meal or gone to a high-end restaurant that has given them an experience they appreciate a lot. Hell, there or countless number of TV shows based around food that are some of the most popular shows on TV.
Rob Rhinehart claims his creation of Soylent is an even substitute for all of our food meals throughout the day. He claims, “Food was an inefficient way of getting what he needed to survive.” Rhinehart is taking a point of view to this ‘issue’ as if it is an engineering problem he can solve and make more efficient. Is taking an hour or two out of your day to eat meals inefficient though? You can have your favorite meal and maybe even catch up with friends and family while you do so. That does not seem inefficient to me. It is time well spent in order to meet basic needs of our everyday lives. Being able to start conversation over a delicious meal and taste whatever it is that sparks the most interest to your tongue is priceless. If we simply just take in the raw chemical components of what we need to survive in a watered-down slushy like solution to ‘eat’ in matter of a few minutes, we as a people will lose one of the most essential social components to our communication and what makes us different from one another. Everybody has different tastes and that is something that has fascinated me my entire life seeing some people enjoy something I may find repulsive or vice versa, me enjoying a meal some people may never think about eating.
As our lives get very busy and we wake up maybe too late to make breakfast or even buy it from somewhere, Soylent can be a great alternative for making up for this time we don’t have. Even when your backed up at work or school and would rather fill yourself up with the quick essentials so you can get the energy you need to keep grinding through your day. This is how we can utilize Soylent in an effective way. Not by going on an all-in diet strictly only consuming Soylent to replace our food meals. If we went on a fully all Soylent diet, we would lose contact with our culture such as hamburgers and hot dogs here in the United States. What’s more American than a backyard barbeque of these delicious foods? Or grabbing a slice of pizza! But let’s say you did go on a all Soylent diet, you would lose the pleasure your taste buds provide you and in return gain more time to get whatever it is you need to get done. If we start to take food for granted even more than we already do then we would lose those special meals because it not just the food that makes it special, it could be the gathering of all the familiar people around you.
As a college student I could claim that I would love to have Soylent on the ready in my dorm room if I’m working on a paper and don’t feel like taking the time to go to the dining hall but need something in my stomach to keep me going. The only thing that would scare me about consuming Soylent is whether it is “playing god” by not eating actual food. I feel as though it isn’t natural and could possibly malnourish my body unintentionally since my body has been used to eating solid foods my entire life. I know Rhinehart and a couple of other people have gone many days only surviving off the Soylent but everybody has a different body and could possibly react differently to this new way of intaking the energy we need. But, Soylent is very cheap and has proven to be healthy so far so maybe it is a much better alternative to heating up a mac & cheese or cup of noodles.
All the statements I have claimed above just show my opinion but show clear perspectives as to how Soylent can be positive or negative to our lives. The grey area is now clear to me, it depends on how much a person values the meals they eat and what they get out of their meals. So sure you can survive off of Soylent and never have to orry about ‘wasting’ your time preparing and eating meals. But you are going to miss all the special meals you’ve had in your life and those you would have to miss out on in the future.
Draft #2
https://une1-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/personal/simbrenda_une_edu/Documents/Final%20draft%20essay%201.docx?d=we12cac7d4c0347cc8845bbd51f6c283f&csf=1&e=jh4V7R
Final Essay
https://une1-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/personal/simbrenda_une_edu/Documents/Final%20draft%20essay%201.docx?d=we12cac7d4c0347cc8845bbd51f6c283f&csf=1&e=p9FdTy
