
Now Shipping Soylent 2.0 - rsmith05
http://discourse.soylent.me/t/now-shipping-soylent-2-0/23434?u=kennufs
======
deegles
It seems like such a waste of plastic and cardboard. Makes me think of Keurig
k-cups and how it's been deemed an environmental mess. I'm sure the Soylent
bottles are recyclable but it's still a waste to be shipping all that weight
around (including the water).

I hope they make a vending machine that mixes it on the spot.

~~~
omouse
The problem with Keurig k-cups is that you can't use them for anything else
and you can't use them with other coffee machines. These bottles look like you
could save them as water bottles in the worst case.

~~~
Someone1234
Being realistic, nobody is going to use these for water bottles either. And
even if they did how many water bottles do you really need?

K-Cups are wasteful, but at least they ship three months (90 K-Cups) at a time
and there is very little wasted space during shipping (it is just packed
coffee). Is it a waste of plastic/foil? Absolutely. But in terms of shipping
waste, K-Cups aren't near the worst.

These on the other hand are shipping around tap water. That uses up fuel, it
uses up space, and it arguably wastes even more plastic. There's no reason
this couldn't be shipped as a powder and sell you months and months of the
stuff.

The saddest part is that they USED to sell the product like that. They're
moving to this method to increase the price (and let's not pretend: It is a
marked increase).

~~~
tvanantwerp
As someone who has boxes of the powder sitting around, I'm thrilled to get it
pre-mixed in a bottle. The entire convenience factor of Soylent was largely
eroded by the mixing and cleaning process, and I'll be happy to have ready-to-
drink bottles that I don't have to scrub down for tomorrow's meal.

~~~
adultSwim
For me that's not the case (even as someone who loathes doing dishes).

I use a quart size glass mason jar. Usually get away with just adding some
water after I'm done and shaking to clean (even after letting it sit for a
while)

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bpodgursky
At this point, I'm not sure how bottled Soylent can distinguish itself from
other bottled dietary replacements like Ensure, aside from the name.

~~~
RickS
Are ensure et al nutritionally complete? As in - you can live off ensure and
nothing else?

My understanding is that soylent (and clones) are able to be full replacements
for food in general, whereas ensure, muscle milk, etc, are meant to be purely
supplemental

~~~
bpodgursky
Yes, ensure is designed to be a sole-source nutrition. When someone is in the
hospital and can't eat, they are given Ensure as a sole food source.

~~~
omouse
Not from what I saw, it looks like you can easily go over board on some of the
vitamins and minerals if you have a few bottles of it.

~~~
geofft
Which vitamins and minerals?

Given the number of people under close medical supervision who _are_ using
Ensure for meal replacement, why hasn't vitamin poisoning from Ensure been
observed or reported?

------
tunesmith
I'd love to see less snark/hostility/FUD on these Soylent threads.

1\. No, Soylent is not the same as Ensure with different packaging/marketing

2\. No, Soylent does not have illegal levels of heavy metals, nor did it in
the past.

3\. People don't tend to eat nutritionally complete meals every meal of the
day. Measuring Soylent against this ideal is beside the point. Soylent _is_
inarguably better than coke and cheetos, though. I bet most people reading
this can think of a meal they've had in the last 48 hours that was less
healthy than 12 oz soylent.

~~~
splawn
This isn't meant to be hostile snark FUD. Hopefully you know the answer or
have a link that addresses my question. As far as your first point... I am
asking because I know someone that sometimes has trouble keeping food down and
their doctor recommended them to use Ensure, but they didn't like it. I was
thinking about telling them about Soylent, of course I would have them ask
their doctor first. Anyways, What makes it functionally different than Ensure?

~~~
tunesmith
If I were to try to give a complete answer, I'd probably spend fifteen minutes
googling "Ensure vs Soylent" \- there are some good matches there through
discussion boards that analyze the ingredient breakdowns, also some replies
from the soylent people too. Ensure is definitely more expensive in those
analyses, and that's from before soylent's recent price drop. Beyond that, it
appears to be a rather different ingredient list - looks like Ensure doesn't
have much in the way of fiber, has more sugar, etc.

------
riebschlager
Soylent truly is the food of the future! [1]

[1] The joyless tech-utopian future for ascetics nerds who decided their
humanity wasn't optimized for maximum productivity.

~~~
adultSwim
Ha! I started using it because it's just so easy for me to skip breakfast
and/or lunch. I'm not replacing food with it. Just works better than not
eating.

~~~
collyw
You should try intermittent fasting. The first two or three weeks are hard,
but after that its easy, and really seems to sort out insulin sensitivity (or
thats my guess from reading the science and "gut" feeling - pun intended). No
feeling tired after lunch.

------
gboss
This video is super bizarre. While assembly lines are impressive works of
engineering in and of themselves, I don't know how this engenders excitement
about the product. It looks super artificial and not like food. I know that's
the point that it's "fuel" but it would be nice to see the ingredients that
turn into that white liquid. Maybe we don't want to see those...

~~~
thespace123
Jumped on here to say this as well, this does not make Soylent look appetizing
or make me want to buy it. It does the exact opposite. It makes the product
look bland, generic, manufactured and unappealing.

~~~
DanBC
They needed this video to overcome the beta testing video of people scooping
powders out of various cardboard and plastic buckets from the floor.

[http://motherboard.vice.com/read/soylent-how-i-stopped-
eatin...](http://motherboard.vice.com/read/soylent-how-i-stopped-eating-
for-30-days)

------
farnsworth
If you buy the powder, it's easy to blend in some fruit or other flavoring,
which gives it more variety and a better taste. Or by itself, it's pretty easy
to prepare even in just a shaker bottle if you don't have a blender. I'm
curious to see how the texture of 2.0 will compare to way it turns out when I
make it at home, though. I assume we'll see the bottled form in stores
whenever they're able to produce enough, and that's where they'll really start
making money.

~~~
Nadya
I've tried cinnamon, peanut butter powder, cocoa powder, Nesquik, banana,
mango, chocolate syrup, vanilla extract, and even tried to mix coffee in after
the initial mixing. Nothing has gotten rid of the horribly overpowering taste.
I have 3 weeks of 1.5 sitting in my cabinets because I'm unable to stomach it.

I don't have overly sensitive taste buds (I will eat almost anything) but
simply cannot stomach Soylent. I feel like the odd-ball out as most compare it
to a slightly off or flavorless protein shake or "easily better if you add ___
while mixing". I'm wondering what I'm tasting that others' aren't.

I want to try 2.0 but am afraid it will still taste exactly like 1.5 and with
no way to try and change the flavor by adding it during the mixing phase...as
trying to add flavor after the mixing step is more difficult./diluted.

Any suggestions from anyone? Am I not adding _enough_ fruit perhaps?

~~~
ryaneager
I had the same problem with 1.4, I found adding 2 tbsp of cocoa powder, and 2
tbsp of sugar, per pouch made it taste more like a chocolate protein shake,
and way more bearable.

~~~
Nadya
It never crossed my mind to try and add sugar... I mean, my goal is to be
"healthier than current diet" and not "as healthy as can be" so I'm not
against it (as can be seen by my attempts at adding chocolate syrup).

Maybe I'll give that a try tonight and see how it is in the morning. Thanks
for the suggestion.

------
hooo
Does this one have as much lead and cadmium as the previous?

~~~
clamprecht
How much lead & cadmium did the previous one have? (with source please)

~~~
zorpner
It's easy enough for you to Google up the details. The "issue" wasn't with the
content but with their labeling -- they only included the California Prop 65
warning on their website, not on the product packaging (which they claimed was
sufficient since the website was the only legitimate source of the product).

~~~
seiji
It's almost like people entering highly regulated industries should have
domain experience and not just make it all up as they go along.

------
Nickoladze
I'm super excited. I was on Soylent consistently last summer/fall, but had to
stop during the winter because living off chilled drinks in winter was hell.
I've struggled all summer to get back into the groove and I think pre-bottled
Soylent would be best for me. Now I'm just hoping it's good at room
temperature.

------
sigma2015
My favorite argument for food being more than just a percentual composition of
nutrients is the fact that your gut is effectively able to smell.

> Olfactory receptor responding to gut microbiota-derived signals plays a role
> in renin secretion and blood pressure regulation

[[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3600440/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3600440/)]

Beyond my scepticism regarding the long-term benefit of a simplification of
eating down to relying to a single designed food source - I am also worried
about the mindset of a person who is motivated in doing so.

~~~
Nickoladze
My mindset is that I live alone and I heavily dislike cooking food. When not
consuming soylent, I live entirely off of take-out and delivery food. There is
almost no way that Soylent isn't more healthy than the stuff I would otherwise
eat.

~~~
sigma2015
Then you should reevaluate your eating options.

There is more than cooked or take-away or Soylent.

How about this:

\- Whole-wheat bread

\- Avocado

\- Smoked fish

\- a piece of feta

\- an apple

\- a banana

Just one of many cold-dish very healthy meals. A good mix of everything -
carbon hydrates, proteins, fats, ruffage, vitamins, minerals - enjoy.

------
Scarbutt
Looking at the nutrition facts, with 5 bottles (2000 calories) a day you get
60% daily value of fiber, is that percentage enough or I'm missing something
here?

~~~
bufordsharkley
I believe the response from Soylent is that fiber itself is not necessary;
it's only needed to move along solid food through the digestive system.

If you're only drinking Soylent, you should need far less fiber, if any at
all.

I am seeing a lot of criticism of this online [1], however.

[1] [http://discourse.soylent.me/t/reduced-fiber-
in-1-5/21706/8](http://discourse.soylent.me/t/reduced-fiber-in-1-5/21706/8)

~~~
collyw
Because a bunch of engineers is going to know best about that sort of thing.
(It wasn't invented by gastroenteroligists was it?)

~~~
DanBC
They pay for dietician advice. The credentials of those dieticians are
probably online somewhere.

I'm not sure when in the process they got this advice, or if there's a
dietician on staff full time.

------
glesperance
Really sad to read that this new batch isn't certified gluten free.

Eating gluten free is often a struggle for ppl with celiac disease.

I'm sure a gluten free soylent would be greatly appreciated by the celiac
community! (as least I would!)

The way I see it, a gluten free soylent would be my go-to lunch meal when I'm
in a hurry or when there are no leftovers.

~~~
DanBC
Ensure complete retail is gluten free so if you wanted a liquid feed you could
try that.

[http://abbottnutrition.com/brands/products/ensure-
complete-r...](http://abbottnutrition.com/brands/products/ensure-complete-
retail)

I'm not sure it's a great idea and you may want to check with a doctor first.

------
timdeneau
The plastic bottles are wasteful. This makes sense for retail locations, but
not for home delivery.

For someone who drinks a fair amount weekly, I have to mix soylent with
something to stomach it. If you remove that option I'm not really sure who
they are targeting this at.

Also interesting the powder wasn't updated to the 2.0 formula.

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gbalint
I wonder how bad is that for your teeth if you don't have to chew on your
food.

~~~
listic
Not very. Chewing gum would help.

------
epenn
I would love to try the pre-bottled version, but unfortunately I'm allergic to
soy. I wish they would give an option of the type of protein used since soy is
a fairly common allergy.

------
zimbatm
So.. what's the changelog for v2.0 ?

There is no link in the text or in the video pointing to that info.

------
dmm
The soy content will be great for menopausal women.

------
oliv__
I never realized how amazing packaging technology had become.

------
bobwaycott
Now we are going to create a ton of plastic waste?

------
cryoshon
Please stop this culture of insanity, it is destructive.

I get it, Soylent is targeting the "100X engineer" crowd who are supposed to
be unflappably dedicated near-godlike ubermenschen. I get that people need to
telegraph "how busy" they are by constantly talking about it to everyone with
ears. I understand that people need to communicate high-value to each other,
and do this by referencing how much responsibility they're given
professionally or otherwise-- but long before the point of people eating
nutrient paste instead of real food, this busyness fetish has gone too far.
You don't need to be eating nutrient paste to convince me that you are
important at your job and also good at it-- these concepts have nothing to do
with each other, and the usage of Soylent as a prop for the persona of "being
hardcore" is simply puerile.

Nobody in the real world is so "busy" that they can't stop what they are doing
for a few minutes and prepare and consume real food in order to meet their
body's demands. Even special forces soldiers on combat missions in enemy
territory carry food that needs to be quickly prepared, which they can then
scarf down. Relatedly, quality food is a big boon for morale-- and Soylent
sure aint.

I guess if you're a meta-human weirdo who claims to have no inherent desire to
consume tasty food and just wants to "get it out of the way", Soylent is for
you. I don't believe you actually exist, though. I guess it's possible some
brain pathology could cause a lack of desire for food, but come on, go to a
doctor instead of eating Soylent.

As a parting shot, I'll mention that Soylent probably doesn't have any kind of
phytonutrients or anything similar. Soylent also doesn't have any of the
numerous pharmacologically active ingredients of common food items-- the
effects of not having these may be subtle, but noticeable over time. Look,
just go to your local farm stand, and buy some fucking fruits and vegetables.
Most of them can even be eaten raw if you're gonna be a jerk about "not being
able to cook" or not having enough time.

~~~
MarcusVorenus
I think it's fascinating how hostile some people can get towards Soylent. It's
like they think the mere existence of it is an attack to the core of their
identity. I wonder if it's just insecurity triggered by people liking
something that they don't like or some other type of psychological defense
mechanism.

~~~
cryoshon
For me, it's hostility toward the race to the bottom and accompanying
dehumanization that Soylent is nodding to.

I really don't understand people who think positively about Soylent. It's
bland nutrient paste, similar to the kind fed to coma patients. How exciting
and DISRUPTIVE!!!

~~~
Kalium
I used Soylent to lose weight. It helped me gain very precise control over
caloric intake.

You know what? I didn't care that it was a bland nutrient slurry. I cared
about the "dehumanizing" control it gave me. I cared about the options it
brought to my life. Discovering significant extra time in my day by not
cooking 8x a week was a nice bonus.

What I'm _really_ seeing in your comments is that you're struggling to
understand how someone could think so utterly differently from you.

~~~
timr
If weight loss is your goal, it's actually cheaper and easier and far, far
more pleasant to just make smoothies for a couple of meals a day. Here's an
easy one that I make all the time:

* 1/2 cup yogurt

* 1/2 cup juice (apple, orange, whatever)

* 1 banana, peeled

* 3-4 frozen strawberries

* 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Toss in blender. Blend. Consume. Rinse out blender. From assembling
ingredients to rinsing the blender, the whole process can be performed in <10
minutes, and is _far_ less disgusting and dehumanizing than consuming bland
nutrient goo. Total ingredient cost for one week of daily smoothies is <$10.

A big part of what makes us human is that we take pleasure in eating good
food. It's a shame to throw that part of your humanity away unnecessarily.

~~~
Kalium
Perhaps I don't subscribe to your narrow definition of humanity. I found bland
nutrient goo perfect for my needs. It meant no shopping, no dealing with
perishables, and other logistical and organizational benefits.

Have you considered the possibility that perhaps not everyone thinks like you?

~~~
timr
Another interesting trait of humans is that once they've subscribed to an
opinion, they'll tie themselves in knots looking for ways to avoid changing
their mind despite all contradictory evidence.

Is it possible that you really don't care about one of the core biological
experiences that define human civilizations throughout history? The act that
differentiates our cultures, has driven migration, evolution, _wars and
exploration?_ The act that is so ingrained in our biology that _meal
preparation_ is central to every human settlement?

Yeah, that's possible. It's also possible that you're a blowhard. But hey man,
knock yourself out. I was just saying that it's pretty damned easy to make a
smoothie.

~~~
Kalium
You also declared that I had opted "to throw that part of your humanity away
unnecessarily".

But nevermind that. Yes, it's easy to make a smoothie. Just not sufficiently
easy that I preferred it to Soylent, which was a highly personal decision for
me to make and relies upon choices and information not available to you.

------
beatpanda
oh neat, did they get rid of the toxic heavy metals yet?

