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It's a little arrogant to think we can't determine what is needed to create a nutritionally balanced human. Hence why we can estimate Daily Recommended Intake;

It's a little arrogant to think we can't determine what is needed to create a nutritionally balanced human. Hence why we can estimate Daily Recommended Intake; for example this nutritional profile https://www.completefoods.co/diy/nutrient-profiles/51e4e6ca7789bc0200000007 https://www.completefoods.co/diy/nutrient-profiles/51e4e6ca7... which would give you the mix of vitamins and minerals and carbs and fats you need. From there, you can mix up your ingredients sourced from https://www.completefoods.co/diy/ingredients https://www.completefoods.co/diy/ingredients or buy it from a company https://soylent.com/products/powder-original https://soylent.com/products/powder-original (not affiliated but I have bought some at one point.) Now, you can tell me it's "not real food". It's a No True Scotsman fallacy, but if anything, sure. I agree. It's not a burger. But it is edible and it will sustain you for possibly weeks to months. A few people on the internet said they've done it. I've eaten Soylent. It's ok. Can't say I'd want to eat it every day of my life but I have had moments where I was busy or not interested in cooking -- and then, for those cases, I imagine a carefully engineered Soylent will give you a more balanced diet than the Taco Bell I got in a hurry because I was hungry and didn't have time / want to cook. Now if you think scientists who spent a decade or more of their life studying nutrition either for a civilian or military purpose are morons, then fine, have that opinion. But I think processed food is a nicer option to have than no food, if I needed to feed my family and had very little money. Soylent clocks in at $1.82/meal. Now I won't deny you might be able to make beans and rice for cheaper than that, but Soylent looks like a nice, balanced, cost-effective option compared to spending $20 at a restaurant.

OneGuy123 6y ago
The fact that you belive you can "sum up the ingredients to make a well rounded meal from a bunch of separte foods" shows that you don't get it: You cannot do that because you incorrectly think that there is all there is to food: there are many things that we eat all the time which we are not aware of that end up being important to our diet. It's arrogant to think you can "sum" ingredients and actually get all the nutrients that you need.
- eloff 6y ago
  Any diet can be described as just "summing" ingredients. There's no magic here that could in theory prevent replacing part or all of a diet with differently derived foods. This protein by itself would potentially just be a small part of a healthy diet, but it's the start of something bigger.
  - OneGuy123 6y ago
    No it cannot BECAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT EXACTLY YOU NEED. This is what you people fail to understand: the belief that you can look in a textbook on nutrition and then sum up all the "requirements" is totaly wrong because the body is a complex system and to believe you can artificaly sum up parts and replace what nature has fine-tuned in a package for millions of year is stupid.
- chr1 6y ago
  Do you argue that we cannot do this in principle, or that we cannot do it yet? The second can be true but considering that people have lived on all kinds of different diets, there should not be too many unique components vital to survival/health, so we'll figure them all out eventually.

OneGuy123 6y ago

The fact that you belive you can "sum up the ingredients to make a well rounded meal from a bunch of separte foods" shows that you don't get it: You cannot do that because you incorrectly think that there is all there is to food: there are many things that we eat all the time which we are not aware of that end up being important to our diet. It's arrogant to think you can "sum" ingredients and actually get all the nutrients that you need.

eloff 6y ago
Any diet can be described as just "summing" ingredients. There's no magic here that could in theory prevent replacing part or all of a diet with differently derived foods. This protein by itself would potentially just be a small part of a healthy diet, but it's the start of something bigger.
- OneGuy123 6y ago
  No it cannot BECAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT EXACTLY YOU NEED. This is what you people fail to understand: the belief that you can look in a textbook on nutrition and then sum up all the "requirements" is totaly wrong because the body is a complex system and to believe you can artificaly sum up parts and replace what nature has fine-tuned in a package for millions of year is stupid.
chr1 6y ago
Do you argue that we cannot do this in principle, or that we cannot do it yet? The second can be true but considering that people have lived on all kinds of different diets, there should not be too many unique components vital to survival/health, so we'll figure them all out eventually.