3 ms·

Really? I've got to explain the difference between something touted as a health supplement / meal replacement and booze? (Which, if you'll notice, is covered in

by chasing 13y ago

Really? I've got to explain the difference between something touted as a health supplement / meal replacement and booze? (Which, if you'll notice, is covered in warnings and regulated out the wazoo.)

jamesaguilar 13y ago
> I've got to explain the difference between . . . My point is merely that I'm fine with people choosing to do risky things as long as the risk involved is obvious. I'd be a little more comfortable with this campaign page if they made slightly less grandiose promises, but for the most part I think the people ordering it will be aware of the shallowness of the testing so far and can decide for themselves if that is a risk they are willing to accept.
- chasing 13y ago
  Despite my snark, I do understand what you're saying. It's the "as long as the risk involved is obvious" part that bothers me. Soylent has had a presence on sites like Hacker News, so we kind of know what it's about. But not everyone does. And I really do believe that honest food labeling is very, very important. They're passing this off as a cure. That's what really irks me. None of the presentation I've seen so far communicates "participate in our experiment!" It's all stuff like "For anyone who struggles with allergies, heartburn, acid reflux or digestion, has trouble controlling weight or cholesterol, or simply doesn't have the means to eat well, soylent is for you." That's a health claim they simple can't back up in any reasonable way. And it's a claim that many people are likely to assume is true! Not everyone will dig into the site and see that Rhinehart has a background in engineering, not nutrition, and that these claims haven't actually been backed up at all. You and I might know to do that, but many people won't. Which is why we have food labeling laws in the first place.
  - jamesaguilar 13y ago
    I agree that that sentence is very unfortunate. It's in total contradiction to what they say below, which is that Soylent has not been evaluated by the FDA to treat any disease.

by chasing 13y ago

Really? I've got to explain the difference between something touted as a health supplement / meal replacement and booze? (Which, if you'll notice, is covered in warnings and regulated out the wazoo.)

jamesaguilar 13y ago

> I've got to explain the difference between . . . My point is merely that I'm fine with people choosing to do risky things as long as the risk involved is obvious. I'd be a little more comfortable with this campaign page if they made slightly less grandiose promises, but for the most part I think the people ordering it will be aware of the shallowness of the testing so far and can decide for themselves if that is a risk they are willing to accept.

chasing 13y ago
Despite my snark, I do understand what you're saying. It's the "as long as the risk involved is obvious" part that bothers me. Soylent has had a presence on sites like Hacker News, so we kind of know what it's about. But not everyone does. And I really do believe that honest food labeling is very, very important. They're passing this off as a cure. That's what really irks me. None of the presentation I've seen so far communicates "participate in our experiment!" It's all stuff like "For anyone who struggles with allergies, heartburn, acid reflux or digestion, has trouble controlling weight or cholesterol, or simply doesn't have the means to eat well, soylent is for you." That's a health claim they simple can't back up in any reasonable way. And it's a claim that many people are likely to assume is true! Not everyone will dig into the site and see that Rhinehart has a background in engineering, not nutrition, and that these claims haven't actually been backed up at all. You and I might know to do that, but many people won't. Which is why we have food labeling laws in the first place.
- jamesaguilar 13y ago
  I agree that that sentence is very unfortunate. It's in total contradiction to what they say below, which is that Soylent has not been evaluated by the FDA to treat any disease.