8 ms·

Announcing Soylent 1.2

79 points by jack-r-abbit 12y ago

JoshTriplett 12y ago
Leaving aside the ongoing discussions about Soylent itself as a foodstuff, when was the last time you saw food of any kind with a version number and a changelog? I'd love to see more of that in the market.
- ch4s3 12y ago
  Tangelo 2.01 Changelog: -Lowered pith seed value from .9 to .73 -Various bug fixes -Now ripens 1.2x faster
  - stronglikedan 12y ago
    Only organic tangelos have bugs.
- riffraff 12y ago
  Seems unlikely, especially given the current state of the food industrial complex in the US. Plus, even a not-too-evil company would end up with "$brand cereals 2.1.3.201411010: uses cheaper corn from a new producer, coloring of the red ones comes from a different horrible thing than the last one."
tiffanyh 12y ago
I've never understood why Soylent get's so much attention on Hacker News given that it's a food product. A simple google search indicates 488 mentions of Soylent on Hacker News, to be precise [1]. [1] https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=site%3Anews.ycombinator.com%20soylent https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&e...
- diminoten 12y ago
  It's a food product almost entirely targeted at Hacker News readers, and the company is run like a tech start-up. This shouldn't be a mystery at all, and I'm suspecting it's not really something you "never understood".
- jonathanjaeger 12y ago
  It was started out as a lifestyle hack in order to save time and money on cooking and eating (something that many busy people don't want to worry about ALL the time, including tech folks). They also crowdfunded millions of dollars worth of orders, another aspect of the tech industry that gets people on Hacker News interested. Personally, as someone who is very into fitness, I've been looking for something like this that is healthy compared to all the meal replacements in the store (which are not very healthy in big doses for a variety of reasons and aren't neutral-tasting enough to consistently eat). I've enjoyed my Soylent experience a lot despite not loving the ingredient mix 100%.
- mcbain 12y ago
  They were in YC S12, so that makes it magical by default.
- pbreit 12y ago
  Never understood? Really? For starters, it's a Y Combinator company (host of Hacker News). Secondly, it was developed by hackers. Third, it is one of the foremost examples of hacking diet. Fourth, the HN audience is a key audience of early adopting efficiency seekers. Finally, people in the community have strong opinions about it both ways. Never understood? Really?
  - DanBC 12y ago
    > Third, it is one of the foremost examples of hacking diet. > Fourth, the HN audience is a key audience of early adopting efficiency seekers. There is nothing new about Soylent, apart from the unethical crowd-funding[1] and easy access to the public. Liquid total meal replacements are common and have existed for a log time and are available from Amazon. They don't always push the total replacement aspect because lawyers and I guess because they never expected anyone to want to do so, but people live off existing products and have done so for years. [1] "puts you in perfect health" and other unethical claims which seem to have been quietly dropped.
    - pbreit 12y ago
      "don't always push the total replacement aspect" That is the main thing that is quite new. And also that extended meal replacement has not typically been marketed to this audience. Both of these are pretty huge, IMO.
jack-r-abbit 12y ago
> All shipments leaving our facilities now contain the updated formula. I just ordered another 30 day supply last week. I've not yet received a shipping notice for that order. So I am hoping that it will be 1.2 rather than 1.1. I wasn't too fond of the idea of the added enzymes in 1.1. And, while I'm not vegan, it sounds like the oil blend change will make things simpler on their end by no longer needing a separate sku and/or packaging process to eliminate the fish oil blend for vegans.
DanHulton 12y ago
Great and all, but I really wish they'd work on making it available outside of the US, as well. I'd love to be able to order some up in Canada, and have three other friends looking to try it.
- darkstar999 12y ago
  It's hardly available in the US at this point. I waited for 3+ months, then they extended the wait time before I cancelled. I'll try it some day when I can get 2 day shipping.
  - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
    I'll bet that if you ordered it right now you would get it a lot sooner than you would if you wait until they offer 2-day shipping before you order.
- fallat 12y ago
  You should look into creating one of the DIY soylent recipes. I found this one particularly simple: http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfection http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfe... Sure it isn't THE soylent, but tons of people are collaborating on that one too.
  - dmix 12y ago
    This is great, the only problem is all of those Amazon links next to the ingredients are for amazon.com, food products aren't available on amazon.ca. It's impossible to buy all of those with one click in Canada. I'd have to hunt down Canadian shipping sites or visit 3 different grocery stores to find most of those. Edit: Nevermind, read this comment: http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfection#comment-1385374298 http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfe... The amount of vitamins are dangerously higher than 100% recommended daily intake. Unlike Soylent which has mid-range http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfection#comment-1385374298 http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfe... I'd stay away from this recipe.
geoelectric 12y ago
Hopefully this isn't followed by yet another "hey, six+ more weeks for your order placed in June" email like the last couple of announcements were. It all sounds wonderful, but I'd like the chance to actually try it.
- jack-r-abbit 12y ago
  They certainly had issues with scaling. But once you're "in", your shipments come a lot faster.
- ChrisLTD 12y ago
  No kidding. I ordered back in May, Soylent told me they were "shipping soon" in September, and I still don't have anything.
  - gtaylor 12y ago
    I ordered June 19th, haven't got anything yet either. Was starting to wonder if that was abnormal, but if you have been waiting since May...
    - kxo 12y ago
      March here - All quiet on the Western front.
  - DrBobo 12y ago
    I had to send an email to info@soylent.me to get them to send me my first order. It arrived today. They said it was delayed because of a "shipping error"
- cweiss 12y ago
  The converse being "Damn, I just got my 1 month supply of 1.1 and now they come out with 1.2?!"
  - codezero 12y ago
    This happened when I ordered a refill for my 1.0, I actually wanted to try out the 1.1, if you're in the bay area, I'll swap you a week of 1.2 when I get it :)
sethbannon 12y ago
Very happy to see that Soylent will now be free of animal products. I had no idea that you could produce oil rich in Omega-3 fatty acids from algae. And looking it up lead me to learn that you can also product more traditional fuels from algae as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel
- imanaccount247 12y ago
  Algae are the root source of most omega3 heavy oils. They've just been "processed" via fish and marine mammals.
- mikeyouse 12y ago
  I formerly worked for a company where our primary line of business was producing Omega-3s from algae (nannochloropsis). Our company didn't work out (for unrelated reasons), but the economics and realities regarding the global fish stock ensure that a non-insignificant portion of Omega-3s/7s will come from algae in the not-too-distant future! For those who do care though, definitely examine the origin of your algae products. Most of the spirulina / haematococcus (for astaxanthin) / nannochloropsis by volume is grown in rather disgusting conditions in China and India. The US, Japan, and European products are much cleaner but are often GMO if that kind of thing matters to you.
colinbartlett 12y ago
I am not a Soylent fan but I do like this food-versioning idea. What if all consumer food products were required to have versions numbers and a change log to detail out modifications? Oreos version 2.3: Reduced count from 36 to 34. Increased price by 15 cents. Pepsi version 3.0: Swapped sugar for high-fructose corn syrup.
- pothibo 12y ago
  It would only work for manufactured good, often linked to fast-food. I think in that regards, it would be a great idea. For everything else, it would be impossible due to the nature of cooking itself.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- aleem 12y ago
  GitHub could be leveraged to do this so easily and it would make for an awesome repo. Each product could get it's own file allowing easy tracking of revisions, PR and issue tracking. A standardised file naming convention and formatting are all that's needed to get started. EDIT: There is also DIY Soylent [1] with some popular recipes, detailed nutritional information and versioning of each formula. People Chow v3.0.1 [2] seems to be one of the favourite recipes. [1] http://diy.soylent.me/recipes http://diy.soylent.me/recipes [2] http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfection http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfe...
  - lamby 12y ago
    > GitHub could be leveraged to do this so easily and it would make for an awesome repo I don't think you are wrong per-se but whenever I see, let's take a more illustrative example, statutes and laws added to GitHub I can't help but think they are introducing a rather misleading narrative to the information. In this example, developers--especially on HN--have a cultural quirk anyway where they believe that the legal system can somehow be reduced or modelled as some sort computer program (when the reality is quite different) and having levers such as pull requests, review systems and diffs encourages this kind of thinking to some degree.
moeedm 12y ago
Food is so much more appealing when it has a version number, right?
- georgemcbay 12y ago
  Not if the update is due to a bug that would cause a system crash.
Siecje 12y ago
Does it still take 3 months to arrive?
- emverest 12y ago
  I ordered mine about 4 months ago and still waiting
  - srj 12y ago
    Ordered mine 6 months ago and it hasn't arrived yet.
- datashovel 12y ago
  Once you have received your first shipment, and you use your email from previous order on future orders, you will receive shipments in reasonable time. I was one of the first backers on their crowdfunding campaign, and had to wait 1 yr before my first batch, but now I'm on monthly subscription so everything comes on time.
  - film42 12y ago
    What noticeable benefits have you seen since you started using Soylent? Easier to eat? Feel healthier?
    - datashovel 12y ago
      Generally speaking if you can get used to the taste IMO it's pretty amazing for alot of reasons. BTW the taste is not as bad as many say, but it can be difficult to resist a trip to [your favorite restaurant here] for lunch every once in a while. First, it fits my lifestyle. I work from home as an independent contractor, so no issues with having it for days at a time without hassle of bringing it to work with me every day. Also, for the first week or so your body is adjusting to it, so in terms of social interactions you may not "be yourself". For example, for me, I would get tired randomly after a glass. After that first week or so things start getting back to normal. I sometimes go on work binges depending on what I'm trying to accomplish, so in those circumstances the last thing I want to do is get up from my computer to spend even 1-2 hrs preparing and eating, then cleaning up after a meal just because my stomach is growling. Second, my personal experience so far has been that it truly does give you that "full" / "satiated" feeling after you've had a glass of it. More so than pretty much any home or restaurant-prepared meal I've ever had. It lasts a long time as well. I don't have stats, but when I'm really busy and involved with a project I would say the number of times I get up from my desk to take a break, stretch my legs, etc. for one reason or another has decreased dramatically. Third, generally speaking for a quick meal in the past it would be a trip to a restaurant, or some processed / high sodium, low in nutrition meal (ie. your mac and cheese, pizza, canned soups, etc). Now there's a basic peace of mind that I don't have to compromise nutrition just because I don't want to put the time and effort into preparing a healthy meal. Fourth, general energy levels / focus throughout the day. Probably because overall I'm eating healthier during busy times, and the formulation is meant to maintain things like steady levels of blood sugar, etc. You don't get the peaks and valleys you sometimes can get after eating a heavy meal. I'm no fan boy, though it might sound like it. It's one of those products I can seriously spend some time promoting to people because I truly do believe in it. If I had to guess, I would say (barring disaster) this is going to be a multi-billion-dollar company.
Siecje 12y ago
Why is centrifugal force still a thing?
- darkstar999 12y ago
  What about it?
  - Siecje 12y ago
    Makes you wonder what else is wrong.
- Groxx 12y ago
  http://xkcd.com/123/ http://xkcd.com/123/ The defense rests.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
forrestthewoods 12y ago
Let's say in a few years time Soylent is successful enough to have multiple product lines. I wonder what, if any, advantages there would be to a variation that did include animal products.
- baddox 12y ago
  I would assume it's cheaper and/or logistically easier to fulfill nutritional requirements with animal products. Presumably that's why Soylent used fish oil initially.
  - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
    FTA: A perfect example of the inefficiency of animal-based nutritional compounds is fish oil That sounds like getting the fish oil is more costly than getting it straight from the algae.
    - baddox 12y ago
      I assumed that referred to environmental efficiency rather than cost efficiency.
      - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
        Possibly. Adding this part "turned into fish oil through an energy-intensive process" makes me think of cost. But I can see it both ways.
    - mikeyouse 12y ago
      Depending on the concentration you're after and the form (triglyceride vs. ethyl ester), fish oil is almost an order of magnitude cheaper than algae-based omega-3s. The price is just a question of scale since fish oil is often a byproduct or co-product with fish meal production for livestock, and millions of metric tons of fish meal are processed annually. Fortunately for Soylent, a KG of wholesale Omega-3 from algae costs roughly $150/kg and they're only using 2.5G per serving, so you can figure maybe $0.30 - $0.40/serving depending on the concentration of Omega-3s in the powder they're buying. It is pretty interesting that maybe 1/10th of the cost is tied up in Omega-3s though.
arthurcolle 12y ago
I have some and really just don't like the taste... Have 5 bags unopened if anyone has any tricks to make it edible
- caublestone 12y ago
  Blend it with peanut butter. It's quite delicious this way to me. Apologies if you are allergic.
  - freshyill 12y ago
    Nobody's allergic in my house, but the kids can't bring any peanut stuff to school, so they take this… http://www.wowbutter.com http://www.wowbutter.com This stuff absolutely nails the taste although the texture is more in line with a Skippy or Jif than with better peanut butter.
    - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
      We currently use SunButter but the taste is not the same. It is not bad but it is certainly not like peanut butter. I was interested in your link but I see it is made from soy. My youngest has an intolerance to soy. :( We would love to find "a nut-free, soy-free spread the tastes like peanut butter."
      - freshyill 12y ago
        We had this one recently too: http://www.thesneakychef.com/free-recipe-no-nut-butter.php http://www.thesneakychef.com/free-recipe-no-nut-butter.php It's made from peas. It's not quite as close to the real thing as the one that's made from soybeans, but it's pretty good.
        jack-r-abbit 12y ago
        Thanks for that! I've added it to my Amazon cart for a future order. I'll try anything once. (Obviously... since we're in a Soylent thread)
grandalf 12y ago
I'd try this if the time to shipment were remotely reasonable.
karamazov 12y ago
I'd like to try Soylent. Is there a way to order, say, $10 worth to check it out?
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
  - bluetshirt 12y ago
    ... 21 meals IS a week's supply.
  - namwen 12y ago
    21 meals is supposed to be a weeks supply.
- baddox 12y ago
  If you can make it to downtown San Francisco I can sell you one day's worth of v1.0 or v1.1 for $12.
  - codezero 12y ago
    Hey, would you be willing to swap a few bags of 1.0 or 1.2 (when they arrive) for some 1.1? I'd like to try it out to see if the digestive enzymes are worth dropping in to the 1.2 brew.
    - baddox 12y ago
      Sure. I've noticed that 1.1 is less sweet than 1.0, but I'm not particularly partial to either, and I haven't encountered any digestive issues with either version.
      - codezero 12y ago
        Did you notice the issue with the thickness in 1.1? For me, I get a lot of pretty epic farts with 1.0, so I was hoping the enzymes in 1.1 would address that :)
gburt 12y ago
I see Soylent is now completely vegan. This is interesting and will appeal to a new community for a range of ethical and environmental reasons, especially if it can deal with many of the common nutritional issues (B12, iron). I think another interesting marketing angle for the future of Soylent would be a measure of its carbon emissions[1,2] especially considering the somewhat unique distribution mechanism. [1] For example, http://www.foodemissions.com/foodemissions/Calculator.aspx http://www.foodemissions.com/foodemissions/Calculator.aspx [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_carbon_diet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_carbon_diet
- imanaccount247 12y ago
  >if it can deal with many of the common nutritional issues (B12, iron) What do you mean "if"? Those aren't really common nutritional issues specifically because they are so easy to "deal with". Vegans take a b12 supplement. The end. Obviously soylent also contains b12.
rb2k_ 12y ago
I can't seem to find a changelog. I would love a "what's new"
slashnull 12y ago
I'm hungry
adamwong246 12y ago
As long as we are extending the software metaphor, under what software license should Soylent be classified?
nickbauman 12y ago
Considering how little we truly understand about nutrition, I would not willingly eat this stuff.
- christiangenco 12y ago
  Have you ever willingly drunk a protein shake?
  - nickbauman 12y ago
    Only when there's no other choice.
- baddox 12y ago
  That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Do you have some reason to suspect that the diet you're currently eating is based on a more correct understanding of nutrition than a diet that includes Soylent?
  - nickbauman 12y ago
    Good question. I take a conservative view. I consider how our understanding of nutrition is limited, I look at the evolutionary morphology of our species and take a look at what we've adapted to eat for nearly a million years and favor that sort of food over something synthesized _this year._ I allow that Soylent may be better quality than this food. But the odds are it's not.
    - baddox 12y ago
      I don't mean to offend, but that sounds like irrational risk aversion, unless you have more information about nutrition and the development process of your usual diet vs. Soylent. My usual diet is fairly unorganized and not particularly well-researched (by me). I'm sure a huge amount of engineering and "artificial" processes have gone into most of it, just like with Soylent. I don't really see a dichotomy between a diet "naturally" formed by evolution over millions of years and a Soylent diet.
auvi 12y ago
i'm just wondering, before each version of Soylent is released, do they get FDA approval?
- ghshephard 12y ago
  No - Soylent is comprised of products that are Generally Recognized as Safe by the FDA - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_recognized_as_safe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_recognized_as_safe
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- DanBC 12y ago
  They don't currently[1] make medical claims and the ingredients are GRAS - generally recognised as safe - so they don't need approval. [1] unlike during the kickstarter when they made a few.
jack-r-abbit 12y ago
For the people that are concerned about the taste of Soylent: I personally don't think it tastes bad at all. It isn't super awesome either, but certainly not gross. I drank plenty of it straight and it was just fine. Having said that... I've had great success with adding a squirt or two of Mio[1] to it before I drink it. Easy to do and gives you a decent variety of flavors (however, they are all fruity). [1] http://www.makeitmio.com/ http://www.makeitmio.com/
jordanpg 12y ago
> Our name was inspired by Harry Harrison's 1966 science fiction novel Make Room! Make Room!, which explores the impact massive population growth could have on world resources. According to WP [1], this somewhat (?) obscure book was the inspiration for the name, not the extremely well-known movie that I need not name here. I assume this is sanitization by the marketing department? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_Room!_Make_Room http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_Room!_Make_Room!
- jack-r-abbit 12y ago
  In the book, the name applies to some manufactured food stuffs. But all the people that try to make the joke about it being made of people miss one important fact. In the movie, only the Green was made from people. There existed other variants that were not made of people. If this one was from the movie, it would likely be called Soylent Grey. :)
  - geoelectric 12y ago
    Well, now that it's vegan... (Though that goes to the age-old question of whether human is vegan or not :) )
platinumdragon 12y ago
Stop posting this shit. They have a 20 week shipping time, if they even hold to that. They're nothing but vaporware.
cheshire137 12y ago
So should I keep a bag of Soylent 1.1 and hope to sell it on eBay years from now as the rare Soylent that came with an enzyme blend?
Mandatum 12y ago
1.2 and still no international shipping provider.. USPS/UPS all have API's and deliver pretty much everywhere. Just implement it and charge for it. Those who don't want to pay will use a reshipper.
b1twise 12y ago
I tried Soylent 1.0 and had severe gastrointestinal issues with it. In doing research I came across 100%FOOD--a Soylent alternative. The texture is a lot less appealing than Soylent at first, but I got used to it. My body agrees with it much more. They shipped within hours, not months. It's produced at a vegan facility and uses a lot more 'natural' products as components. Chocolate is definitely recommended. Oh, and they ship internationally.

79 points by jack-r-abbit 12y ago

Leaving aside the ongoing discussions about Soylent itself as a foodstuff, when was the last time you saw food of any kind with a version number and a changelog? I'd love to see more of that in the market.

ch4s3 12y ago
Tangelo 2.01 Changelog: -Lowered pith seed value from .9 to .73 -Various bug fixes -Now ripens 1.2x faster
- stronglikedan 12y ago
  Only organic tangelos have bugs.
riffraff 12y ago
Seems unlikely, especially given the current state of the food industrial complex in the US. Plus, even a not-too-evil company would end up with "$brand cereals 2.1.3.201411010: uses cheaper corn from a new producer, coloring of the red ones comes from a different horrible thing than the last one."

tiffanyh 12y ago

I've never understood why Soylent get's so much attention on Hacker News given that it's a food product. A simple google search indicates 488 mentions of Soylent on Hacker News, to be precise [1]. [1] https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=site%3Anews.ycombinator.com%20soylent https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&e...

diminoten 12y ago
It's a food product almost entirely targeted at Hacker News readers, and the company is run like a tech start-up. This shouldn't be a mystery at all, and I'm suspecting it's not really something you "never understood".
jonathanjaeger 12y ago
It was started out as a lifestyle hack in order to save time and money on cooking and eating (something that many busy people don't want to worry about ALL the time, including tech folks). They also crowdfunded millions of dollars worth of orders, another aspect of the tech industry that gets people on Hacker News interested. Personally, as someone who is very into fitness, I've been looking for something like this that is healthy compared to all the meal replacements in the store (which are not very healthy in big doses for a variety of reasons and aren't neutral-tasting enough to consistently eat). I've enjoyed my Soylent experience a lot despite not loving the ingredient mix 100%.
mcbain 12y ago
They were in YC S12, so that makes it magical by default.
pbreit 12y ago
Never understood? Really? For starters, it's a Y Combinator company (host of Hacker News). Secondly, it was developed by hackers. Third, it is one of the foremost examples of hacking diet. Fourth, the HN audience is a key audience of early adopting efficiency seekers. Finally, people in the community have strong opinions about it both ways. Never understood? Really?
- DanBC 12y ago
  > Third, it is one of the foremost examples of hacking diet. > Fourth, the HN audience is a key audience of early adopting efficiency seekers. There is nothing new about Soylent, apart from the unethical crowd-funding[1] and easy access to the public. Liquid total meal replacements are common and have existed for a log time and are available from Amazon. They don't always push the total replacement aspect because lawyers and I guess because they never expected anyone to want to do so, but people live off existing products and have done so for years. [1] "puts you in perfect health" and other unethical claims which seem to have been quietly dropped.
  - pbreit 12y ago
    "don't always push the total replacement aspect" That is the main thing that is quite new. And also that extended meal replacement has not typically been marketed to this audience. Both of these are pretty huge, IMO.

jack-r-abbit 12y ago

> All shipments leaving our facilities now contain the updated formula. I just ordered another 30 day supply last week. I've not yet received a shipping notice for that order. So I am hoping that it will be 1.2 rather than 1.1. I wasn't too fond of the idea of the added enzymes in 1.1. And, while I'm not vegan, it sounds like the oil blend change will make things simpler on their end by no longer needing a separate sku and/or packaging process to eliminate the fish oil blend for vegans.

DanHulton 12y ago

Great and all, but I really wish they'd work on making it available outside of the US, as well. I'd love to be able to order some up in Canada, and have three other friends looking to try it.

darkstar999 12y ago
It's hardly available in the US at this point. I waited for 3+ months, then they extended the wait time before I cancelled. I'll try it some day when I can get 2 day shipping.
- jack-r-abbit 12y ago
  I'll bet that if you ordered it right now you would get it a lot sooner than you would if you wait until they offer 2-day shipping before you order.
fallat 12y ago
You should look into creating one of the DIY soylent recipes. I found this one particularly simple: http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfection http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfe... Sure it isn't THE soylent, but tons of people are collaborating on that one too.
- dmix 12y ago
  This is great, the only problem is all of those Amazon links next to the ingredients are for amazon.com, food products aren't available on amazon.ca. It's impossible to buy all of those with one click in Canada. I'd have to hunt down Canadian shipping sites or visit 3 different grocery stores to find most of those. Edit: Nevermind, read this comment: http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfection#comment-1385374298 http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfe... The amount of vitamins are dangerously higher than 100% recommended daily intake. Unlike Soylent which has mid-range http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfection#comment-1385374298 http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfe... I'd stay away from this recipe.

geoelectric 12y ago

Hopefully this isn't followed by yet another "hey, six+ more weeks for your order placed in June" email like the last couple of announcements were. It all sounds wonderful, but I'd like the chance to actually try it.

jack-r-abbit 12y ago
They certainly had issues with scaling. But once you're "in", your shipments come a lot faster.
ChrisLTD 12y ago
No kidding. I ordered back in May, Soylent told me they were "shipping soon" in September, and I still don't have anything.
- gtaylor 12y ago
  I ordered June 19th, haven't got anything yet either. Was starting to wonder if that was abnormal, but if you have been waiting since May...
  - kxo 12y ago
    March here - All quiet on the Western front.
- DrBobo 12y ago
  I had to send an email to info@soylent.me to get them to send me my first order. It arrived today. They said it was delayed because of a "shipping error"
cweiss 12y ago
The converse being "Damn, I just got my 1 month supply of 1.1 and now they come out with 1.2?!"
- codezero 12y ago
  This happened when I ordered a refill for my 1.0, I actually wanted to try out the 1.1, if you're in the bay area, I'll swap you a week of 1.2 when I get it :)

sethbannon 12y ago

Very happy to see that Soylent will now be free of animal products. I had no idea that you could produce oil rich in Omega-3 fatty acids from algae. And looking it up lead me to learn that you can also product more traditional fuels from algae as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel

imanaccount247 12y ago
Algae are the root source of most omega3 heavy oils. They've just been "processed" via fish and marine mammals.
mikeyouse 12y ago
I formerly worked for a company where our primary line of business was producing Omega-3s from algae (nannochloropsis). Our company didn't work out (for unrelated reasons), but the economics and realities regarding the global fish stock ensure that a non-insignificant portion of Omega-3s/7s will come from algae in the not-too-distant future! For those who do care though, definitely examine the origin of your algae products. Most of the spirulina / haematococcus (for astaxanthin) / nannochloropsis by volume is grown in rather disgusting conditions in China and India. The US, Japan, and European products are much cleaner but are often GMO if that kind of thing matters to you.

colinbartlett 12y ago

I am not a Soylent fan but I do like this food-versioning idea. What if all consumer food products were required to have versions numbers and a change log to detail out modifications? Oreos version 2.3: Reduced count from 36 to 34. Increased price by 15 cents. Pepsi version 3.0: Swapped sugar for high-fructose corn syrup.

pothibo 12y ago
It would only work for manufactured good, often linked to fast-food. I think in that regards, it would be a great idea. For everything else, it would be impossible due to the nature of cooking itself.
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aleem 12y ago
GitHub could be leveraged to do this so easily and it would make for an awesome repo. Each product could get it's own file allowing easy tracking of revisions, PR and issue tracking. A standardised file naming convention and formatting are all that's needed to get started. EDIT: There is also DIY Soylent [1] with some popular recipes, detailed nutritional information and versioning of each formula. People Chow v3.0.1 [2] seems to be one of the favourite recipes. [1] http://diy.soylent.me/recipes http://diy.soylent.me/recipes [2] http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfection http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfe...
- lamby 12y ago
  > GitHub could be leveraged to do this so easily and it would make for an awesome repo I don't think you are wrong per-se but whenever I see, let's take a more illustrative example, statutes and laws added to GitHub I can't help but think they are introducing a rather misleading narrative to the information. In this example, developers--especially on HN--have a cultural quirk anyway where they believe that the legal system can somehow be reduced or modelled as some sort computer program (when the reality is quite different) and having levers such as pull requests, review systems and diffs encourages this kind of thinking to some degree.

moeedm 12y ago

Food is so much more appealing when it has a version number, right?

georgemcbay 12y ago
Not if the update is due to a bug that would cause a system crash.

Siecje 12y ago

Does it still take 3 months to arrive?

emverest 12y ago
I ordered mine about 4 months ago and still waiting
- srj 12y ago
  Ordered mine 6 months ago and it hasn't arrived yet.
datashovel 12y ago
Once you have received your first shipment, and you use your email from previous order on future orders, you will receive shipments in reasonable time. I was one of the first backers on their crowdfunding campaign, and had to wait 1 yr before my first batch, but now I'm on monthly subscription so everything comes on time.
- film42 12y ago
  What noticeable benefits have you seen since you started using Soylent? Easier to eat? Feel healthier?
  - datashovel 12y ago
    Generally speaking if you can get used to the taste IMO it's pretty amazing for alot of reasons. BTW the taste is not as bad as many say, but it can be difficult to resist a trip to [your favorite restaurant here] for lunch every once in a while. First, it fits my lifestyle. I work from home as an independent contractor, so no issues with having it for days at a time without hassle of bringing it to work with me every day. Also, for the first week or so your body is adjusting to it, so in terms of social interactions you may not "be yourself". For example, for me, I would get tired randomly after a glass. After that first week or so things start getting back to normal. I sometimes go on work binges depending on what I'm trying to accomplish, so in those circumstances the last thing I want to do is get up from my computer to spend even 1-2 hrs preparing and eating, then cleaning up after a meal just because my stomach is growling. Second, my personal experience so far has been that it truly does give you that "full" / "satiated" feeling after you've had a glass of it. More so than pretty much any home or restaurant-prepared meal I've ever had. It lasts a long time as well. I don't have stats, but when I'm really busy and involved with a project I would say the number of times I get up from my desk to take a break, stretch my legs, etc. for one reason or another has decreased dramatically. Third, generally speaking for a quick meal in the past it would be a trip to a restaurant, or some processed / high sodium, low in nutrition meal (ie. your mac and cheese, pizza, canned soups, etc). Now there's a basic peace of mind that I don't have to compromise nutrition just because I don't want to put the time and effort into preparing a healthy meal. Fourth, general energy levels / focus throughout the day. Probably because overall I'm eating healthier during busy times, and the formulation is meant to maintain things like steady levels of blood sugar, etc. You don't get the peaks and valleys you sometimes can get after eating a heavy meal. I'm no fan boy, though it might sound like it. It's one of those products I can seriously spend some time promoting to people because I truly do believe in it. If I had to guess, I would say (barring disaster) this is going to be a multi-billion-dollar company.

Siecje 12y ago

Why is centrifugal force still a thing?

darkstar999 12y ago
What about it?
- Siecje 12y ago
  Makes you wonder what else is wrong.
Groxx 12y ago
http://xkcd.com/123/ http://xkcd.com/123/ The defense rests.

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forrestthewoods 12y ago

Let's say in a few years time Soylent is successful enough to have multiple product lines. I wonder what, if any, advantages there would be to a variation that did include animal products.

baddox 12y ago
I would assume it's cheaper and/or logistically easier to fulfill nutritional requirements with animal products. Presumably that's why Soylent used fish oil initially.
- jack-r-abbit 12y ago
  FTA: A perfect example of the inefficiency of animal-based nutritional compounds is fish oil That sounds like getting the fish oil is more costly than getting it straight from the algae.
  - baddox 12y ago
    I assumed that referred to environmental efficiency rather than cost efficiency.
    - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
      Possibly. Adding this part "turned into fish oil through an energy-intensive process" makes me think of cost. But I can see it both ways.
  - mikeyouse 12y ago
    Depending on the concentration you're after and the form (triglyceride vs. ethyl ester), fish oil is almost an order of magnitude cheaper than algae-based omega-3s. The price is just a question of scale since fish oil is often a byproduct or co-product with fish meal production for livestock, and millions of metric tons of fish meal are processed annually. Fortunately for Soylent, a KG of wholesale Omega-3 from algae costs roughly $150/kg and they're only using 2.5G per serving, so you can figure maybe $0.30 - $0.40/serving depending on the concentration of Omega-3s in the powder they're buying. It is pretty interesting that maybe 1/10th of the cost is tied up in Omega-3s though.

arthurcolle 12y ago

I have some and really just don't like the taste... Have 5 bags unopened if anyone has any tricks to make it edible

caublestone 12y ago
Blend it with peanut butter. It's quite delicious this way to me. Apologies if you are allergic.
- freshyill 12y ago
  Nobody's allergic in my house, but the kids can't bring any peanut stuff to school, so they take this… http://www.wowbutter.com http://www.wowbutter.com This stuff absolutely nails the taste although the texture is more in line with a Skippy or Jif than with better peanut butter.
  - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
    We currently use SunButter but the taste is not the same. It is not bad but it is certainly not like peanut butter. I was interested in your link but I see it is made from soy. My youngest has an intolerance to soy. :( We would love to find "a nut-free, soy-free spread the tastes like peanut butter."
    - freshyill 12y ago
      We had this one recently too: http://www.thesneakychef.com/free-recipe-no-nut-butter.php http://www.thesneakychef.com/free-recipe-no-nut-butter.php It's made from peas. It's not quite as close to the real thing as the one that's made from soybeans, but it's pretty good.
      - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
        Thanks for that! I've added it to my Amazon cart for a future order. I'll try anything once. (Obviously... since we're in a Soylent thread)

grandalf 12y ago

I'd try this if the time to shipment were remotely reasonable.

karamazov 12y ago

I'd like to try Soylent. Is there a way to order, say, $10 worth to check it out?

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- bluetshirt 12y ago
  ... 21 meals IS a week's supply.
- namwen 12y ago
  21 meals is supposed to be a weeks supply.
baddox 12y ago
If you can make it to downtown San Francisco I can sell you one day's worth of v1.0 or v1.1 for $12.
- codezero 12y ago
  Hey, would you be willing to swap a few bags of 1.0 or 1.2 (when they arrive) for some 1.1? I'd like to try it out to see if the digestive enzymes are worth dropping in to the 1.2 brew.
  - baddox 12y ago
    Sure. I've noticed that 1.1 is less sweet than 1.0, but I'm not particularly partial to either, and I haven't encountered any digestive issues with either version.
    - codezero 12y ago
      Did you notice the issue with the thickness in 1.1? For me, I get a lot of pretty epic farts with 1.0, so I was hoping the enzymes in 1.1 would address that :)

gburt 12y ago

I see Soylent is now completely vegan. This is interesting and will appeal to a new community for a range of ethical and environmental reasons, especially if it can deal with many of the common nutritional issues (B12, iron). I think another interesting marketing angle for the future of Soylent would be a measure of its carbon emissions[1,2] especially considering the somewhat unique distribution mechanism. [1] For example, http://www.foodemissions.com/foodemissions/Calculator.aspx http://www.foodemissions.com/foodemissions/Calculator.aspx [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_carbon_diet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_carbon_diet

imanaccount247 12y ago
>if it can deal with many of the common nutritional issues (B12, iron) What do you mean "if"? Those aren't really common nutritional issues specifically because they are so easy to "deal with". Vegans take a b12 supplement. The end. Obviously soylent also contains b12.

rb2k_ 12y ago

I can't seem to find a changelog. I would love a "what's new"

slashnull 12y ago

I'm hungry

adamwong246 12y ago

As long as we are extending the software metaphor, under what software license should Soylent be classified?

nickbauman 12y ago

Considering how little we truly understand about nutrition, I would not willingly eat this stuff.

christiangenco 12y ago
Have you ever willingly drunk a protein shake?
- nickbauman 12y ago
  Only when there's no other choice.
baddox 12y ago
That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Do you have some reason to suspect that the diet you're currently eating is based on a more correct understanding of nutrition than a diet that includes Soylent?
- nickbauman 12y ago
  Good question. I take a conservative view. I consider how our understanding of nutrition is limited, I look at the evolutionary morphology of our species and take a look at what we've adapted to eat for nearly a million years and favor that sort of food over something synthesized _this year._ I allow that Soylent may be better quality than this food. But the odds are it's not.
  - baddox 12y ago
    I don't mean to offend, but that sounds like irrational risk aversion, unless you have more information about nutrition and the development process of your usual diet vs. Soylent. My usual diet is fairly unorganized and not particularly well-researched (by me). I'm sure a huge amount of engineering and "artificial" processes have gone into most of it, just like with Soylent. I don't really see a dichotomy between a diet "naturally" formed by evolution over millions of years and a Soylent diet.

auvi 12y ago

i'm just wondering, before each version of Soylent is released, do they get FDA approval?

ghshephard 12y ago
No - Soylent is comprised of products that are Generally Recognized as Safe by the FDA - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_recognized_as_safe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_recognized_as_safe
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DanBC 12y ago
They don't currently[1] make medical claims and the ingredients are GRAS - generally recognised as safe - so they don't need approval. [1] unlike during the kickstarter when they made a few.

jack-r-abbit 12y ago

For the people that are concerned about the taste of Soylent: I personally don't think it tastes bad at all. It isn't super awesome either, but certainly not gross. I drank plenty of it straight and it was just fine. Having said that... I've had great success with adding a squirt or two of Mio[1] to it before I drink it. Easy to do and gives you a decent variety of flavors (however, they are all fruity). [1] http://www.makeitmio.com/ http://www.makeitmio.com/

jordanpg 12y ago

> Our name was inspired by Harry Harrison's 1966 science fiction novel Make Room! Make Room!, which explores the impact massive population growth could have on world resources. According to WP [1], this somewhat (?) obscure book was the inspiration for the name, not the extremely well-known movie that I need not name here. I assume this is sanitization by the marketing department? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_Room!_Make_Room http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_Room!_Make_Room!

jack-r-abbit 12y ago
In the book, the name applies to some manufactured food stuffs. But all the people that try to make the joke about it being made of people miss one important fact. In the movie, only the Green was made from people. There existed other variants that were not made of people. If this one was from the movie, it would likely be called Soylent Grey. :)
- geoelectric 12y ago
  Well, now that it's vegan... (Though that goes to the age-old question of whether human is vegan or not :) )

platinumdragon 12y ago

Stop posting this shit. They have a 20 week shipping time, if they even hold to that. They're nothing but vaporware.

cheshire137 12y ago

So should I keep a bag of Soylent 1.1 and hope to sell it on eBay years from now as the rare Soylent that came with an enzyme blend?

Mandatum 12y ago

1.2 and still no international shipping provider.. USPS/UPS all have API's and deliver pretty much everywhere. Just implement it and charge for it. Those who don't want to pay will use a reshipper.

b1twise 12y ago

I tried Soylent 1.0 and had severe gastrointestinal issues with it. In doing research I came across 100%FOOD--a Soylent alternative. The texture is a lot less appealing than Soylent at first, but I got used to it. My body agrees with it much more. They shipped within hours, not months. It's produced at a vegan facility and uses a lot more 'natural' products as components. Chocolate is definitely recommended. Oh, and they ship internationally.