3 ms·

I'm almost done with my 1.3 and looking forward to 1.4. The big thing for me is the lack of the oil bottle and the sodium (I wasn't getting enough before and wo

by kposehn 12y ago

I'm almost done with my 1.3 and looking forward to 1.4. The big thing for me is the lack of the oil bottle and the sodium (I wasn't getting enough before and would get headaches). At this point, my body has fully adjusted and I crave Soylent at some times. I use it for ~1/2 my meals and could easily see it taking 2/3. I do enjoy regular food a _lot_ so I doubt I'll ever go full time, but it definitely has helped to balance out my nutrition fully. I continue to feel that Soylent is the first company that will likely feed the world - literally. Without the oil bottle and the ability to scale manufacturing, it is only a matter of time before we see Soylent as part of humanitarian convoys and/or used in medical settings. The possibilities are quite frankly amazing...

quotedmycode 12y ago
That matter of time may be a very long time. There are already foods which handle this application well enough. See Citadel spread, Plumpynut, K-Mix-2. The difference is that these provide more calories per weight than soylent and don't require added water (except the K-Mix-2). If they can come up with a high calorie Soylent and eliminate the need to add water (perhaps serve it as a paste) then it would be used in humanitarian convoys. As it is now, that's not likely to happen.
- kposehn 12y ago
  Good point about calories vs. weight.
aroch 12y ago
Unless they bring cost significantly lower (like 10-20fold lower), there's no way you're going to see it for humanitarian aide.
- kposehn 12y ago
  Price is indeed a good point. It does have to drop further to make it hit that angle.
DanBC 12y ago
There are already better products for humanitarian use and for medical use. The medical products come in a wide variety of styles to suit different medical needs. The humanitarian products are much cheaper than soylent and don't require so much water - which is in short supply in the target regions; and they have a more suitable nutrient profile. It's baffling when people claim soylent could be used for medical or humanitarian purposes, especially when those uses have been debunked on HN everytime they're mentioned.
- yazaddaruvala 12y ago
  Out of curiosity, how much do those products cost?
  - maxerickson 12y ago
    Plumpy'nut is one of them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy%27nut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy%27nut In 2010, it was $60 for a 2 month supply for a child (~1 course of treatment).
  - DanBC 12y ago
    One product cost $4 to $5 per kg in 2008; treatment lasts 6 to 8 weeks with children eating about 11 kg total: http://irinnews.org/report/83124/malawi-cheaper-recipe-for-treating-hungry-children#.VRMIB6_47To http://irinnews.org/report/83124/malawi-cheaper-recipe-for-t... High energy biscuits are 12 cents per 100g; micronutrient sprinkles are $3 per hundred sachets; plumpyDoz ration is 20 cents; http://wfp.org/nutrition/special-nutritional-products http://wfp.org/nutrition/special-nutritional-products This PDF lists the range of products but doesn't have prices: http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/communications/wfp255508.pdf http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/co... This website talks about what the different products are http://wfp.org/nutrition/how-wfp-fights-malnutrition http://wfp.org/nutrition/how-wfp-fights-malnutrition
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- rictic 12y ago
dragonwriter 12y ago
> I continue to feel that Soylent is the first company that will likely feed the world - literally. I've never seen any coherent reason to believe this, or even anything individual piece relevant to this that Soylent has innovated on.
- kposehn 12y ago
  I have my own reasons, namely the logistics part of the equation. What initially gained my interest about Soylent was that it seems that they are developing it in such a way as to reduce logistical burden and ensure ingredients can be found and produced with relative ease. I'm no expert, for sure, but that they immediately gravitated toward the logistics of food as one key area to attack got my interest. I still have more research to do to fully understand the space, but my gut feeling is that they have a massive potential that is slowly being unlocked.

by kposehn 12y ago

quotedmycode 12y ago

That matter of time may be a very long time. There are already foods which handle this application well enough. See Citadel spread, Plumpynut, K-Mix-2. The difference is that these provide more calories per weight than soylent and don't require added water (except the K-Mix-2). If they can come up with a high calorie Soylent and eliminate the need to add water (perhaps serve it as a paste) then it would be used in humanitarian convoys. As it is now, that's not likely to happen.

kposehn 12y ago
Good point about calories vs. weight.

aroch 12y ago

Unless they bring cost significantly lower (like 10-20fold lower), there's no way you're going to see it for humanitarian aide.

kposehn 12y ago
Price is indeed a good point. It does have to drop further to make it hit that angle.

DanBC 12y ago

There are already better products for humanitarian use and for medical use. The medical products come in a wide variety of styles to suit different medical needs. The humanitarian products are much cheaper than soylent and don't require so much water - which is in short supply in the target regions; and they have a more suitable nutrient profile. It's baffling when people claim soylent could be used for medical or humanitarian purposes, especially when those uses have been debunked on HN everytime they're mentioned.

yazaddaruvala 12y ago
Out of curiosity, how much do those products cost?
- maxerickson 12y ago
  Plumpy'nut is one of them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy%27nut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy%27nut In 2010, it was $60 for a 2 month supply for a child (~1 course of treatment).
- DanBC 12y ago
  One product cost $4 to $5 per kg in 2008; treatment lasts 6 to 8 weeks with children eating about 11 kg total: http://irinnews.org/report/83124/malawi-cheaper-recipe-for-treating-hungry-children#.VRMIB6_47To http://irinnews.org/report/83124/malawi-cheaper-recipe-for-t... High energy biscuits are 12 cents per 100g; micronutrient sprinkles are $3 per hundred sachets; plumpyDoz ration is 20 cents; http://wfp.org/nutrition/special-nutritional-products http://wfp.org/nutrition/special-nutritional-products This PDF lists the range of products but doesn't have prices: http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/communications/wfp255508.pdf http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/co... This website talks about what the different products are http://wfp.org/nutrition/how-wfp-fights-malnutrition http://wfp.org/nutrition/how-wfp-fights-malnutrition
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
rictic 12y ago

dragonwriter 12y ago

> I continue to feel that Soylent is the first company that will likely feed the world - literally. I've never seen any coherent reason to believe this, or even anything individual piece relevant to this that Soylent has innovated on.

kposehn 12y ago
I have my own reasons, namely the logistics part of the equation. What initially gained my interest about Soylent was that it seems that they are developing it in such a way as to reduce logistical burden and ensure ingredients can be found and produced with relative ease. I'm no expert, for sure, but that they immediately gravitated toward the logistics of food as one key area to attack got my interest. I still have more research to do to fully understand the space, but my gut feeling is that they have a massive potential that is slowly being unlocked.