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Boom times in Silicon Valley call for hard work, and hard work — at least in technology land — means that coders, engineers and venture capitalists are turning to liquid meals with names like Schmoylent, Soylent, Schmilk and People Chow. The protein-packed products that come in powder form are inexpensive and quick and easy to make — just shake with water, or in the case of Schmilk, milk. While athletes and dieters have been drinking their dinner for years, Silicon Valley's workers are now increasingly chugging their meals, too, so they can more quickly get back to their computer work.
Demand for some of the powdered drinks, which typically mix nutrients like magnesium, zinc and vitamins, is so high that some engineers report being put on waiting lists of one to six months to receive their first orders. And the drinks are taking off across techie social circles. Venture capitalists have also poured money into the companies that offer the meal replacements, and investors including Alexis Ohanian, a founder of Reddit, count themselves as fans of the drinks.
[Editor's Comment: Original Submission]
(Score: 1) by blackhawk on Friday May 29 2015, @08:52AM
Putting aside the health risks involved in having a diet of pure sludge, and the fact that any time you saved is just going to make the company you work for richer, not you (unless you own the company or have stocks), there's a few other important things you're losing by slurping this stuff.
1) Social aspect - eating lunch with your workmates. Sharing a joke together and having a walk to wherever you're eating that day.
2) Getting outside for a while and getting some small amount of natural unforced exercise.
3) Having a decent mental break from your work problems, given you renewed energy and focus for the rest of the day.
4) Flavour / texture - that's still a thing, right?
5) Chewing - so your jaw muscles don't look atrophied from never speaking or having to chew anything.
6) Developing life skills by preparing your own meals - this might be useful should you have children and want to be able to offer them food that isn't from a faceless corporation.
I can see the argument for saving time, but honestly, look at what you give up and the in return you gain almost nothing, or are even worse off for it.
Anyway, I'm off to enjoy my dinner which is oven roasted duck breast, steamed rice, and a Thai green curry coconut sauce - all prepared by hand. Dinner will take me about 14 minutes to prepare (cooking time) since I already made the curry paste earlier today from fresh ingredients and I cooked enough rice for three meals.