Emma Bryan Page 1
Professor Miller
09/16/18
Essay 1, Draft 1
Is Food Just Food?
Not many people see the true meaning of food. Most people eat their food, and then get on with their lives, but why? Why can’t people just sit down, and enjoy a meal, and the memories that can be made with meals? Do people just try to rush through their lives? I can’t answer these questions for other people, but I can say that I both do and don’t rush through eating. Sometimes I do if I’m busy, but if I’m sitting down to really enjoy a meal, I don’t rush. Food is a valued subject.
Lizzie Widdicombe, the author of The End of Food, characterizes Rob Rhinehart as someone who doesn’t enjoy the values and privileges of food. He developed Soylent as a substitute for food. Soylent is a mixture of vitamins minerals that give the right nutrients to the body that is drank. So instead of sitting down and eating a meal, he can travel with his “food”. I find this unethical. The consequences of Soylent overtake the benefits. More would be lost than won. Sure, you make look healthier, and even feel healthier, but for how long? I do not believe Rob Rhinehart’s Soylent can solve real world problems. In fact, I believe it could make them worse.
The world revolves around food. It is impossible for it to not. Relationships can start and end with food. Families can be held together by food. I don’t think this is bad. I believe this is good. It doesn’t mean our interests and priorities are out of place, it just means food gives a place to start and end things.
Page 2
Soylent cannot solve the world’s problems. Imagine getting up in the morning and all you have to do is prepare this “gooey lemonade”, as Rob Rhinehart would say. This could make a person lazy. Half of eating a meal is actually preparing the meal. I understand as a young child, parents do that for them, but as an adult you should be preparing your own meals. Preparing meals is half the battle of actually eating food. Soylent would constitute this kind of laziness.
Not only would laziness come of Soylent. Not preparing meals could take away cherished time with loved ones. How about all the memories you get from sitting down with your family while eating? You sit down at the dinner table, talk about your day and everything that has been going on. Specific meals give certain memories, some good, some bad, but they’re memories. Food is so important when it comes to making memories. There are certain meals that just come with a bundle of memories. When I’m walking down the street and smell a certain food, memories come flooding back to me. Soylent would take this sensation away.
It would also take away the happiness of actually making a meal for your family. Imagine you’re making dinner and your family is laughing and playing in the background, and you know how happy they’re going to be when you give them a home cooked meal that they’re all going to love. Wouldn’t that give you a warm and fuzzy feeling? Soylent is essentially tasteless, so I don’t believe throwing powder and oil into a bottle to make Soylent would make your family happy like a lovely cooked meal would.
Emma Bryan Bryan 1
Professor Miller
English 110
09/16/18
Essay 1, Draft 2
Is Food Just Food?
Not many people see the true meaning of food. Most people eat their food, and then get on with their lives, but why? Why can’t people just sit down, enjoy a meal, and the memories that can be made with meals? Do people just try to rush through their lives? I can’t answer these questions for other people, but I can say that I both do and don’t rush through eating. Sometimes I do if I’m busy, but if I’m sitting down to really enjoy a meal, I don’t rush. Food is a valued subject.
The world revolves around food. It is impossible for it to not. Relationships can start and end with food. Families can be held together by food. I don’t think this is bad. I believe this is good. It doesn’t mean our interests and priorities are out of place, it just means food gives a place to start and end things.
Lizzie Widdicombe, the author of The End of Food, characterizes Rob Rhinehart as someone who doesn’t enjoy the values and privileges of food. He developed Soylent as a substitute for food. Soylent is a mixture of vitamins minerals that give the right nutrients to the body and is drank. So instead of sitting down and eating a meal, he can travel with his “food”. I find this unethical. The consequences of Soylent overtake the benefits. More would be lost than won. Sure, you make look healthier, and even feel healthier, but for how long? Although
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Rob Rhinehart does make a good claim, I do not believe Soylent could solve the world’s problems that easily.
Rob Rhinehart genuinely believes that Soylent could solve the world’s problems. He believes it could solve world hunger as well as obesity. When Rhinehart was talking about how a shipping container could just be dropped into different countries he states, “Mankind’s oldest problem would be solved”. He was saying by just dropping containers of Soylent in countries it could solve the world hunger. Before this, he complicates matters further by saying, “there would be no more wars over farmland, much less resource competition”. While this could be somewhat true, it’s much more complicated than that. One single thing can’t just make everything better.
Soylent cannot solve the world’s problems. Imagine getting up in the morning and all you have to do is prepare this “gooey lemonade”, as Rob Rhinehart would say. This could make a person lazy. Half of eating a meal is actually preparing the meal. I understand as a young child, parents do that for them, but as an adult you should be preparing your own meals. Preparing meals is half the battle of actually eating food. Soylent would constitute this kind of laziness.
Not only would laziness come of Soylent. Not preparing meals could take away cherished time with loved ones. How about all the memories you get from sitting down with your family while eating? You sit down at the dinner table, talk about your day and everything that has been going on. Specific meals give certain memories, some good, some bad, but they’re memories. Food is so important when it comes to making memories. There are certain meals that just come with a bundle of memories. When I’m walking down the street and smell a certain food, memories come flooding back to me. In my favorite meal essay I presented, “I can still remember sitting in my bedroom upstairs. I could just smell it the second the onions hit the
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pan. I immediately would jump out of my bed and run downstairs. We could a lot of meals starting out with onions, but somehow, I can just tell when it’s spaghetti and ham being cooked for dinner.” I know the smell of my favorite meal because it will always be in the back of my mind, but I don’t understand how one could ever get this from a “gooey lemonade”. Soylent would take this sensation away.
When I was writing my favorite food essay I talked all about how important food is. I acknowledged that spaghetti and ham is my favorite food. I happened to state, “This is important to me because I know I will never have the experience to sit with all of my siblings and both my parents at one table.” What I was trying to say was, food creates memories. I have the personal experience of making memories from a specific food. How is anybody supposed to make memories when you’re drinking your food and it’s the same thing every time?
It would also take away the happiness of actually making a meal for your family. Imagine you’re making dinner and your family is laughing and playing in the background, and you know how happy they’re going to be when you give them a home cooked meal that they’re all going to love. Wouldn’t that give you a warm and fuzzy feeling? Soylent is essentially tasteless. Saying this, I don’t believe throwing powder and oil into a bottle to make Soylent would make your family happy like a lovely cooked meal would.
So, what about the poor villages? Soylent could potentially help poor villages, but it’s unlikely. Rob Rhinehart states, “To help a village full of malnourished people, “you could just drop in a shipping container” full of Soylent-producing algae”. There is so many things wrong
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with just dropping this container in. There would need to be instructions, but these people wouldn’t know how to read, they’re uneducated. Someone would physically have to go in and help the poor villages, this costs money that companies don’t feel like spending. How many villages would need Soylent would be hard to calculate. There are poor people in rich areas who could benefit from Soylent. This would not solve the world’s problems.
Jobs would be affected if everyone started drinking Soylent. Think of all the people who work in the food industry. There are fast food workers and chefs. Along with the people who raise the farms and transport the food to specific places. Soylent is supposed to be a cheap alternative to regular food so there wouldn’t be enough workers in the industry to fulfill everyone’s needs. This would cause the economy to dramatically fail.
Though I don’t completely agree with Rhinehart’s believe of Soylent, there are somethings I can agree upon. For example, Rhinehart states, “The main way that most people will experience climate change is through the impact on food: the food they eat, the price they pay for it, and the availability and choice that they have”. What he’s trying to say is, food is a huge part of the green-house gas emissions that is killing the environment. Soylent would drastically decrease green-house gas emissions by cutting out the use of animals. This is important, but still won’t solve all of the world’s problems like Rhinehart believes.
Rob Rhinehart is keen on the fact that Soylent will solve the world’s problems. Unfortunately, there are many reasons it won’t solve all of them. People should be trying to live their best lives, but this cannot come from drinking the same thing for the rest of their lives. Though, Rob Rinehart’s idea should not completely be rejected. People can use Soylent for the
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sake of making them feel better about themselves, but not to replace food as a whole. It is understandable for some people to think of Soylent as a solution to all the world’s problems, because if it’s a solution for one person, they may think that’s considered enough to cure the whole world.
There will always be a part of me that’s torn between whether or not Soylent can or can’t solve the world’s problems. Although saying this, I do stick with my opinion of Soylent not solving the world’s problems. This is because behind every solution there will still be a problem. One thing cannot solve all of the problems in the world. So, do you believe Soylent could solve the world’s problems?
Emma Bryan
Professor Miller
English 110 H2
3 October 2018
Project 1, draft 3
Is Food Just Food?
Not many people see the true meaning of food. Most people eat their food, and then get on with their lives, but why? Why can’t people just sit down, enjoy a meal, and the memories that can be made with meals? Do people just try to rush through their lives? I can’t answer these questions for other people, but I can say that I both do and don’t rush through eating. Sometimes I do if I’m busy, but if I’m sitting down to really enjoy a meal, I don’t rush.
Lizzie Widdicombe, the author of The End of Food, characterizes Rob Rhinehart as someone who doesn’t enjoy the values and privileges of food. Rob failed his first project of inexpensive cell-phone towers. This left him living at home, broke and sad. This is when he decided to develop Soylent as a substitute for food. Soylent is a mixture of vitamins minerals that give each individual the right nutrients to the body. So instead of sitting down and eating a meal, he can travel with his “food”. I find this unethical. The consequences of Soylent overtake the benefits. More would be lost than won. Sure, you make look healthier, and even feel healthier, but for how long? Although Rob Rhinehart does make a good claim, I do not believe Soylent could solve the world’s problems that easily.
Rob Rhinehart genuinely believes that Soylent could solve the world’s problems. He believes it could solve world hunger as well as obesity. When Rhinehart was talking about how a shipping container could just be dropped into different countries he states, “Mankind’s oldest problem would be solved” (Widdicombe 17). He was saying by just dropping containers of Soylent in countries it could solve the world hunger. Before this, he complicates matters further by saying, “there would be no more wars over farmland, much less resource competition” (Widdicombe 17). While this could be somewhat true, it’s much more complicated than that. One single thing can’t just make everything better.
Soylent would constitute laziness. Imagine getting up in the morning and all you have to do is prepare this “gooey lemonade”, as Rob Rhinehart would say. This would make a person lazy. Half of eating a meal is actually preparing the meal. I understand as a young child, parents do that for them, but as an adult one should be preparing their own meals. Taking the time out of your day to prepare a meal with love is important. Preparing meals is half the battle of actually eating food.
Not only would laziness come of Soylent. Not preparing meals could take away cherished time with loved ones. How about all the memories you get from sitting down with your family while eating? You sit down at the dinner table, talk about your day and everything that has been going on. Specific meals give certain memories, some good, some bad, but they’re memories. Food is so important when it comes to making memories. There are certain meals that just come with a bundle of memories. When I’m walking down the street and smell a certain food, memories come flooding back to me. In my favorite meal essay I presented, “I can still remember sitting in my bedroom upstairs. I could just smell it the second the onions hit the pan. I immediately would jump out of my bed and run downstairs. We use a lot of meals starting out with onions, but somehow, I can just tell when it’s spaghetti and ham being cooked for dinner.” It always made me happy when I could smell this being cooked, because it reminds me of sitting down with my family and enjoying a meal with them. I know the smell of my favorite meal because it will always be in the back of my mind, but I don’t understand how one could ever get this from a “gooey lemonade”. Soylent would take away time to sit down with family and friends.
When I was writing my favorite food essay I talked all about how important food is, and how it creates memories. I acknowledged that spaghetti and ham is my favorite food. I happened to state, “This is important to me because I know I will never have the experience to sit with all of my siblings and both my parents at one table.” What I was trying to say was, food creates memories. I have the personal experience of making memories from a specific food. How is anybody supposed to make memories when you’re drinking your food and it’s the same thing every time?
What about the poor villages? Soylent could potentially help poor villages, but it’s unlikely. Rob Rhinehart states, “To help a village full of malnourished people, “you could just drop in a shipping container” full of Soylent-producing algae”. There is so many things wrong with just dropping this container in. There would need to be instructions, but these people wouldn’t know how to read, they’re uneducated. Someone would physically have to go in and help the poor villages, this costs money that companies don’t feel like spending. How many villages would need Soylent would be hard to calculate. There are poor people in rich areas who could benefit from Soylent. This would not solve the world’s problems.
Jobs would be affected if everyone started drinking Soylent. Think of all the people who work in the food industry. There are fast food workers and chefs. Then there are the people who raise the farms and transport the food to specific places. Soylent is supposed to be a cheap alternative to regular food. Meaning, not as many jobs would be needed. So there wouldn’t be enough workers in the industry to fulfill everyone’s needs. This would cause the economy to dramatically fail.
Though I don’t completely agree with Rhinehart’s believe of Soylent, there are somethings I can agree upon. For example, Rhinehart states, “The main way that most people will experience climate change is through the impact on food: the food they eat, the price they pay for it, and the availability and choice that they have” (Widdicombe 6). What he’s trying to say is, food is a huge part of the greenhouse gas emissions that is killing the environment. Soylent would drastically decrease greenhouse gas emissions by cutting out the use of animals. This is important, but still won’t solve all of the world’s problems like Rhinehart believes.
Rob Rhinehart is keen on the fact that Soylent will solve the world’s problems. Unfortunately, there are many reasons it won’t solve all of them. People should be trying to live their best lives, but this cannot come from drinking the same thing for the rest of their lives. Though, Rob Rinehart’s idea should not completely be rejected. People can use Soylent for the sake of making them feel better about themselves, but not to replace food as a whole. It is understandable for some people to think of Soylent as a solution to all the world’s problems, because if it’s a solution for one person, they may think that’s considered enough to cure the whole world, but that’s just not true.
There will always be a part of me that’s torn between whether or not Soylent can or can’t solve the world’s problems. Although saying this, I do stick with my opinion that Soylent can’t solve the world’s problems. This is because behind every solution there will still be a problem. One thing cannot solve all of the problems in the world. Soylent takes away time with family because it gives more time to be off doing things. It takes away from creating memories with food. Those are both two big things an individual needs to strive. Without these things, people will become sad and lonely. So, do you believe Soylent could solve the world’s problems?
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Works Cited
Lizzie Widdicombe. “The End of Food”. The New Yorker. Dec. 2014: 18. Print.
