Remember Rob Rhinehart? I'm sure you do because it's hard to forget about a guy existing solely on vitamin puke. A few months ago we wrote about Soylent, an incredibly nutritious "food replacement" smoothie that Rob, a 24-year-old engineer, had been making and consuming as his only food source for almost five weeks. On one hand, it did look a bit like semen—but on the other, Rob claimed that by drinking it every day he'd never have to eat again. Given that starvation is a fairly major problem in the world at the moment and the planet's population will likely surpass 9 billion by 2050, Rob's invention seems like an important one.
Since we last talked to him, Rob and Soylent have become famous. His project has been derided as "dangerous," "ludicrous," and "a red flag for a potential eating disorder" by nutrition experts. Fortunately for Rob, the supporters of Soylent have been generous: a crowdfunding project for his fancy health goo raised almost $800,000 in under 30 days. Now Rob is the CEO of the Soylent Corporation; his hobby has officially turned into a career. His management team might look like the kind of technically minded nerds who'd want to consume most of their meals in the form of a beige, odorless powder mix, but they're also the potential forefathers of a famine cure.
With over $1 million in preorders already received for Soylent worldwide, it seems like this stuff is going to stick around. I caught up with Rob to ask how it's all going for Soylent—which some are already calling "the future of food."
VICE: Hey, Rob. So, what happened after our interview?
Rob Rhinehart: My inbox exploded. Gmail cut me off after I answered 500 emails in a single day. Achievement unlocked. Since then Soylent has become a company and people are finally rethinking the nature of food. These are exciting times.
How have you dealt with all the media attention?
At first it was very difficult. I've always been a private person and it was uncomfortable to put myself out there. However, I decided it's my job now, and I had better get good at it. On the internet everyone talks about you like you're not in the room.
You're still eating nothing but Soylent with good results, right? How long has it been?
Yes, Soylent is exactly what I was looking for. It's been roughly 90 percent of my meals for seven months now. Once we got some professional dietitians and food scientists to collaborate with us, it got much tastier and more filling. I still keep painstakingly close track of my health and body metrics, and I still run almost every day. This also makes me approximately vegan and when I do eat, I eat very well. I've developed a lot of good habits since starting Soylent, and learned a lot about the body and what's running me.
An early version of Soylent.
How did you find your beta testers? Are they enjoying their dinner?
I chose a reasonably diverse group based on a survey I conducted via my blog, which got many thousands of responses. The men loved it, but it took some tweaking to make the women happy. Today we support about 50 beta testers. I love reading their logs—you get stuff like "Day 12: Feel like the Terminator." The main criticism has been the appearance. People are pretty shallow when it comes to food.
Have you made any changes to Soylent now that it's not just you eating it?
The formula has changed, making it as nutritionally optimal as possible and improving the taste, texture, and mouthfeel. My initial version was just a prototype. We now have a men's and a women's version that should mostly cover the vast majority of people. I still recommend eating some traditional food, I just find it makes me feel tired compared to Soylent. I never liked cooking, but engineering food has been a lot of fun. At this point, it amazes me what people manage to live on.
How is Soylent different from other meal-replacement drinks on the market already?
A lot of things will give you calories, but nothing so far has been designed to be something you can live off. There are no food replacements on the market.
People have expressed concerns about the size of your sample group and the fact that you don't have a nutrition-science background. What do you say to those who think what you're doing is reckless or unsafe?
Ad hominem attacks aside, no one knows the consequences of 30 years of iPhone use but given the data we have it's probably fine. There are people that think everything new is dangerous, and some will accept new technology without testing it enough. I try to take the middle path. Soylent is perfectly safe, FDA-approved, and already seems far healthier than what the average American or Somalian is eating.
What do you think of the nutrition world in general?
People are inundated with terrible, conflicting advice. Nutrition is unfortunately a field where everyone thinks they're an expert. I am not, and I don't need to be. My goal is to provide the nutritional recommendations already developed by the IOM, WHO, and our board of nutritionists as efficiently and effectively as possible. That is an engineering problem.
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