Could humans create food pellets containing all needed nutrition similar to what we feed pets?
In: 166
At least one company claims it already has a product, Soylent, that provides all daily nutrients.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_(meal_replacement)
However, others say that Soylent is not a substitute for a varied and nutritious diet that includes a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Some medical foods are also supposed to provide complete nutrition, as for example the kind of food provided through feeding tubes.
At least one company claims it already has a product, Soylent, that provides all daily nutrients.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_(meal_replacement)
However, others say that Soylent is not a substitute for a varied and nutritious diet that includes a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Some medical foods are also supposed to provide complete nutrition, as for example the kind of food provided through feeding tubes.
At least one company claims it already has a product, Soylent, that provides all daily nutrients.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_(meal_replacement)
However, others say that Soylent is not a substitute for a varied and nutritious diet that includes a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Some medical foods are also supposed to provide complete nutrition, as for example the kind of food provided through feeding tubes.
short answer: we’ve tried, its a little more complex than that….and people just plain like regular food.
I’m told the Americans in the cold war were able to create a syrup like food that was both sufficiently full of calories and had the correct mix of vitamins etc to sustain humans for at least a few weeks, but they had to literally lock up the test subjects to confirm this, because (as the account i read put it) “one open window, and it was ‘hello *Cheeseburger*!” “
There are issues with Food Pellets and similar ideas. Humans (and other animals) require a certain amount of caloric intake – if you aren’t getting around 2000 calories, you will lose too much weight, no matter how nutrient packed a superfood is. You also need a certain amount of fiber.
It is possible to create something like a Bar of Nutrient/Fiber/Protein. In fact, a considerable number of Survival Foods are exactly that.
Humans are an interesting case study. We consider ourselves Omnivores. But pretty much all other omnivores, like say a pig, can exist on most anything. Including carrion and random garbage. We, on the other hand, are the opposite; We REQUIRE a variety of different foodstuffs.
Our biology originally evolved to be vegetarian – like most other primates. However, about 20,000 years ago (roughly a thousand generations- not much in evolution), we domesticated some wolves and turned them into dogs. They, however, also turned us onto meat! Now, although our digestive tract is still primarily designed for a vegetarian diet, our gut bacteria is totally happy with the quick protein fix provided by meat. So, we kinda need meats of different types, veggies (incuding roughage), beans, fruits, nuts, etc. So, it’s hard to make a one-stop-shop meal.
Interestingly enough, humans can pretty much exist wholly on bear and beaver meat.
short answer: we’ve tried, its a little more complex than that….and people just plain like regular food.
I’m told the Americans in the cold war were able to create a syrup like food that was both sufficiently full of calories and had the correct mix of vitamins etc to sustain humans for at least a few weeks, but they had to literally lock up the test subjects to confirm this, because (as the account i read put it) “one open window, and it was ‘hello *Cheeseburger*!” “
short answer: we’ve tried, its a little more complex than that….and people just plain like regular food.
I’m told the Americans in the cold war were able to create a syrup like food that was both sufficiently full of calories and had the correct mix of vitamins etc to sustain humans for at least a few weeks, but they had to literally lock up the test subjects to confirm this, because (as the account i read put it) “one open window, and it was ‘hello *Cheeseburger*!” “
There are issues with Food Pellets and similar ideas. Humans (and other animals) require a certain amount of caloric intake – if you aren’t getting around 2000 calories, you will lose too much weight, no matter how nutrient packed a superfood is. You also need a certain amount of fiber.
It is possible to create something like a Bar of Nutrient/Fiber/Protein. In fact, a considerable number of Survival Foods are exactly that.
Humans are an interesting case study. We consider ourselves Omnivores. But pretty much all other omnivores, like say a pig, can exist on most anything. Including carrion and random garbage. We, on the other hand, are the opposite; We REQUIRE a variety of different foodstuffs.
Our biology originally evolved to be vegetarian – like most other primates. However, about 20,000 years ago (roughly a thousand generations- not much in evolution), we domesticated some wolves and turned them into dogs. They, however, also turned us onto meat! Now, although our digestive tract is still primarily designed for a vegetarian diet, our gut bacteria is totally happy with the quick protein fix provided by meat. So, we kinda need meats of different types, veggies (incuding roughage), beans, fruits, nuts, etc. So, it’s hard to make a one-stop-shop meal.
Interestingly enough, humans can pretty much exist wholly on bear and beaver meat.
There are issues with Food Pellets and similar ideas. Humans (and other animals) require a certain amount of caloric intake – if you aren’t getting around 2000 calories, you will lose too much weight, no matter how nutrient packed a superfood is. You also need a certain amount of fiber.
It is possible to create something like a Bar of Nutrient/Fiber/Protein. In fact, a considerable number of Survival Foods are exactly that.
Humans are an interesting case study. We consider ourselves Omnivores. But pretty much all other omnivores, like say a pig, can exist on most anything. Including carrion and random garbage. We, on the other hand, are the opposite; We REQUIRE a variety of different foodstuffs.
Our biology originally evolved to be vegetarian – like most other primates. However, about 20,000 years ago (roughly a thousand generations- not much in evolution), we domesticated some wolves and turned them into dogs. They, however, also turned us onto meat! Now, although our digestive tract is still primarily designed for a vegetarian diet, our gut bacteria is totally happy with the quick protein fix provided by meat. So, we kinda need meats of different types, veggies (incuding roughage), beans, fruits, nuts, etc. So, it’s hard to make a one-stop-shop meal.
Interestingly enough, humans can pretty much exist wholly on bear and beaver meat.
I honestly try to give my pets as close to unprocessed food as possible, it just seems healthier and they seem happier – I take the same route with humans, the less processed and fresher, the better for physical health and also your mental quality of life – eating good, varied food is an engaging sensory experience that activates the pleasure centers of your brain.
I also got into broths after spending time adding water to my cats’ food to make sure they stay hydrated, cuz they’re dumb and would just eat dry food and wonder why their kidneys clapped out if I let them lol.
I’ve seen lots of claims that “efficient” foods are the way to go, but every time it just seems that there ends up being a nutritional/psychological cost to pay that technology can’t hurdle when you forgo the regular way of eating.
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