Project #1
First Draft
While reading Widdicombe’s article, “The End of Food” interesting points are made that make her readers question their opinions on food. Everyone values food in different ways and it means something different to everyone; however, food is almost always incorporated in a person’s lifestyle in one way or another. Therefore, hearing Rob Rhinehart’s perspective on why he does not eat food at all was appalling, fascinating, and kind of scary . While Rhinehart does make strong points that I agree with to an extent, I disagree that Soylent is the solution to our society’s food problems. Not only is Soylent not appetizing, but it also does not seem healthy. Living off of pills and vitamins is a scary thought. It blows my mind that Rhinehart was able to survive living off of Soylent, but it surprises me even more that so many people wanted to test out this diet without even knowing if there are any health risks or side effects.
Rhinehart stresses his aggravations with food before we are introduced to Soylent. While I do not think people should live off of Soylent, I do think there are serious problems with our food today. From the junk food Americans eat to the chemicals and preservatives found in meat, fruits, and vegetables, it really is a no brainer the United States is struggling. Heart disease, type two diabetes, and obesity are increasingly becoming more common. Decades ago these health problems were seen, but not to the extent they are today. This is because all meals were fresh and homemade, eating out was a special treat. Meals were made from real products with no added chemicals. People did eat treats, but not nearly as often as we eat sugar today. Sugar has slowly become more and more common due to its addictive nature. Based on What the Health, a movie I watched last year, Joaquin Phoenix takes his viewers on a journey across the food industry. Phoenix mentions all of the food myths such as “Milk is good for your bones” and puts them into perspective based on his research. His findings prove a lot of these myths to be false. He focuses on a few different diseases, the food group associated with the disease, and their organizations. The results he finds are shocking. The American Heart Association, for example, has a list of recipes to help reduce the chances of heart disease, contradictingly many of these recipes included red meat which is one leading cause of heart disease. Phoenix is outraged and confused so he tries to meet with each of these organizations to find out why they are encouraging the wrong things. Basically all associations refuse to talk to him. Americans are basically being set up by the government and it is disturbing. It shows how heartless our country truly is. Money overrules everything, and our country’s dark side is revealed. There is so much wrong with our food, from the junk we eat to even the foods that should be considered healthy so our government can receive money. For that reason, I completely agree with Rhinehart that there are issues with our food.
Another point that Rhinehart makes is that Soylent is a cheap way to make sure your body receives all of its nutrients. It is possible to eat healthy meals that are not full of chemicals or junk, but it requires time and money to start. Some people do not have the money to buy organic foods that are double the price of other foods you can get. For that reason I do understand where Rhinehart is coming from. One of his main reasons for starting Soylent was due to the fact that money was something he struggled with.
Works Cited
Widdicombe, Lizzie. “The End of Food.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 9 July 2019, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/05/12/the-end-of-food.
Final Draft
It is no secret that the food in America is a constant struggle. From the excessive amount of junk food to the added chemicals in meat, fruits, and vegetables, it seems like nothing is truly good for you. The worst part being, our government is behind it all and simply for the money. That being said, should we just stop eating food completely and live off of Soylent? While reading Widdicombe’s article, “The End of Food” interesting points are made that make her readers question their values on food. Everyone values food in different ways and it means something different to everyone; however, food is almost always incorporated in a person’s lifestyle in one way or another. Therefore, hearing Rob Rhinehart’s perspective and reasons on why he does not eat food at all was appalling, fascinating, and kind of scary . While Rhinehart does make strong points that I agree with to an extent, I disagree that Soylent is the solution to our society’s food problems. Not only is Soylent not appetizing, but it also does not seem healthy. Living off of pills and vitamins is a scary thought. It blows my mind that Rhinehart was able to survive living off of Soylent, but it surprises me even more that so many people wanted to test out this diet without even knowing if there were any health risks or side effects.
While I do not think people should live off of Soylent completely, I do think there are serious problems with our food today like Rhinehart mentions. From the junk food Americans eat to the chemicals and preservatives found in meat, fruits, and vegetables, it really is a no brainer that the United States is struggling. Heart disease, type two diabetes, and obesity are increasingly becoming more common. Decades ago these health problems were seen, but not to the extent they are today. Meals were made from real products with no added chemicals and eating out was a treat. Today eating fast food is more common as it is cheap and fast. It is possible to eat healthy, but often times this is expensive and time consuming and many people are not motivated enough to stick through with it. However, eating fast food takes a toll on the body. Rhinehart even explains how it affected him saying, “I felt like I was going to die” (Page 1). Rhinehart lived off of fast food chains such as McDonald’s and Little Caesars for a week. While it fit into his budget, he felt so sick he had to stop. There is so much wrong with our food and for that reason, I completely agree with Rhinehart.
While there are many issues with our food, getting rid of it completely will not solve everything. Food has developed into more than just receiving the necessary nutrients to survive. Food is a way to express love, culture, and creativity. Not to mention it is tasty. At one point in Widdicombe’s article Rhinehart states, “Most of people’s meals are forgotten” (Page 3). In this quote Rhinehart is explaining how typically we do not even remember our meals and questions what the point of eating food is when you can get all the nutrients needed through Soylent. While I do forget my meals, I also do not think I could survive without them. Not all meals stand out, but the meals that do stand out make it worth it. I think food is something we tend to take for granted. Eating food multiple times a day is the norm, but if it were to be taken away, I would then realize how much I would miss it. I can not imagine never eating my favorite meals ever again. My favorite meals are the meals that my family makes and we eat together. Eating as a family is what brings my family together. Part of the reason my grandmother’s meatballs are something my family and I obsess over is because it reminds us of being together. After a long day of surfing, my grandmother almost always has a pot of warm meatballs boiling on the stove ready for us to devour. Something about eating a warm meal on the porch watching the sunset, surrounded by my family laughing is so comforting. Imagining us all sitting there with a glass of Soylent is not the same. As I interviewed my grandmother, I asked her what her thoughts were on what makes this meal so special to our family and she replied, “I’m realizing making a pot of meatballs has become an expression of love for my family”. I think the way she phrased this is so accurate and it is so crazy to think food can have such a big impact on my family. Her famous meatballs always hit the spot and I believe coming home to “A slurry of chemicals…” (Widdicombe 2) would not trigger my brother and I to rush to dinner. From a young age, my brother and I would stop whatever we were doing and race to the kitchen to eat my grandmother’s famous meatballs as she called us down for dinner. As much as we enjoyed playing in her backyard and watching Disney Channel together, in that moment, the most important thing to us was sitting down as a family and enjoying my grandmother’s famous dish. Therefore, while Rhinehart makes strong points supporting Soylent’s benefits, such as it being quick and inexpensive, it is not worth getting rid of our food for.
Not only should we not live off of Soylent because food is so important, but also because it does not seem to be completely healthy. Widdicombe explains, “In the early days, Rhinehart experimented with underdosing and overdosing on nutrients. Too little sodium made him feel ‘foggy’. Overdosing on magnesium ‘was probably the worst. I just felt sharp pains throughout my entire body and couldn’t really move’” (13). To me this is terrifying. It is so easy to forget to add one thing, but then accidentally add too much of another. It does not seem safe especially as everyone has a different height, weight, age, and activity level. While these were just early problems and Rhinehart was able to find a solution for them, it still stuns me that so many people were willing to try his diet when it first came out. In my opinion, while the short term problems were resolved, it was still a mystery if any long term problems would present themselves. It is like fad diets when they come out. Everyone obsesses over them because of the few pros that they cause, but as soon as cons begin to express themselves the diet slowly fades away. To me living off of Soylent long term seems dangerous, even if it is considered safe from short term effects. Additionally, Soylent does not seem safe as chewing is never required. Chewing sends signals to the brain allowing the human body’s digestive system to perform effectively and efficiently. So drinking a slushy of pills and vitamins does not seem safe. I think when patients receive a feeding tube in a hospital because they are physically unable to receive the nutrients they need is one thing, but when someone is healthy and able to eat food they should.
Overall, there are so many things wrong with the food served in America and it seems like many are only getting worse. When Rhinehart expresses his concerns with food he makes excellent points leading into his solution of finding an alternate way to live an affordable, healthy life. Looking at the statistics of diseases becoming more common it does not require a lot of energy to see there are serious problems with American’s food and lifestyle today. However, I disagree with Rhinehart that Soylent will take over food and solve our problems all together. Food has such a strong and positive association to many people so giving it up does not seem realistic. Food represents religion and culture, without that people would not be able to fully express who they are. There are so many healthy ways to eat that do not require banishing food from a diet completely. While Soylent does have its benefits, its cons overpower them making living the Soylent diet not worth it.
Works Cited
Widdicombe, Lizzie. “The End of Food.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 9 July 2019, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/05/12/the-end-of-food.
