Soylent, the hugely popular meal replacement drink, seems to have ushered in a new era of protein powders. Not only has Soylent amassed a devoted following and attracted venture capital from Silicon Valley, the New York Times reports that Soylent has also inspired other sought-after meal replacement products such as Schmoylent, Schmilk, and People Chow. Increasingly, the tech community in the San Francisco Bay Area has embraced these products, which claim to provide, in a single shake, enough nutritional sustenance for an entire day. To hyper-busy developers and tech workers, Soylent and its knockoffs promise a way to quickly fuel the body while increasing productivity—the hours one would normally spend on planning and making meals can be put towards coding or other work. In a sign of the times, the well-known venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz (a financial backer of Soylent), hosted a Soylent cocktail event at the South by Southwest conference in Austin; others in the tech community have done Soylent cleanses and have hosted dinner parties featuring Soylent on the menu. Yet, the big question remains—are these meal replacement drinks even good for you? Despite the allure of effortless eating, there are reasons to think that good nutrition may be taking a backseat to efficiency. Nevertheless, that possibility does not yet seem to be curbing the enthusiasm for all things Soylent.

Source: New York Times