https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19524224
Any kind of food demonizing is not good.
I agree it is too expensive for what it offers, though.
I like the idea; but in reality I'd rather jut have some toast if I want something quick. I know it's not as good for me but food is more than just getting calories and nutrients in. I get pleasure from eating a variety of textures and flavours.
It works for me though, I wake up at 6:40, get a shower, iron some clothes, drink some Huel and am out the door at 7:20 to get the tube to go to work.
Other meals during the day are "normal", but it ticks the box for breakfast for me (quick to consume, fits in with my routine etc)
[1] I still have to try it out. I can't quite get myself to order the smallest pack (a full week's supply) when I don't even know if I like it.
Ensure comes in more flavours, btw.:
Banana, Chocolate, Coffee, Fruits of the Forest, Neutral, Orange, Peach, Raspberry, Strawberry, Vanilla
And the Ensure juice style drinks.
It is not easy to account for "time spent doing X", but assigning $0 to eat is most definitely wrong.
If you do the components+time math properly, it is likely soylent and even McDonalds is cheaper. It is only when you add "enjoying food" and "future health" that you may (or may not) win against them.
First, as a male I am concerned about isoflavones. I've read sources that go either way on how much it actually affects hormone levels, but since I suspect there is a lot more pressure from the agriculture / vegetarian community to make it seem safer than it is than from any other community to not, I lean towards it not being that good for you.
Second, the consistency is absolutely terrible. They don't need to make it too seedy, but leaving some of the nuts and seeds at least somewhat coarse would improve its texture beyond "slime that makes your teeth feel terrible and gross".
As is, it doesn't even make economic sense, because I can feed myself much tastier food than soylent for like $3-6 a day. Like, why would you choose soylent over food such as eggs, chicken, spinach, broccoli, oatmeal, etc?
What I really wish someone would do, is make a milk-based soylent with stuff that is actually good for you like sunflower seeds. That would actually taste good and probably be much better for you.