Remember my post about the quest for People Chow? Well, there is a product called ‘Soylent’ which is pretty much a nutrient-liquid that meets the specs I had mentioned. Think a person could live on it for a month? Find out.
I find these sorts of things interesting because, strictly from a logistical standpoint, this is quite a product. If something requires minimal prep, has a long shelf life, meets your nutritional requirements, and is reasonably palatable….well, that sounds like a candidate for survival bunkers and Mars missions.
Of course, we all know better than that. “Appetite fatigue” is a real thing. Don’t believe me? We are the only country in the world where “Theres nothing to eat” really means “Theres nothing I want to eat.” On the rest of the planet, “theres nothing to eat” really means that…theres nothing to eat.
I don’t want to ride out a long bout of unemployment, let alone an apocalypse, eating what amounts to some sort of protein powder as my breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
But it fascinates me that I can.
And they couldn’t have used a different name…I guess the movie Soylent Green is too old for most to remember……I think I’ll pass! Now if they rename it…Lmao!, it’s ok!
.And Soylent Green is made from people.
Just Brad…
If this firm was to GENUINELY include people in it, would it be false advertising?
Just a thought!
I bought Huel, a comparable product to Soylent, in January of last year to supplement my long-term food options. Back then, everything freeze-dried had already been bought up. When the world didn’t end, I decided to give Huel a try.
I ate/drank Huel 2/3 meals a day for a couple of months. It does the job and tastes pretty good provided you rotate out the flavors.
However, it’s not without its limitations. The stuff gave me digestive issues that would pose hydration concerns if water supplies were limited. I also experienced foul-smelling farts and acne, but those are cosmetic issues.
Long-story-short, would I add Huel to my food supplies? Yes, but I’d reserve it for when I need something quick and simple, or for when I want something sweet. I would not recommend Huel for everyday consumption.
I’ve never heard of this product before. Seems a shoe-in for space flight – submarine – United Nation mission expeditions.
Someone in the Donner party would have given their right arm for a pitcher of soylent.
There is another product called HUEL that is a meal replacement like Soylent but is pea and oats protein.
Your post reminds me of the movie Soylent Green starting Charlton Heston. He did a couple of campy Doomer movies. Cult following favorites but must have stirred something in me to become more preparedness minded.
I would give it a try as long as it isn’t in the form of a cracker or green.
The age old question for any group that has plaques the military for centuries. When It Col George Armstrong Custer led his command into the Black Hills on an expedition of exploration his supply train was near 25 miles long. Food, ammunition, water and forage for his animals. The calvary horses and the horses pulling the supply wagons made the largest dent in the depletion of supplies.
Afterwards officers like William Rufus Shaffer and General Terry realized to get a better and more efficient use of men and animals the Calvary were replaced by infantry. Shaffer fought a two year campaign against the Comanches using infantry. The campaign was mostly centered on the Ilana Esctacado. The Staked Plains are in Texas and New Mexico.
His campaign was successful and did prove the theory that infantry could be kept in the field longer and provisioned to better effect than a similar sized expedition of calvary
I’ve wanted to learn about our fight with the Comanche, but the books I find have the usual modern bias towards the natives and against the settlers. So… I wanted to ask if you had any recommendations for books on the subject.
I started reading this and liked it though I didn’t finish it. I recall the Comanches being discussed at the start. Apparently those guys were badasses and even the other tribes feared them.
Crimson Desert : Indian Wars of the Southwest by Odie Faulk
The campaigns of the 2nd US Calvary in Texas offer a good amount of information. Albert Sydney Johnson was the Colonel of the second. I have studied Shafter because he taught school in the village I live in. After joining the 7th Michigan Infantry he remained in the Army. He was the Commander of the 5th Corp which allowed him to be the Commander of all US forces in Cuba during the Span-Am war. Many of the books I have were written by officers or authors in the 19th century. Books by Robert Utley gives good info on the Frontier Army. Having grown up with Native American kids I hold no bias against them or their ancestors for the type of warfare they were subjected to by early European powers bent on subjugation and enslavement. They learned to use the tactics used against them to bring a higher level of offensive warfare to the enemy. I have a great many books on the Tribes of the Great Lakes and others tribes. There are nearly 500 hundred recognized in the United States.
As far as the Comanches were concerned. I have read many accounts that essentially follow the same train of thought. The Comanches were among the best light calvary on the planet. On par with the Mongols. The Texas Rangers were formed essentially as a force to oppose the Comanches. Comancheria included Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. They were fierce opponents that took nearly a half century to tame. I hope this answers your question and provides some insight into these amazing people.
General Wm Shafter was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his performance of his duty at the Seven Days Battles. He refused to leave the field though wounded.He and his wife are both buried in California though both were born in Michigan.
The press of the era often referred to Shafter by the nickname Pecos Bill.
A note of warning. Everyone might want to steer clear of Soylent Green.
Just sayin’. YMMV.
On a positive note, I have consumed in the last 14 days, 5 # of frozen BACON from 2011 which was hidden at the bottom of my freezer. I bought 40# lb that year and another 80# in 2014 for about 3$ per pound from one of those trucks that traveled from city to city. They are now out of business.
I can report that the commercially packed and vacuum sealed packages taste and cook just like the 1# bacon I bought last week at the grocery.
I can further report that the 1# packages from 2015 freezer stored are as good as any other. I still have enough, like 5.56, rounds and will continue to hoard it.
I’ll probably die from cardiac issues with so much BACON but damn few of us choose what we will die of. So be it.
Moral of the story. Buy BACON in bulk now and freeze it. It’s running about $5-$6+ in my AO per pound and is only going up. That she-ite can last forever in the freezer if packaged well.
End of AAR.
Regards
I have a 25lb bag of unflavored protein powder for that purpose. Add sugar + starch (potato flakes), oil, flavoring and done. Multivitamin pills taken separately. Much cheaper!
Actually in the entire civilised Western europe having nothing to eat means having nothing you want to eat, or having nothing you want to cook.
A not unusual scenario in my bunker. I hVe food for montessori, but often have no inspiration to Cook even with very good ingredients.
I bought some Huel a few years ago (as noted by another commenter above, a similar product to Soylent) as a weight-loss meal-replacement shake. It is not terrible, but its number one ingredient is oats, so it has a distinctly oatmeal-ish taste to it with a hint of nut, which it also contains. (It has peas as well, but I can’t really taste the peas). Whether you like or dislike the taste of Huel will depend on whether you like the taste of oatmeal. Personally, I like oatmeal, but I quickly got tired of drinking “vanilla oatmeal” shakes. (At the time, the only flavors they offered were vanilla or unflavored.)
Unfortunately, Huel does not blend as well as many other protein powders– no matter how vigorously you shake it in the shaker, you will end up with fairly large lumpy dregs in the bottom. Shelf life is not super long either, like a year I think. I know the freshness dates often are meaningless, but I recently tried some that had been expired for nearly a year and it tasted very off.
Good point about the blend-ability. You reminded me about a few other things as well.
It doesn’t keep once mixed, especially if left out in the heat. A bottle mixed for breakfast would taste odd by lunchtime. A bottle left in a hot car would taste rancid after a couple of hours.
As for mixing the stuff, the Huel bottle included with your first online order has a built-in agitator, which helps cut down on clumps. That being said, expect to have a few dime to quarter-sized clumps of unmixed powder left in the bottom of every bottle. Mmmm, yummy.
As for flavors, they have vanilla, chocolate, and wildberry. Vanilla is the best by a wide margin, but I rotated through all three to counter appetite fatigue.
Hmm? My local Kroger carries it. I’ll have to try this.