User:Alice/Video Script

Main focus: look at the problems, not just the solutions Takeaway: meal replacements are not appropriate solutions for the problems they claim to fix

Structure updated here. Voiceover updated here. Structure: Intro (0) Climate change problems in food (1) Techno-solutionism for problems (2) Meal replacements as techno-solutionist products (3) What problems do they claim to solve? (4) Saving time and energy - cooking and eating, post mom economy (4a) But the problems lies in startup culture (4aa) Saving resources - money, waste, sustainability (4b) But their products don’t address the systemic problems (4bb) Saving humans - better self, better future self, mind vs body (4c) But they place sole responsibility on the individual, robot brain (4cc) - Conclusion (5)

INTRO (0)

I spend most of my days 3m below sea level. I love food, and even though it’s nothing like back home, I still feel really lucky to always have access to foods from all over the world. Still, I can’t help but think about the end of this convenience that I take for granted.

Shots of tulips, buildings underwater, superimposed with supermarket rush

CLIMATE CHANGE (1)

Our economic system has led to a climate catastrophe for our planet. Food is a fragile resource. Every year, we use up resources faster than the earth can replenish them, and that date keeps moving up. On a worldwide scale, ⅓ of all food produced gets wasted.

Food waste video

Extreme temperatures will affect agriculture, imports and exports. If food distribution stopped coming into cities, those of us who live there would not last long.

Footages of ringis

The future may grim in many aspects, but it’s especially problematic when it comes to food. It’s not a coincidence that most dystopias imagine a very bleak diet for the majority of the world’s population.

Maybe check biodiversity report of 04.05.19

PROBLEMS (2)

So what can we do to prevent this? How do we deal with problems in the western world? Who is in charge of defining what the problems are, and who do we turn to for solutions?

People walking in the city

In the past few decades, we’ve learned to rely on technology to improve our daily life. And for good reason. But today, we’ve come to believe that technology can make anything better. (sarcastically)

Shot of microwave, technology on the moon

And nowhere else is this belief more prominent than in Silicon Valley, the source of our computers,our entertainment and apps that have infiltrated our lives.

Evgeni Morozov on techno-solutionism Close-up on Silicon valley map

His definition addresses the fact that, within this ideology, the focus is the constant chase for solutions, without much concern for the problems.

MEAL REPLACEMENTS (3)

When it comes to food, techno-solutionism is materialized in Meal replacements,which are powdered nutrients mixed together according to nutritional standards. This form of food is meant to revolutionize the way we eat, in a way that fits better with the way we live today. The supposed problem is that normal food is archaic, unsustainable, inefficient, and prone to make us waste time and resources. The solution? A complete meal in liquid form, that is perfectly rationed, rational and convenient.

Shot of soylent bottles in factory, pouring soylent in a glass

Since the launch of Soylent in 2014 in the US, the first complete food on the market that was promoted this way, many others have appeared on the international scene. Soon, some of them started to get a lot of venture capital investment, a lot of media hype, scientific claims and sleek designs. Some were even promoted in a way more similar to hardware or software rather than food, which only increased the distance between humans and what we eat.

Shot of versions, interview about MR

MEAL REPLACEMENTS AS SOLUTIONS TO OTHER PROBLEMS (4)

MR come as a solution to a very specific range of problems, designed for a very specific demographic. Their main focus is becoming a solution for time management, complete nutrition and efficiency. But issues that have an impact on a larger scale, and which sit at the core of their chosen areas of intervention, are hardly addressed. If the way we deal with food today is problematic, what about improving the food system to cope with climate change, world hunger, and food waste, or a better work/life balance? Icons with solutions

On a closer look, they frame individual day-to-day habits as problems that only technology can solve.

Eating in car/office soylent

So what do meal replacements solve? What can they do for someone who cares about food, wants to find solutions, but more importantly, take a closer look at the problems?

SAVING TIME AND ENERGY - cooking and eating as problems

Perceptions on cooking have changed throughout history, and a large part of that is influenced by the way it’s portrayed in the media.

Vintage shot of food - pressure cooker ad Man cooking

Cooking shows have had a great impact on how people perceive cooking. Audiences used to eating for convenience rather than for pleasure learned to approach cooking as a less intimidating task, through food icons like Julia Child. But her cheerful image of a woman in the kitchen also opened up space for criticism, like Martha Rosler’s piece - Semiotics of the Kitchen, which comes as a parody to Julia’s show. She portrays cooking as a frustrating task, embodied in the tools which allow for useless and sometimes violent moves.

Julia & martha

Cooking takes time, and for some people spending time on this task is not worth it. But someone still has to do it. Even in futurist depictions of instant food preparation, the woman, or the mom, is still the one doing the work.

(the jetsons).

With a young, male demographic as a majority, the products and services provided by the tech world today are a result of the issues they are facing - living alone with a large disposable income. This has been dubbed as the ‘post-mom economy’, within which tech products and services replace daily chores that moms used to do. Gone from under mom’s protective wing and stuck into high stress jobs, some young adults don’t have the time or interest to plan quick, healthy meals for themselves, and are conditioned to lay that responsibility on the shoulders of a startup.

Post mom economy articles and tweets

And for some people, this is quite appealing. MR brands claim they help you survive the day with their version of complete nutrition when you’re too busy to have breakfast, or to take a lunch break at work.

Shots of people drinking

But not having enough time to address the needs of your body is a problem that runs deeper than just time management. A life hack like meal replacements doesn’t seem to be the solution. Instead of addressing the fact that workers are pushed to constantly perform, outwork each other and keep their breaks at a minimum, consuming your meal at your desk, in liquid form, means embracing these circumstances.

What is food really about? What does it mean to feel full?

What is the purpose of this efficiency, the extra time gained while not eating, or cooking, or cleaning after yourself? How do you achieve work-life balance when life is consumed by work?

SAVING RESOURCES - money, food waste, sustainability

Some of the key selling points of meal replacements, sold in bulk, are the price per portion, the reduced food waste potential and the minimal impact on the planet.

Shots of those icons

A portion made from powder can start at 1 euro 50, but there’s hidden costs. Apart from the high price of enforced bulk purchasing, plus shipping, eating requires computer literacy, an internet connection, an optimal location for delivery, access to a bank account and a lot of time on your hands to go through all the research that comes with this lifestyle choice.

Shots of different reviews

Due to their extreme levels of processing, meal replacements have a very long shelf life, which is the second most common selling point - it hardly goes bad, so there’s no food waste. Unless you’re like me and you decide the food you ordered is not for you, after being forced to purchase the minimum amount of two bags, and end up not consuming most of it.

Factory shots

Even though some brands bragged about their minimal packaging, which, however unrecyclable, used to only be about a bag or two per month, they have since developed new lines of ready-to-drink products that come in single-use plastics. This packaging choice has not gone unnoticed, drawing a lot of criticism from consumers.

Instagram post about plastic Instagram comments

Last but not least, meal replacement brands claim their products have a minimal impact on the environment, since they are mostly plant-based. However, they often do not reveal the sources of their ingredients, which are shipped from all around the world, heavily increasing their carbon footprint and raising suspicion over their sustainability claims.

Ingredient map

Even though the problems in this category are important and real, it is once again the case of a superficial attempt at fixing a problem. The solution, at times, is even ditched in favour of profit. Their solutions do nothing to address the systemic issues in the food industry, or food-related policies, but instead only reinforce the status-quo. While it is important to be aware of our individual impact on the planet, any choice we make pales in comparison to the massive damage the food industry is creating.

How much do I contribute to the well-being of our planet when I buy meal replacements off the internet?

SAVING HUMANS - BETTER SELF, BETTER FUTURE SELF

Donut soylent video

Placing the sole responsibility of my happiness and success on myself alone is a crucial part of the libertarian mindset that comes as a given in Silicon Valley. Becoming a better person means no more guilty meals, no more long lunch breaks and uninformed diet choices. It means no more falling into the trap of catering to the irrational needs of my body, but taking purely rational decisions. My body is a machine, and my mind is a computer. It’s up to me to fix them both.

Want to hack your body first 30 sec

My bad habits are a sign of weakness. My dissatisfaction with life and work is simply because I’m approaching the situation the wrong way.

My own videos

In the future, my body might not even matter anymore. The memories of my past meals will be long gone, drowned in a sea of powder. Why not start now?

Video of booklet

I don’t believe any of this. It’s not for me.

My sense of happiness is not detached from food, because my food is not just fuel. It’s a part of my identity that I share with those around me, that I love to explore and develop.

Food is heavily culturally charged, and that also applies to meal replacements.

And it’s the culture of individuality and techno-solutionism, with its extreme entrepreneurial pursuits and precarious lifestyles, the so-called disruption and innovation for its own sake that have led to the development of this product range, the perfect addition to the perfectly controlled life.

What do we actually gain as humans when we dehumanize our habits, and place the blame on individuals rather than the system? How do we fix the structural problems in the economy, and in the food industry, when our choices only reinforce the status quo? In an age of increasing distrust in power structures, how can we rely on private interest like Silicon Valley to care for us, feed us, and take us further into the future?