Hi everyone, welcome back to English with Max. Yes, guys, this is Max. Today I am not
uploading a video, but I do have some listening practice for you. There will be a new video
on Sunday. I've filmed it, I just need to finish editing it.
Like with all my videos, there are subtitles available – these are subtitles that I have
edited and corrected. They're not the automatically generated ones, which don't include punctuation
and can be a little dodgy. Anyway, you can turn those on by clicking the “CC” button.
Oh, you might not know the word “dodgy”. “Dodgy” is - it's a nice word. It's quite a flexible
word that can be used in a variety of contexts. It can mean unreliable or dishonest. For example:
the dodgy second-hand car salesman. It can also mean potentially dangerous, like: “Don't
use that second-hand car, it's a bit dodgy.” And it can also mean low quality. It's a colloquial
word though, so don't use it in your academic essays, ok?
It's obviously your choice whether you use subtitles or not. My suggestion is that you
first listen to this without subtitles, and then with the subtitles to see if you understood
everything correctly. But like I said, that's your choice, and it will depend on your level as well.
The reason why I'm recording this listening practice is because I would really love to
make more videos, but unfortunately I don't have the time at the moment, and recording
a piece of audio is a lot easier and faster than making a video. In addition, I know that
there isn't a lot of interesting listening practice material available for people with
an intermediate to low-advanced level, so that is what I'm going to try and make. When
I have to talk about something, I prefer to choose topics that are a little bit funny
– topics that have a humorous aspect to them – because I think there are enough
serious and depressing events happening in the world. I'll also try to explain some words
and expressions along the way, at least the ones that I think a lot of foreigners don't know.
I am still making videos. If everything goes to plan, I will upload a video every Sunday,
and a listening exercise every Wednesday. OK?
But I think that's long enough for an introduction, let's now turn to today's topic. Today I'm
going to talk to you about something called Soylent. Now if you haven't heard the word
“Soylent” before, don't worry, because it's not technically a word. I mean, you're
not going to find it in a dictionary. It's actually the name of a product, that was invented
in 2013, but has been on the market, which means it's been available for sale, since
2014. So it's relatively new.
So what is it exactly? Well, it's basically something that you drink. Initially it was
only available in powdered form – it's a powder that you mix with water, and that creates
something like a milkshake. It's thick, milky and nearly odourless – odourless means it
has no smell. “Odour”, just so you know, is another word for the noun “smell”.
Nowadays, you can buy Soylent already in liquid form, if you want, and it also comes in different
flavours, such as cacao, coffee and vanilla.
Soylent was designed as a meal replacement. Apparently it has all the vitamins and minerals
that you need, and one serving contains 400 calories. It was invented not by a nutritionist
or a biologist, but by an American software-developer named Rob Rhinehart when he was 25 years old.
Initially, he did his own research and tested the product on himself, as you do, although
since then there has been quite a lot of investment and different testing. Basically, the guy
didn't like eating, or at least he thought it was a waste of time. He thought that cooking
and grocery shopping was a bother – a nuisance or a pain, in other words – and he preferred
the idea of just mixing some powder with water.
So even though you drink it, it would be more appropriate to call it food. Although
that sounds a bit strange to me, because I tend to get excited about food, and I can't
imagine getting excited about a glass of Soylent. Maybe I need to try it before I make up my
mind – to “make up your mind” means to form an opinion – but yeah, I can't say
it's something that would really appeal to me.
On the other hand, the creators of it say that there are many benefits for the planet.
For example, because it's made of plants, it requires less water and produces less CO2
than livestock. “Livestock”, in case you don't know that word, is a collective noun
for animals that are raised on a farm (like chickens, pigs and cows). There's also less
food waste because you can keep it for a year before you consume it, and it doesn't require refrigeration.
There have also been claims that Soylent could help solve problems of malnutrition in poor
regions, or be used as food in disaster areas. For example, in an area that has been destroyed
by a flood or an earthquake.
However, it has attracted some criticism. Obviously people have pointed to the fact
that you lose many of the pleasures of eating and sharing food. In addition, some doctors
are a little sceptical because so far there haven't been any long-term studies, so it's
not clear what will happen to your health in the long-term if you only consume Soylent
and no other food.
There have also been a few product recalls. A product recall is when a company realises
there's something wrong with a product and asks for all of that product to be returned
to the company. For example, some Soylent products were apparently causing gastrointestinal
problems in some consumers, that is, problems in the stomach and intestines, and these products were
recalled in October, 2016. A few months later, after the products had been reformulated – so,
changed, in other words – they were released back onto the market.
Some people have also said that Soylent isn't actually that novel – so it's not that new or unique,
in other words. It's very similar to SlimFast products, which are American weight loss products.
And similar medical food products have also been available for a long time.
What I find quite funny in all of this is the name “Soylent”. Rob Rhinehart didn't
coin the word, which means he didn't invent the word. The word comes from a book published
in 1966, which was then made into a 1973 movie called Soylent Green.
The film stars Charlton Heston and takes place in 2022 in a dystopian future. The world is
polluted and overpopulated; many resources have been depleted (so finished, in other words);
and the weather is very humid all year round due to the greenhouse effect.
Most people no longer eat real food. They eat special processed food products, and the
main company that makes these products is called the Soylent Corporation. “Soylent Green” is
their newest product, and it basically looks like a type of green biscuit. Now the company
says that it is made out of high-energy plankton. There's a good chance you don't know the word
“plankton”. It's a word that all native speakers know, but it's not really a word
that we use every day. Plankton is very small plants and animals that float on the surface
of the sea. It's quite common for whales to eat plankton.
Anyway, later on in the movie, some investigators discover that there is, in fact, no more plankton
left in the sea. So the big question now is: what is Soylent Green made of? At the end
of the movie it is discovered that the Soylent Corporation has actually been using human
corpses to produce Soylent Green. Yes, that's right, they've been using dead bodies to make it.
Now back to real life, I'm sure there are no dead bodies in Soylent products, but I
do find the name... somewhat interesting. Something I wondered was whether Rob Rhinehart
was trying to say something about the state of the world with this choice of name, or
does he just have an “original” sense of humour?
And something I've also wondered is: If people know the origin of the name, will they have
a greater or lesser desire to try this new creation?
Let me know what you guys think in the comments below. Have you actually tried Soylent? Would you like
to try it? Do you like the concept? And what do you think of the name?
Also please tell me what you think of me doing listening practices like this. I would like
to know what you think.
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