Previously the only factor preventing Soylent from being vegan was the use of whey protein. Whey is attractive due to its high absorption rate and complete amino acid profile, granting it a perfect PDCAAS score of 1.0. However, it is an animal product, some whey proteins can trigger allergic responses, and concerns were raised over the potential presence of lactose.
To allay these issues we have switched to a rice protein isolate / pea protein isolate blend. Rice protein is mostly complete except for a lack of Lysine and Leucine. This is why rice and beans became such a staple food, the beans make up for the Lysine deficiency of rice. In our staple food the blend of pea and rice protein isolate provide a complete amino acid profile with minimal risk of inflammation or allergic reactions.
soylent blog, 2013-07-24
We have found that Pea Protein is not available at the scale we demand. To compensate for this, we had to source and integrate pure Lysine into the formula, so everyone will get their complete amino acid profile.
Thanks for the info. While I suppose this is an improvement, I wonder about the scalability of this approach and the impact on the environment. Rice doesn’t exactly produce that much protein per acre of land. I’ll have to look at the numbers though.
Rice Protein, it seems.
Relevant blog posts:
soylent blog, 2013-07-24
soylent blog, 2013-08-27
link to blog
So it was whey, then it was rice protein and pea protein, now it’s just rice protein.
Their final ingredient list hasn’t been finalised yet, they seem to be getting close though. They said they’ll post it once it’s done.
Thanks for the info. While I suppose this is an improvement, I wonder about the scalability of this approach and the impact on the environment. Rice doesn’t exactly produce that much protein per acre of land. I’ll have to look at the numbers though.
I also wonder where they’re sourcing Lysine from.