Food, that daily unpleasantry, was finally solved in 2013 with the advent of Soylent. A meal-replacement substance meeting all the necessary FDA requirements to be sold as "food," Soylent was created by former programmer Robert Rhinehart, a 20-something who well understood that the body is merely a complex system that must be hacked. That's why, as he wrote in a 2014 blog post, Rhinehart created a formula to stop himself from defecating in order to keep from flushing the toilet (to save water).

But while Soylent has been heretofore marketed to ascetics like Rhinehart as a cheap, "open source" formula — as with knockoffs like "Schmoylent" — now the Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup appears ready to bring its product into the mainstream. That, I would suspect, is what led them to add caffeine and a hint of coffee flavor to a new breakfast drink called Coffiest, and now, to introduce a $2 caramel-flavored Soylent bar imaginatively called Soylent Bar.

"Our newest product offers the same complete nutrition, but in a lighter, more portable form factor," Soylent, a company that understands food is all about form factors, writes to its blog. "Soylent Bar provides one eighth of an average adult’s recommended dietary needs, with a macronutrient breakdown of 38 percent calories from lipids, 43 percent calories from carbohydrates, and 19 percent calories from protein in each bar."

Soylent bars, which are made from soy protein, algal flour, and beet sugar, might appeal in this current "iteration" to regular people, not simply hobbyists/hackers intent on enjoying as little of life's pleasures as possible. Further, the bars might start to make some money for their company. Bars come in packs of 12, at $22.80 for Soylent subscribers and $24 for single orders.

Since you theoretically need to eat eight of these things a day, that adds up to $16-a-day to subsist. It's a far steeper price than making your own Soylent, and paying for packaging etc. might seem at odds with Rhinehart's early mission. But, there's this: "For each box purchased, Soylent will donate one meal (0.25 cents) to World Food Program USA, thus contributing to our goal of providing 1 million meals to those in need by the end of 2016."

In addition to the high price, another problem with Soylent bars might be their very "form factor." The need to actually **chew** them, as opposed to merely slurping regular Soylent slop, might come as somewhat disturbing to Soylent's hardcore user base, a cruel reminder of the mortal coil we all occupy. Sadly, there is only one true body hack: Shuffle that shit off.

Previously: Soylent's New Coffee-Flavored Breakfast Drink Is Basically SlimFast For Nerds