Individually, i'm sure you can understand the downsides to making food. Time/cost/effort add up, but this is not the sole reason for me.
In the end, it's the fact that the above cost isn't wanted X percent of the time. X percent (most of the time?) i just eat to make the hunger go away. I'm not interested in eating Sushi, a nice big Bacon Burger, a full omelet, etc. I'm not interested in finding a middle ground between what i want to eat, and what i should eat. In the end, it's all just a lot of effort that i would love to avoid.
Using something like Soylent doesn't mean i'll stop eating normal food. If anything i'll feel liberated. I can eat when i want, which if i had to guess would be 1 big breakfast a week, and ~5 dinners a week for the social eating interaction with my girlfriend.
But beyond that, many of the meals in my life are just something i want to go away. I want the feeling of control, of choice, to choose where i eat.. and the joy of having everything else be quick, easy, and above all healthy.
I've been wanting something like this for years (honestly). I'm very excited for Soylent
If I had energy for everything, I would love to cook and eat, but more often than not, I simply want to prioritise my energy and especially my time, for other.
Yeah, that's two words I have difficulty associating together. Unless someone force-feeds you excrement or something.
I guess it depends a lot where you live and what options you have out there, even when you do not want to prepare something by yourself. If Soylent is your only option to have a decent meal around where you live, well I feel pain for you.
I totally get that people think it's icky. I personally enjoy good food a lot. And even mediocre food, for that matter. But getting it absolutely is a chore sometimes, and I totally get that some people are interested in other options for those days where you don't sit down for a good meal. Although the healthiest option is no doubt to take some time for a quality meal, eat it at the table, rather than the couch, and buy your ingredients fresh at a farmer's market. But in a world of less than perfect meals, Soylent will probably be a positive thing for many.
Every single day, maybe not. But again, really depends where you live. Around where I live, I can reach about 20 very decent restaurants with several kinds of food in a 5 mins walk, and they are cheap enough for me to go there often. And should I want to eat at home without cooking, I can always grab something on the way back from work in the numerous places that sell, freshly prepared, ready to eat dishes. Takes no time at all, at least in my situation. If you need a 20 mins car ride to go to a city center or something, I guess that's a very different issue, though.