Within just 72 hours of its launch, 24000 copies were sold wildly. Recently, a meal replacement fan has caused a storm on social media, and its rapid sales momentum has pushed meal replacement food to the forefront of public opinion. Solve a meal with two spoons of powder? Driven by the fast-paced lifestyle, the meal replacement market is expanding at an astonishing speed. A small pill in science fiction is equivalent to the nutrition of a meal, and it seems to be getting closer and closer to us. This product, which simplifies eating into two spoonfuls of powder, has precisely hit the pain point of contemporary young people's pursuit of efficiency with its highly controversial naming and marketing tactics. However, we have to consider whether the popularity of this dietary method is a reflection of technological progress or a health trap under capital operation? The explosive growth of the meal replacement market has profound social roots. Data shows that the scale of China's meal replacement market has reached 175 billion yuan in 2023, and is expected to exceed 350 billion yuan by 2027. Behind this growth is the increasingly severe phenomenon of "time poverty" among urban young people. In the fast-paced work and life, traditional cooking and dining times have become luxury goods, and meal replacement products have precisely filled this demand gap. However, upon closer observation, we will find that this convenience comes at the cost of sacrificing dietary culture and physical health. Li Yingjie, a nutritionist at Tongji Hospital affiliated with Tongji University, pointed out that in clinical practice, it is only recommended for specific patients to use meal replacement under the guidance of doctors. Long term dependence on meal replacement by the general population may lead to malnutrition and digestive function degradation. What is even more worrying is that over 50% of meal replacement products on the market fail to meet the minimum energy standards recommended by the Chinese Nutrition Society, which means that many consumers are actually overdrawing their own health while pursuing efficiency. The development of the catering industry has exposed the lag and shortcomings of the regulatory system. Although the Chinese Nutrition Society has released group standards for meal replacement foods, due to the lack of mandatory binding force, the market is filled with products with falsely labeled nutritional components and imbalanced nutrient structures. This regulatory vacuum provides an opportunity for unscrupulous businesses to exaggerate their advertising and hype their concepts, packaging meal replacements as symbols of a fashionable lifestyle. In the face of the chaos in the meal replacement market, we need to establish a multi-level response mechanism. Firstly, mandatory national standards should be introduced as soon as possible to strictly regulate key indicators such as energy value and nutrient ratio of meal replacement products. Secondly, companies need to take on social responsibility and increase their R&D investment from the current 5% of revenue to a reasonable level, truly developing products that meet the health needs of different populations. More importantly, we need to rebuild our understanding of food culture at the societal level. Eating is not only a process of absorbing nutrients, but also an important carrier for maintaining social connections and inheriting culture. The risk of "disuse atrophy" emphasized by Wu Jiang, director of the Clinical Nutrition Department of East China Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, reminds us that long-term dependence on liquid meal replacement may lead to the degradation of chewing function and digestive system, which is irreversible. When contemporary food brands promote their products as a "new stage of human evolution," we need to maintain a clear understanding. The progress of civilization should not come at the cost of the degradation of bodily functions, and the pursuit of efficiency should not be a reason for sacrificing health. In today's fast-paced culture, it is even more important to reflect on when eating becomes a simple nutritional supplement, and when the pleasure of food is replaced by the pursuit of efficiency. What we lose is not only the enjoyment of taste, but also the complete life experience as human beings. Rebuilding a healthy dietary mindset not only requires policy regulations and market supervision, but also requires everyone to rethink their lifestyle. After all, the quality of life should not be compressed into a nutritional list of powder, but should be reflected in the true taste of every bite of food and the warm experience of every meal. (New Society)