Would you rather food or a pill?

If you could, would you take all your food in pill form? Photos / Babiche Martens, NZME.

Opinion

In Your Views this week we asked you a hypothetical question about a food pill - to our surprise, results were mixed. We debate each side of the argument in a bid to win you over - Food Vs Pill?

Question:

Assume that all your daily nutritional needs could be met by taking a single pill once a day. A small bottle of 14 pills costs $30.

Unfortunately, once you take one pill, your body can never have real solid food again. You can drink whatever you like though.

If you could, would you take all your food in pill form?

P.K. Stowers says 'Vote for pill'

Now, I enjoy a well-cooked and presented restaurant meal as much as the next person, but be honest - how much of your life do you actually spend in great restaurants?

If you think about it, you will agree that most of your eating experiences are probably at home, or in your work's naff kitchen cafeteria, or rushing down unpleasant fast food in the car.

Then there is all the time that you spend buying food, and watching food programmes, and preparing food and cooking food. Now just imagine a life where you didn't have to do that.

Hmm, what's for dinner tonight? Don't worry, don't even give it another thought. It's the same thing as last night - a pill. A pill that removes your hunger and desire to eat for 24 hours. A pill that gives you all the minerals, vitamins, protein and fibre for a full day - until it's time for your next pill.

Now, no such wonder drug exists at present, but I absolutely wish it did. I enjoy good tasting food, but if I'm honest, to me food is simply fuel and I'd rather have back the time I currently spent in its consumption, preparation and purchase to spend on more worthy endeavours. I would like more time to paint, write, read, spend time with the family. I would even like more time to carry out chores and be more productive. The eternal quest to satisfy hunger gets in the way of this for everyone.

There would be no more over-indulging in 'bad' foods. The pill would give the perfect blend for your body, leaving you fitter and in better shape.

You could travel the world, exploring far-flung countries with months of food conveniently stored away in your backpack. Cheap, easy, quick.

But enough about me, what about the wider issues here. Overnight you could solve world hunger - assuming of course that the starving billions are happy to convert to an all-pill diet.

Hundreds of thousands of hectares formally used for food production would no longer be needed. They could be converted to housing, manufacturing, theme parks or just returned back to nature.

People with food allergies, eating disorders or phobias regarding chickens could once again live normal and productive lives.

Come Dine With Me and MasterChef would become totally irreverent to society overnight (if they aren't already) to be replaced with panel discussions on alternative energy and educational nature documentaries.

Just thinking about it now, the very idea of not turning to an all-pill diet suddenly seems greedy and self-absorbed. Vote 'Yes' for pill food.

Nicky Park says 'Food forever'

Imagine never eating another pork bun. Or saying no to a slice of margherita pizza while holidaying in Italy. Or turning down a feast of food shared amongst friends?

It seems absurd to me that anyone would ever want to ditch the idea of eating every day for the efficiency of popping a pill.

I understand the supermarket is a chore to some (although I love it) and finding the time for food prep can be hard in our busy schedules. This is, I suppose, the lure of the hypothetical 'food pill'. But at the cost of the joys that come with cooking a delicious meal for a loved one or a pot luck dinner with friends? No way.

Any supermarket stress is totally worth it when the smell of slow cooked beef cheek fills the house. And you'll high-five yourself when you find a window on Sunday to make a nutritious packed lunch for work on Monday. What about those brownie points you earn when serving your plus-one's favourite meal? These little wins won't come with the 'food pill'.

I record a heck-of-a-lot of cooking shows on MySky and have been known to get lost in a drooling sea of 'food porn'. But these hobbies are just as worthy as painting and reading, and sometimes very productive when you bring the culinary inspiration to the kitchen.

"No need to worry about food while travelling thanks to a stash of 'food pills' in your backpack?" WHAT!? I LOVE worrying about food when globe-trotting. It's not a trip to Barcelona unless you've eaten too much paella if you ask me. In Buenos Aires, too much meat is a must.

You were asked to consider how much time you spend eating on the run, scoffing a sandwich at your desk or swinging through drive-thru to grab a meal in a hurry.

I ask you to ponder this - the fond memories you can reflect around food. Great debates are had at the dinner table, families come together around a Christmas turkey, another year of life notched up with a slice of chocolate cake, new friends are made as you break bread at a wedding.

I am not convinced in our hypothetical pill's ability to solve the wider world issues its backers claim. For that reason you have to vote with your heart - and the way to your heart is through your stomach. With crispy pork crackling, or a bloody good sandwich.