Food Synthesizer

Food synthesizers or food extruders are a technology developed before the Great War. They are mentioned in Fallout 2, and appear as a world object in Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.

Background
Food synthesizers are machines created before the Great War to provide humans with a convenient source of nutrition. One of the earliest attempts was the Nutritional Alternative Paste Program, a joint effort between Vault-Tec Corporation and the United States government. The food substitute trialed at the Suffolk County Charter School was intended to provide sufficient vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients and have a shelf life over 100 years. Vault-Tec University student Drew Collingsworth would also attempt at creating a food paste type that was derived largely from yellow peas; designing a Vault experiment (Project Lembas) around a control group having access to standard food supplies and an experiment group fed only on his pea food paste.

Vault use
The idea was developed further and these machines became standard issue for Vaults, to provide individuals with with a nutritionally balanced source of food. The idea of a nutritious paste was further developed for Vaults. They experimented with the synthesizers, either not providing enough of them to supply the entire population of select Vaults or rigging them to provide a sub-optimal food supply - such as a thin, watery gruel in lieu of proper nutrition.

Enclave use
The Enclave made use of a variant that accepted food as feed and processed it into a nutritious pink paste, similar to the NAPP paste. The machine was capable of providing nutrition for around 6 years by recycling unwanted or surplus food stocks, with no adverse physical effects but put a strain on morale and made irritable many of the staff. Some of the research staff would also consider eating radioactive wild life killed for testing instead of another food paste meal.

Institute use
The Institute also utilized these machines, providing a varied supply of food by way of three dispensing handles. Members of the Institute have the ability to select the types of sustenance, options including protein (beef, ham, chicken, and bacon flavors), fiber (lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and fruit), and fat (peanut, butter, ice cream, and grease). The machines featured sections for individuals to place or retrieve plates and utensils, and a place for waste. Lights at the top indicate if the machine has power or an obstruction.