Insects au gratin? The flavor of fear? An in vitro meat bar? For the World Food Festival in Rotterdam, acclaimed food design Marije Vogelzang invited 22 designers to speculate on the future of food consumption and production. The Future Food House includes projects and proposals from emerging and established designers exploring our future relationship with food. In a statement, the Future Food House proposes, “the choices that we are making today will determine what our food is going to be like in the future. We decide what we are putting into our mouths each and every day. Is it local food or has it come from very far? Is it meat, fish or something vegetarian? Is it home-made or produced in a factory? We are eating our way into the future.”
Martí Guixé’s Tonic Death Diet imagines a science fiction-inspired future where our current systems of agriculture, supermarkets and gastronomy no longer exist and humans are kept in a vegetative state and fed pills.
David Edwards presents his WikiFoods edible packaging—an edible layer made of natural ingredients that envelops and protects processed foods like yogurt, juice and ice cream much like the skins of fruit.
The Next Nature Network’s In Vitro Meat Bar is a speculative presentation of a range of lab-created meats: knitted burgers, meat-fruit, meat ice cream, transparent meat sushi or dodo wings. The project corresponds with the Amsterdam-based organization’s current crowd-funding efforts to publish their In Vitro Meat Cookbook.
One of the most interesting projects is from the curator herself. Vogelzang’s Faked Meat project gives form to the plethora of meat alternatives by imagining whole new animals with their own habitat, diet and lifestyle. These considerations give shape and taste to these vegetarian products. For the Future Food House, Vogelzang presented the Ponti in portioned packaged “meat” and even hosted a tasting. She writes, “The Ponti lives in volcanos and eats the ashes of the volcano, which explains the lightly smoked taste of this meat substitute. He uses his tail to dig holes in the solid layers of magma. This makes him the perfect party snack, since you can use its tail to pick it up and keep your fingers clean.”
Marije Vogelzang’s Ponti vegetarian “meat” prepared as meatballs, crudo and packaged. The Herbast roast is rectangular for easy slicing and presentation.
Experience the Future Food House at the World Food Festival now through October 27, 2013. The exhibition also hosts workshops, cooking demonstrations, talks and performances so check the full schedule for ticketing and more information!
