Authors Zane Cerpina and Stahl Stenslie—a designer and artist, respectively—singled out 10 notable entries for a listicle in dezeen.
“One of the main goals of the book was to advance thinking in and about the Anthropocene,” Cerpina tells the design publication. “We were questioning, what is the best medium to think about our futures? Food concerns us all every day, and it is, therefore, a raw material well suited for cultural commentaries. Mixing it through art and design we get very powerful ingredients that provide us with new ethics and aesthetics—and ultimately thinking—fit for this transitory and liminal time.”
The list includes Ghostfood, which pairs synthetic scents, edible ingredients, and a wearable device to simulate foods that might soon be extinct due to climate change; the Tiger Penis Project, which aims to use biotechnology and 3D printing to replace animal products used by traditional medicine that contribute to endangered species; Gilpin Family Whisky, which converts the high levels of sugar found in the urine of diabetics into whisky; Insects Au Gratin, which 3D prints insect protein to improve texture and create edible “food sculptures that have no resemblance to bugs” and are thus more palatable; and Human Hyena, which looks to use synthetic biology to make humans capable of safely consuming rotted food.