The Center for Genomic Gastronomy

I noticed that no one had written a Wikipedia entry for CyberAgrarianism (or FoodScaping for that matter!). Here is my first attempt at defining this tricky space. Used the introduction to the Agrarianism article as my starting point:

CyberAgrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values urban foodscaping over non-edible landscaping, commons-based-peer-production over industrial models, and sees urban foraging as a cultural practice that can shape and transform social values. It stresses the potential of networked and locative technologies to facilitate non-fiscal transactions and overcome the tragedy of the commons.

The philosophical roots of CyberAgrarianism include green urbanists who believe in increasing food security by promoting local food and short supply chains, and advocates for a sharing economy facilitated by emerging networked technologies (free cycle, car sharing services, etc.). Early practitioners of CyberAgrarianism include urban foodscaping advocates and geolocative geeks (see: HeadMap Manifesto and Ambient Commons) who understand urbanity and are interested in mapping and tagging the places where they live.

Urban foodscaping trends have influenced artists such as Fritz Haieg (Edible Estates) and Stroom Gallery’s FoodPrint activities who implement Urban FoodScaping projects under the banner of artistic production. The 21st century school of digital food mappers include groups such as Fallen Fruit and Future Farmers who create mapping and tagging tools for foraging edibles or urban farming that exist within the urban and peri-urban landscape. More Urban Foodscapes along with the tools to map and tag these locations form the basis of a CyberAgrarian movement.

However, there is a need to create continuity in this movement. There is a crisis of institutionalization. What began as a bottom-up movement can easily burn out as artists move on to their next project, websites go dead or databases are not updated or filtered.

Will CyberAgrarianism become the transit oriented development of the 2020s? Would that be a bad thing?

from The Independent newspaper (UK) – 
Friday 16 August, 2013
by Christopher Beanland

Food that will serve up a serious debate

A dinner party with a difference will be serving up quirky dishes like “deconstructed caldo verde” (all the ingredients of soup served dried on a plate) and “the Lusophere Flip” (sous vide fish with sauces from former Portuguese colonies Macau, Goa, Brazil and Angola – which were once poor but are now thriving). The idea is to provoke debate about architecture and cities. “These Planetary Supper Club dinner parties are about getting people talking about the events of our time,” says artist and cook Zack Denfeld of the Center For Genomic Gastronomy, who devised the menus for the event, as part of Lisbon’s forthcoming Architecture Triennale. “The fish dish for example is about imagining a more horizontal world where ideas, food and people flow equitably around the Lusophere.” Denfeld will also dish up Cobalt 60 BBQ Sauce (above) created with plants bred from mutations – which questions how we use and abuse intensive agriculture and bioscience in the kitchen.

“The reasons for the proliferation of food movements and food media during the last decade are numerous. Perhaps more importantly, environmental groups have publicized scientific findings that industrial agriculture is a major contributor to climate change at the same time that the volatility in rice, wheat and corn prices have highlighted a troubling paradox of the modern food system: despite tremendous gains int he productivity of agriculture, nearly one billion people are hungry.

The 2012 exhibition Edible: A Taste of Things to Come illustrates another paradox of the modern food system, one that inspires this book: the richness of cultural responses to the system’s perceived failings. Organized by the playful art collective known as the Center for Genomic Gastronomy, the exhibition assembled artists, activists, cooks, scientists and hobbyists to imagine possible futures of food. With installations like “Disaster Pharming” and “Vegan Ortolan,” the exhibition showcased the outer reachers of molecular gastronomy and agricultural genetics alongside more familiar “countercuiisines” such as vegetarianism and raw food. In position these futures, the exhibition was highly critical of the status quo. 

The Edible catalog concludes with two infographics: one showing disinvestments in small farmers and increases in obesity rates and another charting the decline of agricultural diversity under the industrialized food regime (in which wheat, rice, milk, potatoes, sugar and corn have displaced the thousands of edible plats long cultivated around the world). Paired with this lament about the present however, is a celebration of the culinary cosmopolitanism that the present affords. De-centering the United States, and indeed the nation state, as the locus of food power, the Edible curators suggest that the global circulation of foodstuffs and food cultures allows the individual eater to act as a world citizen.”

– Global Appetites: American Power and the Literature of Food
by Allison Carruth 

On Friday we hosted a DIY Biohacker Meetup in Portland, OR to share and receive feedback on some current projects.

The Center presented its research on mutation (radiation) bred varietals and proposed a sticker campaign to label known products containing such varietals. Each sticker includes a QR code that links to the International Atomic Engery Agency’s Mutant Variety Database.

In addition, the our intern Corey presented his current research on the Spice Mix Super Computer 2.0- an upcoming project in digital smell sharing.

 Images by: Ryan Fish

& Nicole Adsit

Portland, OR is home to a plethora of foodies, culinary masterminds and adventurous eaters.  I fit in somewhere as an adventurous mastermind with a deep appreciation for food.  As far as food explorations go, I’ve eaten a pretty healthy sampling throughout my life, and I’d go so far as to say I’ve been more adventurous than the average person.  The Center for Genomic Gastronomy’s first Planetary Sculpture Supper Club, held Saturday, June 15th, introduced me to some interesting and incredible dishes, as I was fortunate enough to work alongside the conceptual culinary goddess, Heather Julius of Special Snowflake Studio. 

Five courses were prepared and presented to our guests for the evening, with each dish accompanied by a bit of context and relevancy.  Food was the medium through which the narrative was told of how humans have sculpted the planetary biosphere. 

Zack and Cat introduced each dish, while Heather, myself and a few other trusty CENTGG interns and volunteers prepped and plated behind the scenes. 

The main course featured squab and the presentation of this dish became the highlight of my evening as I took on the role of Resident Beet Blood Splatter Artist.  Behold my handiwork below.

The evening was a success and was promptly followed by a well-earned celebratory drink. 

If you are interested in attending one of the upcoming Supper Club events, you may find all necessary information here: Planetary Sculpture Supper Club Events and Tickets

Strange things start to happen when you list headlines in order of appearance…..

 Modified Wheat Is Discovered in Oregon

By ANDREW POLLACK
Published: May 29, 2013

Unapproved genetically engineered wheat has been found growing on a farm in Oregon, federal officials said Wednesday, a development that could disrupt American exports of the grain.

The Agriculture Department said the wheat was of the type developed by Monsanto to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup, also known as glyphosate. Such wheat was field-tested in 16 states, including Oregon, from 1998 through 2005, but Monsanto dropped the project before the wheat was ever approved for commercial planting.

…

Japan and South Korea Bar Imports of U.S. Wheat

By VICTORIA SHANNON
Published: May 31, 2013

Japan and South Korea suspended some imports of American wheat, and the European Union urged its 27 nations to increase testing, after the United States government disclosed this week that a strain of genetically engineered wheat that was never approved for sale was found growing in an Oregon field.

Although none of the wheat, developed by Monsanto Company, was found in any grain shipments — and the Department of Agriculture said there would be no health risk if any was shipped — governments in Asia and Europe acted quickly to limit their risk.

…

Genetically Altered Wheat in Oregon Comes as No Surprise

By MICHAEL WINES
Published: June 5, 2013

One week after the revelation that an Oregon farmer had found genetically engineered wheat growing in his fields, scientists remain mystified over how the strain — apparently the remains of a test crop shut down a dozen years ago — got there.

But few are surprised. Even with extensive precautions, gene-altered plants turn up in unwanted places regularly enough that farmers have come to consider a few of them weeds, and even a threat to their livelihood.

…

Biotech wheat inevitable, industry says

By SEAN ELLIS
Posted: Friday, June 14, 2013 12:00 AM

Idaho Wheat Commission Executive Director Blaine Jacobson believes commercial genetically modified wheat in the U.S. market is about 8 to 10 years away, but it wouldn’t surprise him to see it appear sooner in another country.

“There is a lot of research on transgenic wheat underway, (and) I don’t think there’s any doubt it will happen,” Jacobson said. “It’s just a question of when it’s going to happen.”