Planetary Indigestion was a year-long virtual residency at UC Santa Cruz.
The residency was anchored by a series of conversations and performative lectures about food, ecology & biotechnology, led by the Center for Genomic Gastronomy with UC Santa Cruz faculty and non-institutional expert guests.
The series included:
ABOUT US: Introducing the Center for Genomic Gastronomy.
This event introduced our work and focused on a few current research initiatives including: prototyping a NorVegan National Dish and mapping, tasting & cooking with crops smoke-tainted by wildfires.
UNEXPECTED INGREDIENTS: Smog Tasting, De-Extinction Dinner and Glowing Sushi Cooking Show.
This event asked, “How do the unexpected ingredients in our current or future food system impact taste, nutrition and environmental health? Is our food system driving Planetary Indigestion, or is Planetary Indigestion reshaping the human food system?” This event was designed as a game show where UCSC guest experts and the audience helped us decide which recipes to EAT!, REHEAT!, or COMPOST!. It featured guests Rachel Meyer, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and micha cárdenas, Professor of Performance, Play and Design (PPD) and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, UC Santa Cruz.
THE AIR IS ALIVE: Wheat Bread Wildfire.
In this Wildfire Loaf bread-making and tasting event, the Center for Genomic Gastronomy described their research into the relationship between wildfires, climate change, sourdough bread and wheat farming. Prior to the event, members of the UCSC community (faculty and students) conducted a citizen science bread-making experiment, and shared their process and results live during the lecture. Guest participants included David Kaisel of Capay Mills, Rob Dunn of North Carolina State University Sourdough Lab, Natalie Zajac – student in UCSC’s Environmental Art and Social Practice MFA (our UCSC Wildfire Loaf sourdough bread baker), and Jennifer Parker – of UCSC Department of Art and founding Director of OpenLab (our residency host and simulation wildfire flour smoker).
The residency was hosted by UCSC Genomics Institute and OpenLab, a research initiative for interdisciplinary and collaborative projects at UC Santa Cruz. The lecture series was hosted by The Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery.