Food Forest Fantasies is a suite of tools, rituals and recipes for testing and tasting food systems that can withstand water stress and survive the climate emergency.
There is a mismatch between the speed required to address the climate emergency and the patience to cultivate food forests. To overcome this misalignment we are creating menus for future generations while cultivating slow-growing crops. Food Forest Fantasies invites diners to book a reservation today for a dinner only being served in 10 years time, once our forest has grown. No one knows how high the water will rise or how long the droughts will last, but it seems inevitable that the culinary world we inhabit today is ending. Food Forest Fantasies is a form of edible eschatology: eating at the end of a world while preparing for another.
Version 1 of Food Forest Fantasies was exhibited at V2_ in Rotterdam in 2022. The installation included Genomic Gastronomy research publications, preserved food forest tasters, and a 3-part audio meditation exploring 5, 20, and 100 year horizons for eating in the climate emergency. It also included a mirror with a 10-year countdown indicating when your dinner in our food forest might be ready, pointing to the long time horizons required for Food Forest Fantasies. The installation was the result of a 10-month S+T+ARTS4WATER research residency, which kickstarted the planning of a Genomic Gastronomy food forest.