POWDER TO THE PEOPLE presents the PROMOBOOTH
The Powder to the People Promobooth offers a first inducement to consumers to reflect on the possibilities of food additives. The suitably dressed members of the EAT ART collective hand out free see samples for home kitchen experiments.
The Promobooth includes a sample from our array of the most popular legal additives used in current foodstuffs, some of which we feel could be part of a more future-proof industrial food system. But not all of them. By talking about food philosophies, priorities and conflicting desires, we can turn this matter into the societal issue it should be. A direct encounter with these archetypical off-white powders is a good start for talks, experiments and distributed innovations. Participants can sample food made with additives and take a sample home.
An interesting case are the “Scandalous or Super Sustainable?”-snacks. The snacks were previously served at the opening of the Istanbul Design Biennial and feature identical snacks from wholly different perspectives. It is up to the participants to decide which story they wish to hear.
Some additives have played a key role in recent food scandals. Dubious origins, misleading information or downright health hazards have destroyed the last bits of consumer trust. Yet part of it comes down to the narrative. Take L-cysteine, a food additve used to enhance the knead-ability of large quantities of bread dough and also used as a food supplement by bodybuilders and athletes. L-cysteine can be derived from multiple biological sources like duck feathers, hoofs and hair. Loud mouthed consumers were disgusted about the idea of recycling human hair from Chinese barber shops and it is now to process human hair into pure L-cysteine. However, one could argue that it is a high value piece of the circular food chain to use human hair that otherwise goes to a landfill. Now we can synthesize vegan L-cysteine from petrol. Pick your story.
Curious what a scandal tastes like? Feel free to ask for more information or a quotation.