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(one of four food scenarios on the topic of food futures)

The myth of unlimited growth has become cancerous. Industrial expansion has devoured everything in reach and is now beginning to digest itself. Antibiotic resistance emerged as a major threat in this fear-driven society. After the collapse of meat and dairy production, a series of brutal resource and microbe wars led to widepsread malnutrition and starvation. The (literal) hunt for animal protein became widespread. Animals previously considered non-edible have become sought after delicacies (e.g. pigeon-pie, cat-and-rat stew, insects, etc). While most people’s diet is a paltry veganism enforced by necessity, there is an increase in insectivore and invasivore diets. Jellyfish has become a staple in coastal regions and imported inland.

The unpredictability, fragmentation, opacity and breakdown of the food supply chains has led to an increased sense of urgency and misguided hoarding. Synthetic food supplements is a hugely profitable industry. This is a culture of feast and famine, balancing between certain death and decadent debauchery. Masses are entertained in collective Binge & Purge parties, while elites indulge in decadent, wasteful eating of endangered species. Most reality TV has decended into various permutations of Hunger Games meets Master Chef. On the internet, cannibalism (voluntary or otherwise) is organised through social networks, with an alarming rise in prion diseases. Media services and the internet have become a cesspit of misinformation and greenwashing campaigns.

As short supply chains become unsustainable due to soil degradation and extreme weather, it becomes impossible to survive exclusively in a local environment. There is little or no arable land available, leading to enforced nomadism, often manifesting as plagues of human locusts (televised, of course). The militant transition towns have moved underground, cultivating mushrooms and guarding giant apocalyptic fermentation vats (the only non-contaminated food available for vast majority of population). Bathing in digestive enzymes is widely believed to replace antibiotic protection, giving rise to funky rituals.

A suicide cult known as 'The Last Supper Club' gains popularity in major metropolitan areas (with optional organ donation to Michelin star restaurants). Most of humanity is sinking into a toxic “soylent green” swamp, while a minority meets their death through consumption of exclusively poisonous last specimens of a species. Wherever you turn, there is death and decay, with no hope of redemption (and then you die).

L1010392


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  • Last modified: 2014-04-03 19:45
  • by nik