THESIS 1, FALL 2011

NAKISKA SHAIKH

— Gregory E. Pence, The Ethics of Food

“Food makes philosophers of us all. Death does the same, but most of us try to avoid

thinking about death. Of course death only comes once, so we can postpone thinking

about it, but choices about food come many times a day, every day.”

— Wendell Berry, The Ethics of Food

Food is the one thing in the world that everyone needs to survive and thrive- it is our

energy source. Food has also become the subject of one of the largest, if not the largest

global industries. Even though we are exposed to it everyday, we really don’t see the

politics or the science behind the systems of food production. We know they exist, yet

we wonder how and do they affect me? We have given our trust to faceless

corporations hoping that they make the right decisions for us. We trust labels with

nutrition facts, and we are satisfied - the product must be safe. Before the FDA, we

used to feel fruit to determine it’s ripeness or smell meat to avoid rottenness. We have

lost our senses in the marketplace; numbers, codes, stickers with brands have taken

over and have command over our food system.

We have lost touch with traditional methods of agriculture and are continuing to lose

touch as technology complicates something that was once so pure and second-nature

to much of the world. Now that many foods have become bioengineered or genetically

modified, the clear line between the natural world and the artificial world is turning into

a blurred one. Food systems are becoming invisible because of technology, and

perhaps because of this, they grow stronger with every move.

“For some time now ecologists have been documenting the principle that ‘you

can’t do one thing’ - which means that in a natural system whatever affects

one thing ultimately affects everything. Everything in the Creation is related to

everything else and dependent on everything else. The Creation is one; it is a

uni-verse, a whole, the parts of which all are ‘turned into one’.”

FEAR & TRUST IN THE FOOD SYSTEM

The first piece of information is that we trust the system and that gives us reason to

fear that system. They (by “they”, I mean the few global corporations that control the

world’s food production) have a power over the food market that is unprecedented.

ORGANIC vs BIOENGINEERED

The second piece of information is that we (westernized populations) have been

mislead to think that ‘Organic’ is always better and that there is no upside to

Bioengineered food. Organic and bioengineered foods both have their pros and cons

both locally and globally.

THE WHEEL OF LIFE

The Third Piece of information that my audience should walk away with is the fact

that we are all part of a living system- we are not above it- or below it and we must

work with it. When I say that we all are part of the circle of life, I mean that there are

forces of nature that should not be tampered with, especially if we do not know the

consequences.

I’ve been sifting through massive amounts of cultural, natural, scientific, biologic, and

historical information as it pertains to the systems of food that are everpresent but

invisible in nature. Much of my research revolves around Gregory E. Pence’s book

called The Ethics of Food. Pence and the other authors that have contributed to this

book are biologists, scientists, botanists and socio-economic scholars share their

thought onmany topics. Some of those topics include Bioengineering versus Organic

methods of agriculture, vegitarianism, impacts on the enviornment and politics and

lawmaking as the driving force behind food systems.

The popplet below is a consolidated form of my research. There are a few main branches that

I have been focusing on: the science of food, history of food, and the food market. These

points focus not only on why, but when and how we have come to transfrom our means of

food production from a natural and bonding experience to one that is detached and

technologically separate from the human body. Our bodies and the earth were at one point

codependent and this Popplet is an exploration of the causes and the effects of the

technology that has broken that coexistence.

GLASS CITY EL ULTIMO GRITO

Grito uses glass as a medium to show how

common spaces seen in everyday life can

be broken down. He features some of the

most distinct spaces in the city such as a

hotel, a theatre, a parking garage, and the

underground metro systems. This is a great

way to display the flow of traffic in city

systems.

ILLUSTRATIONS VICTOR KROEN

Victor Kroen creates beautiful illustrations

using a human or another natural form as

his base and adding an invisible interface

to the body. The illustrations are a

response to technology and it’s impact on

the natural world. This apple could be a

metaphor for the bioengineered world of

agriculture.

CHICKENOSAURUS JACK HORNER

“What we’re trying to do is take our

chicken, modify it, and make a chicken-

osaurus.” - Jack Horner. Horner is a

reverse evolver of chickens and a

dinosaur-maker. This project appeals to

me because not only is it a hilarious

concept, but also plays with the idea of

taking technoligy too far.

BIOMIMETIC BUTTERFLIES THE BARBARIAN GROUP

The Barbarian Group created these

beautiful lifle-like butterflies using simple

prograpmming tools and lasercut butterfly

patterns. The series is a beautiful example

of technology and nature working together

in a way that is graceful and intelligent. I

feel that this is applicable to my topic

because I also want to comment on tech-

nology’s influence in the natural world as

well as the power of technology.

WHY BUY LOCAL? E - LOCAL USA

This infographic is not only an important

source of information for my thesis, but it

also proves Wendell Berry’s theory that

you can never do one thing and that

everything is connected. The theory

explains that nomatter haow small or

insignificant a choice may make, someone

else had to make choices before you, in

order for you to proceed with your actions.

RUBE GOLDBERG Rube Goldberg was cartoonist and inventor

famously known for his Rube goldberg

MAchine. This machine was more- or less a

toy that represented an endless stream of

motion. When one component was

activated, it would trigger another

activation and so on and so on. This

Machine is an metaphor for the endless

cycle of life and technology that has

influenced it.

THESIS 1, FALL 2011

JANE PIRONE

— Wendell Berry, The Ethics of Food