Pod reveals the Christmas food of 2045
Image borrowed from Umami produktion. The people in the image are Olof Yassin, who plays the host Enkido, and Sanna Persson-Halapi, who plays the head chef Emelie, in the podcast.
In the Christmas special, guests enjoy among other things mulled wine and gingerbread with stilton cheese cultivated in a bioreactor, rice pudding made from 3D-printed cinnamon-infused rice grains, pickled herring made from aubergine and herring extract from small fish, and meatish balls made from cultured mince. A Christmas ham is also being grown in a bioreactor. The bioreactor is used for various fermentation processes and the raw ingredients come primarily from the plant kingdom. Inside the bioreactor, microorganisms are fed a nutrient solution made from everything from grains and agricultural by-products — and in the podcast, also discarded clothing. During the fermentation process, the microorganisms multiply and become an ingredient in the food. The bioreactor can be used for precision fermentation, where the microorganisms are programmed to produce a specific ingredient, such as milk or meat.
This has been confirmed in the Reactor Revolution project! Bio-grown food in the food system of the future led by Lund University but also involving Umami production, Climaginaries and Biotech Heights. Now the podcast is published.
The material is based on a knowledge foundation, from which a future scenario and a prototype have been created.
- Biotech Heights works in many different ways to create the conditions for Sweden to realize the potential of biotechnology, says Emma Nordell at Lund University and Biotech Heights. Many projects focus on technical solutions, and in others we work, for example, with legislation and advocacy — or perhaps recipe development. Now we wanted to look at what a conceivable future might look like, where biotechnology has become commonplace in the food system. It was really a fun project where we got to work with both food creators, startups and researchers from completely different disciplines. The future is bright when we work together!
In the cooking programme we hear how Jordeberg farm has changed since they invested in bioreactor cultivation. In various reports we learn more about how the farm works, about how things happened when the bioreactor broke through, and what it means to be named a Cultural Heritage Farmer.
Climaginaries is a research network that works with envisioning possible futures, with storytelling at its core. They call their method fact-based speculation, which means that based on what we know today, they attempt to understand what various possible futures might look like.
- Storytelling is central to Climaginaries' work because it helps us understand and engage with major societal issues, says Johannes Stripple, Climaginaries. Through speculative stories and experiences, Climaginaries explores alternative futures and challenges ingrained ways of thinking. Stories are used both to question dominant ideas and to inspire new ways of acting. In this way, storytelling makes complex issues more comprehensible, engaging and possible to explore together.
Based on the knowledge base, a future scenario is formulated that contains an overview of the 2045 agricultural system in Sweden. Based on the scenario, a script was developed for the cooking program, which was then recorded with actors. The content is produced by Umami production.
- The podcast is similar to a traditional cooking programme, says Fredrik Pålsson, Head of Content at Umami Produktion. But we also use, for example, fictional news items to show how the food system has changed, and what role the bioreactor plays in that evolution. What has been very exciting for us, is that we have had the opportunity to work with a wide range of dedicated experts. Then we have been able to add design, which is our own area of expertise.
The podcast is produced with support from Vinnova.
