What will we be eating in future when climate changes alter the conditions for food production?
The event spotlighted the challenges we face in future, namely being able to provide enough food for the growing population under increasingly difficult conditions for agriculture due to consequences of the climate change i.e. increasing drought, soil salinization, flooding events and other.
Questions which were raised at the event were for instance:
- Will we soon be growing exotic fruits regionally or relying on salt-resistant crops irrigated with seawater? Will micro-local ancient varieties or edible weeds perform better than the hyper-seasonal products of globalization like the year-round tomato or avocado? To what extent will algae become an important source of nutrients under extreme climates? Will the protein-rich quinoa become the new staple food? What might disappear from our menu or be added? And how do these foods actually taste?
At the event it was possible to taste ingredients and dishes. The dishes were based on three possible future scenarios and offered a playful, sensory and interactive experience designed to encourage the participants to question our eating habits and expand our sense of taste. One of the dishes was made with ingredients from Ökowerk Emden, which consisted of karkalla, glasswort, golden samphire, sea fennel, sea kale and heart-leaf.
The dinner was rounded off by a panel discussion with experts from the fields of agriculture, science and urban politics. Frank Gaupels, Project Manager at Ökowerk Emden participated in the panel discussion, where topics such as climate change, agriculture, saline farming and future food were discussed.
A second dinner performance event was held on 21 September in Munich where Ökowerk Emden provided Halophytes, which were used to prepare one dish.