Eindhoven’s Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition Proves Design Can Help Promote Sustainable Eating

Dutch “eating designer” <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.marijevogelzang.nl/" target="_blank">Marije Vogelzang</a> curated an exquisite exhibition called "Food Culture: Eating by Design", now showing at Eindhoven's <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://designhuis.nl/" target="_blank">Designhuis</a> until the 6th of January, 2013. Organized by <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.premsela.org/en/exhibitions/food-culture/" target="_blank">Premsela</a>, it showcases multisensory examples of how designers can help humanity to make changes to its <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://inhabitat.com/photos-delicious-brutal-and-erotic-food-designs-on-display-at-the-berlin-taste-festival/" target="_blank">food</a> consumption patterns to ensure a more sustainable future. Click through the images to see some fascinating food-related furniture, information design -- like <a title="http://www.honeyandbunny.com/" href="http://www.honeyandbunny.com/" target="_blank">Honey &amp; Bunny</a>'s "Food Design XL" colorful display seen above -- toys, futuristic aliments, aqua-phonic systems, homewares, workshops, films and much more!

The first thing you see when entering Eindhoven's Designhuis is <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://featuring-amsterdam.nl/Ft20092012.html" target="_blank">Featuring's</a> grand cascade of real-life growing <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://inhabitat.com/6-ways-to-keep-your-fruits-and-veggies-fresher-for-longer/" target="_blank">vegetables</a> set in boxes. The beautiful display invited visitors to explore the exhibit's 3-floors of multidisciplinary food-design projects.

Dutch <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.mediamatic.net/259041/nl/bouw-je-eigen-stadskwekerij" target="_blank">Mediamatic's</a> "Triple-decker Aquaponics Tower" is a sustainable ecosystem for food that combines growing plants with raising fish.

Florence-based women’s collective <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.arabeschidilatte.org/" target="_blank">Abeschi di Latte</a> designed a pop-up workshop, "Pasta Herbarium", where visitors can experience making pasta and sauces from scratch.

Yugoslavian designer <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.kabiljo.com/index.html" target="_blank">Dejana Kabiljo</a> created an kill-free, animal-free seat inspired by the sight of meat hanging in a butcher's refrigerator.

Dutch designer <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.bytomm.com/byTomm/main.html" target="_blank">Tomm Velthuis</a>' "Don't Play With Your Food" is an ironic innocent-looking wooden set for kids meant to teach them about the heart-less food industry; including <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://inhabitat.com/google-invests-in-the-power-of-pig-poop/" target="_blank">pig</a> castration, the fattening of swine, greasy fast food and even deforestation.

In order to reverse and poetically criticize low price of commercially-raised chickens, artist <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.arturvanbalen.net/" target="_blank">Artur Van Balen</a> created the most expensive possible versions of these cheap chickens from porcelain. He calls them "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainsbury's">Sainsbury </a>Chickens".

Royal College of Art graduate <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.marremoerel.com/" target="_blank">Marre Moerel</a> showed "Food on the Table", a cruelty-free but visually stirring ceramic collection of tableware made from cast animal organs, such as cow hearts, pig intestines and sheep brains.

From the same creators of the lovely <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://inhabitat.com/jihyun-ryou-charming-art-objects-save-food-from-the-fridge/" target="_blank">"Save Food From the Fridge"</a>, their latest project is a mobile exhibition featuring local vegetables that have disappeared. It's called "Save Food From the Supermarket".

British designer <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.james-king.net/" target="_blank">James King</a> was inspired by science fiction and what the future of food could be. Here he developed food made from in vitro meat and other lab inventions.

<a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://inhabitat.com/starbucks-swaps-crushed-parasitic-beetle-food-coloring-for-tomat-o-red-dye/" target="_blank">Insects</a> are flying protein and many cultures around the world eat them; they are said to be tasty and more sustainable than farmed meat. In a book called "<a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.scientias.nl/recensie-het-insectenkookboek/62429" target="_blank">Het insectenkookboek</a>" readers are taught all they need to know about cultivating and eating them.

Local designer <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.coendekoning.com/front.html" target="_blank">Coen de Koning</a> created a beautiful, low-maintenance beehive made from terracotta and wood. The piece is designef for beekeeping in the city.

Emphasizing the social side of eating, British <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colalife" target="_blank">Simon Berry</a> created an amazing project called "Aidpod". Here a case with medicine is fitted inside Coca-Cola's crates. By cleverly using to soda-makers wide distribution network, medicine has the potential to reach even more people in need.

German <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://uliwestphal.de/" target="_blank">Uli Westphal </a>created a graphic piece of nonstandard fruits, roots and vegetables called "Mutatoes". The images are a critique to the over-designed, unnatural and monotonous food we eat.

<a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://inhabitat.com/dave-hakkens-wind-oil-machine-produces-cold-pressed-oil-from-nuts-and-seeds-with-every-passing-breeze/" target="_blank">Design Academy of Eindhoven</a>'s graduate <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.guixe.com/" target="_blank">Marti Guixé</a> baked "AutoBahn" cookies for eating while driving, and "I-Cakes", a pie graph indicating the cake's ingredients in percentages. The design turns treats into useful information.

Vogelzang commissioned <a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.iff.com/" target="_blank">Flavors &amp; Fragrances Inc.</a> to design an olfactory display were visitors could recognize and associate scents with food written on the walls.

<a title="Exquisite Food Culture Exhibition at Eindhoven Shows How Design Can Help Humanity" href="http://www.foodfilmfestival.nl/2011/index.php?item=english" target="_blank">The Food Film Festival</a> was also present at the Designhuis screening a variety of food films and documentaries together with discussions, music and art.

Focusing on the global issue of sustainable food, this beautiful, brutal and sweet exhibition shows visitors that food is not only for pleasure and folly, but we really can't live without it.