It was World War One, and the Germans were starving.
But they were also creative. Without enough meat to feed the population, Germans began growing fungus from molasses, and managed to replace 60 percent of their imported protein. They did it again in WWII, this time relying on waste from paper manufacturing [1].
The idea hasn’t gone away. By 2050, there may be nearly 10 billion people on the planet, leaving the risk of not enough arable land to produce food [2]. Organisms such as fungi and algae may offer an alternative.
Supermarkets have long stocked products derived from bacteria, fungus, and algae, such as cheese, seaweed, and mushrooms. Future food manufacturers may take this further, harnessing these organismic powerhouses to actually grow other types of food. But even if the technology to make food in this way becomes possible, will people want to eat it?
This is one of the questions I explore as an artist and UX designer, who focuses on food science. In my work, I speculate on how to combine sustainable fungal food technology with people’s desires for appearance and taste. In other words, I envision ways to make microorganisms, such as fungi and algae, look like something people will want to eat.
I believe food grown from microbes could become palatable—if supermarkets of the future look different from the ones today.
If agricultural land becomes less necessary to produce food, the supermarket could become a place of hyperlocal food production. Across the world, grocery stores have already begun to grow their own produce, a practice which uses only a tiny fraction of the fertilizer or water that’s needed for traditional crop farming [3].
Imagine supermarkets with carefully monitored bioreactors sitting among the aisles of food. Scientists, engineers, and sales clerks could all work in one place, maintaining the production of edible single-celled organisms, which shoppers buy on the spot.
Getting there will require a shift in our cultural attitudes about how food might look.
There are certain colors and flavor combinations to which our various cultures have trained our palates. These habits are hard to break. Flavorists in the food industry have told me how difficult it can be to introduce new flavors and textures. But as a society, we may have reached a moment in time when we have no choice.
Fungi have been part of our diets since ancient times, but in the last century, fungal biotechnologies have advanced as a way to produce proteins. Single-celled organisms grow quickly, need little land, and are unaffected by weather conditions [4]. Scientists have genetically modified microbes to produce vitamins, colorings, and flavoring agents. For instance, they can make vanillin—which no baker can live without—using microbes [5].
In Fruiting Bodies, I developed designs to envision how fungal products might look and function as new products in the supermarket aisle. I designed “fruits” made with single-cell organisms. I wanted to play with our instincts, so I relied on shapes that would feel familiar.
In one example, a tubular system excretes liquid yeast, which dries into a paste, forming the shape of fruiting bodies. Upon reaching the desired size, the outer cells form a crust that changes color when ready to eat.
In another, hanging plants with vertical “pods” serve as the nutritional base for carotenoid-producing yeast. It takes approximately one day for a fruiting body to fill the whole pod and become ready for consumption.
And in a third, mycelium inside spiky shells ripen for a week before consumption—the piece is meant to be provocative.
I don’t mean to say that the future of food will—or should—look like these imaginaries. Fruiting Bodies is gastrointestinal science fiction that serves as an entry point for collective imagining.
And not all of our experiments with future food will be successful: I collaborated with a chef to make the hanging garden installation with fruits made of mushrooms molded into fruit-like shapes (which all melted in the summer heat). But the imaginings—whether or not it is successful—are important.
[1] M. García-Garibay, L. Gómez-Ruiz, A.E. Cruz-Guerrero, E. Bárzana. “SINGLE-CELL PROTEIN | Yeasts and Bacteria.” Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Edited by Benjamin Caballero, Second Edition, Academic Press, 2003, pp. 5277-528.
[2] The Future of Food: New realities for the industry. Accenture Strategy. 2017.
[3] Peters, Adele. “At This Supermarket, The Produce Section Grows Its Own Produce.” Fast Company, March 23, 2016.
[4] M. García et al.
[5] Converti, A et al. “Microbial production of biovanillin.” Brazilian Journal of Microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] vol. 41,3 (2010): 519-30.
Alexandra Genis is a Russia-born, German-raised Designer who has been active across fields such as gastronomy, food chemistry, food design, biology, and speculative design, and has presented her work on four continents. Alexandra has recently found a home in User Research and Human Centered Design. She is absorbed by how science allows us to observe existing realities and imagine new ones.
Cite This Essay
Genis, Alexandra. “Shopping in the Fungus Aisle.” Biodesigned: Issue 6, 17 March, 2021. Accessed [month, day, year].