Flavored tears, soylent, and ecological commensality

Abstract

ABSTRACT To Flavour Our Tears, an art project consisting mostly of unusual recipes, and Soylent, a meal replacement system available to individual consumers, are two representatives of recent food trends that have emerged in the Western culture. The article examines them in the framework of ecological commensality, which is a theoretical perspective based on the expansion of the principle of eating together to encompass the interconnectedness of all beings. Using this lens, the article identifies the two food phenomena as opposites. To Flavour Our Tears is shown as full realization of the holistic circulation of matter and energy, which allows people to question their position at the top of the food chain. Soylent, on the other hand, is revealed to rely on the stark denial of ecological commensality. The article suggests that both instances of novel food conceptualizations deserve examination as cultural responses to the cursed food futures.