Vegemals: Food of the Future
Vegemals is a speculative design project that explores two futures: 2060, the year that Barron Trump is elected and outlaws Veganism, a diet that become politically divisive across the country, and 2120, featuring a museum exhibit that specifically looks at the repercussions of the administration at that time.
The severity of climate change in year 2060 meant that agriculture was at an all-time low. Food production suffered, farmers across the states had become desperate, and meat was a scarcity. Many folks had embraced Veganism surrounding the growing concerns around climate change. At the time, recently elected President Barron Trump was instrumental in pitting struggling agricultural workers against vegans, roughly 15% of the country’s population. If elected, he promised to restore American Agriculture by reducing the reliance on lab-grown or foreign-imported “Vegan food”, a rising trend at the time. Having successfully swayed much of the country, Trump was elected and got to work. In order to outlaw veganism, Trump vowed to work with a team of scientists to introduce a moral conundrum to vegans: sentient plants. Thus, Vegemals were born and trendy lab-grown “vegan food” became crossbred with more resilient animals like snails, clams, or insects.
Fast forward to 2120, from the perspective of a sobered future, people went on to learn about this period of time through a roadside museum that discusses the current future in relationship to this bizarre incident in history. Items in the exhibit explain how these plants, though anticipated to be cast out from society, are actually welcomed into homes. The exhibition is a memorial of the height of excitement surrounding the creatures, and possibly a more devastating future without them at all.
Vegemal trading cards became popular at the time. Though playing cards were more like tokens (they were 3D printed on home printers) they hearken back to a time in the late 20th and early 21st century in which kids found trading playing cards exciting.
An illustrated avocado, genetically engineered to have snail-like traits. The flavor of an avocado was more or less the same, but the texture was significantly slimier.
Walnut cicadas were popular because of the beautiful sounds they created. The thick and heaviness of the walnut shell deepened the once higher pitched cicada song.
Chickpeas had been crossbred with the bivalve family and developed a small tongue-like appendage. When cooked, the “tongue” became quite chewy.
Soybeans now resembled caterpillars. For how little food each creature provided they were remarkably hard to catch.