THE MUSEUM OF ENDANGERED FOODS

24. August 2021

©Museum of Endangered Foods

THE MUSEUM OF ENDANGERED FOODS

"One of the most underestimated consequences of the climate crisis is the extinction of food. When the word 'threatened' comes to mind, we think exclusively of animals: pandas, rhinos, whales.... But other forms of life like plants, especially useful and edible plants

 that we think of as food, are also threatened with extinction."

The founders

Sharp & Sour is a design studio based in Utrecht and Madrid, founded by designers María Fuentenebro and Mario Mimoso, whose passion is food and the future. Now they have created a museum that combines both areas.

The Museum of Endangered Foods is a speculative project that explores the impact of climate change on our food and eating habits. It aims to make visitors think about how diets and lifestyles are threatened by ecological changes. Causes range from rising temperatures to freshwater scarcity, extreme and erratic weather patterns, habitat loss and deforestation, pollution and increased vulnerability to epidemics, predators and disease. 

At the museum, you learn that some of the most endangered food species in the world right now are avocados, cocoa and wine. But also some of the most basic ingredients in cuisines around the world, such as potatoes, chickpeas, fish, bananas or coffee. The museum works with a QR code that you can simply scan to learn more about the expiry date of each ingredient.

For the museum founders, it is extremely worrying and dangerous that no one is talking about these problems and that the only "solution" to most of them is to genetically modify crops to make them resistant to drought or fungi.

©Museum of Endangered Foods

THREATENED FOOD

HONEY

EXP 2050

Honey has been around for a very long time, as 8000-year-old paintings in Cuevas de la Araña (Valencia, Spain), show. But the extinction of bees could also pose a problem for other plants and crops that they also pollinate, such as most fruits, berries, onions, beets, broccoli, peppers, safflower, sesame seeds, beans and potatoes. According to Professor Lenore Newman Today, bees indicate that something is wrong with the world. When the bees disappear, a series of critical culinary spices follows."

©Museum of Endangered Foods

AVOCADOS

EXP 2050

Avocados, Persea Americana, were probably domesticated about 4000 to 6000 years ago by the early Mayans, for whom avocados were part of their calendar.

However, avocado trees are very sensitive and need about 200 litres per fruit to grow. This water footprint is enormous and is already causing the number of avocado trees to decline. The value of avocados and the water needed to grow them have increased so much that drug cartels in Mexico are fighting for control of the fields, stealing from and even killing local farmers and company owners.

©Museum of Endangered Foods

CHICKPEAS, SOY AND PEANUTS

EXP. 2050

Chickpeas are thought to have originated in the south of what is now Turkey over 7500 years ago (possibly as much as 11000 years ago). Chickpeas are one of the most widely consumed foods in the world and are an important source of nutrients and protein for more than 20% of the world's population. Chickpeas need about 4000 litres per kilo in addition to continuously moist soil during the long growing season. Rising temperatures, drought and irregular and extreme rainfall are the main threats to chickpeas. The same problems apply to soy and peanuts, whose consumption is increasing as more and more people opt for meat alternatives and a vegan lifestyle.

THE MUSEUM

The Museum of Endangered Food aims to focus on the ecological vulnerabilities that threaten each of these foods, in the hope that the climate crisis through food will become more tangible and accessible. The museum is both a living memorial and a vibrant call to action for the future of food that is arguably most important to human life.

At the same time, the museum is looking for supporters to display the artwork. If you have a space or would like to collaborate with the studio, please contact them at hola@sharpandsour.com.

https://www.sharpandsour.com/project/the-museum-of-endangered-foods/