User:Alice/Video Script

Structure: Intro (0) Climate change problems in food (1) Techno-solutionism for problems (2) Meal replacements as techno-solutionist products (3) What problems do they claim to solve? (4) Saving time and energy - cooking and eating, post mom economy (4a) But the problems lies in startup culture (4aa) Saving resources - money, waste, sustainability (4b) But their products don’t address the systemic problems (4bb) Saving humans - better self, better future self, mind vs body (4c) But they place sole responsibility on the individual, robot brain (4cc) - Conclusion (5)

INTRO (0)

I live in the NL, in an apartment which sits 3m below sea level. I love to eat, and I’m lucky that my local shops are filled to the brim with foods from all over the world. I never have to think about not being able to find the food I want, at any time of the year. But I can’t help but think about the end of all this convenience and abundance that I take for granted. Shots of tulips, buildings underwater, superimposed with supermarket rush

CLIMATE CHANGE (1)

By now, we should all be aware of the catastrophic effects of climate change on our planet. Food is a fragile resource. Every year, we use all of earth’s resources faster than it can replenish them, and that date keeps moving up.

How to show earth falling apart without being cliché

Rising and increasingly extreme temperatures will affect not only agriculture, but also imports and exports. If food stopped coming into cities every day, those of us stuck in there would not last long.

People walking in the city

The future is grim in most aspects, but especially when it comes to food. It’s not a coincidence that most dystopian views of the future imagine a very bleak diet for the majority of the world’s population.

PROBLEMS (2)

So what can we do? What are the default ways in which we deal with problems, at least in the western world? Who is in charge of defining what the problems are, and who do we turn to for solutions?

In the past few decades, we’ve learned to rely on technology to improve the problems we face in our daily life. And for good reason. Today, we’re inclined to believe that technology can make anything better. And nowhere else is this belief more prominent than in Silicon Valley, the source of a large number of contemporary technologies that are part of our lives today.

His definition addresses the fact that techno-solutionists focus more on finding solutions, than addressing the actual problems. It’s a constant chase for solutions.

MEAL REPLACEMENTS (3)

In food, techno-solutionism is materialized in Meal replacements, a mix of powdered nutrients to consume instead of food, meant to revolutionize eating for today and tomorrow. The concept – normal food is unsustainable, inefficient, prone to make us waste time and resources. The solution? Powdered nutrients mixed with water to produce a shake that is perfectly rationed, rational, fast. Since the launch of Soylent, the first of its kind to be marketed this way, many others have got a lot of investment from vcs, a lot of media hype, scientific claims and sleek designs, marketed as hardware or software rather than food, further increasing distance between humans and what they eat.

MEAL REPLACEMENTS AS SOLUTIONS TO OTHER PROBLEMS (4)

MR come as a solution to a very specific range of problems, designed with a very specific demographic in mind. While only marginally addressing the issues that have an impact on a larger scale, such as improving the food system to cope with climate change, world hunger or food waste, the problems they mostly focus on are cooking, time management, nutritional intake and efficiency.

In other words, they frame day-to-day habits as problems, that only technology can solve. However, none of these problems are really analyzed in depth, and the suggested solutions only deal with the problems on the surface.

So what is it exactly that MR are solving?

SAVING TIME AND ENERGY - cooking and eating as problems

How have perceptions on cooking changed throughout time?

Cooking shows have had a great impact on how people perceive cooking. In the US, Julia Child has been very influential on her American audience, who was used to eating for convenience rather than for pleasure. Her advice went towards housewives, in the attempt to make cooking less intimidating. However, her cheerful portrayal of what it means to be in the kitchen also opened up space for criticism, like Martha Rosler’s piece - Semiotics of the Kitchen, which comes as a parody to Julia’s cheerfulness, portraying cooking as a frustrating task, embodied in the tools which allow for useless and sometimes violent moves.

Cooking takes time, and for some people spending time on this task is not worth it. However, even in futurist depictions of instant food preparation, the woman, or the mom, is still the one doing the work. (the jetsons).

With a young, male demographic as a majority, the products and services that come out of the tech world today are a result of the issues they are facing - living alone with a large disposable income. This has led to what has been dubbed as the ‘post-mom economy’, with a large sector of the tech products and services moving towards solving daily chores that moms used to do. Gone from under mom’s protective wing and stuck into high stress jobs, young adults no longer have to time or interest to plan quick, healthy meals for themselves, and would rather lay that responsibility on the shoulders of a startup.

It’s not too hard to understand why this is appealing to some people. MR brands claim they help you get through the day with complete nutrition when you’re too busy in the morning to eat, or to take a lunch break at work.

But not having enough time in your day to address the needs of your body is a problem that runs deeper than just time management, and a life hack like meal replacements is not the solution. Instead of focusing on the fact that workers are pushed to constantly perform, outwork each other and keep their breaks at a minimum, the solution they suggest is embracing these ideas, while consuming your meal at your desk, in liquid form.

Normal food is inefficient, they say. All we need, as humans with human bodies, is nutrients, and food is not the best vehicle for them. Nutrients consumed as closer to their original form as possible are the best. Add calcium. Add potassium gluconate. Quote about what food is about What is food really about? What does it mean to feel full?

What is the purpose of this efficiency, the extra time gained while not eating, or cooking, or cleaning after yourself? How do you achieve work-life balance when life is consumed by work?