EHC
Cross(x)Species Adventure Club
Reducing the environmental costs involved production, distribution, preparation and ingestion of foods is necessary but not sufficient. We can do more.
The Cross(x)Species Adventure Club is an experience of the depth and complexity of our interconnections with nonhumans, exploring the web that traces our gastronomical, economic and material interdependency with butterflies, worms, geese, bats and other intelligent and delicious creatures. The supper club will present multiple courses of foods, delicious and nutritious to both humans and nonhumans, expertly paired with delectable cocktails.
Through wilderness adventures for your pallette you can support the research behind the Cross(x)Species Adventure Club and explore food webs, community structure, chemistry, nutrient cycles and the behavior of organisms within the context of complex ecological systems. For instance when enjoying the luxuriant creaminess of nanoWaterBuffalo Icecream [nano because of the size of the liquid nitrogen submerged ice crystals] you promote the producers (water buffalo) who demand reconstructed wetlands to reverse ongoing wetland loss for their own grazing and culinary preferences.
Visit the xSpecies Adventure Club Blog at www.artistsincontext.org/blog
If you would like more information about participating in the Boston xSpecies Adventure Club, contact AIC Co-Director This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , louisa[at]artistsincontext[dot]org
Next Event: WATER: SCARCITY. STRESS + SECURITY
Cross(x)Species Adventure Club Workshop and Dinner
Saturday 22 October 2011 Cambridge
Water affects everything, from food security to gender roles, education to environmental degradation, yet over one billion people worldwide suffer from economic or physical water scarcity. Increasing urbanization serves to further create unprecedented water stress. Join us as we explore this most vital of essential nutrients as it relates in particular to the future of food systems.
At the workshop, we will review the remarkably unique science of water, subsequently using that knowledge to engineer novel textures + tastes. Then, we will delve into sous vide + low-temperature cooking, a process which integrally relies upon a precisely controlled water bath.... all the while engaging in some collective experimentation with liquid nitrogen.
At the ensuing dinner, in each of 5+ paired courses, we will examine the concept of water equivalents, that is, the quantity of water required to produce a given amount of a particular food, ranging from lettuces to beef. Informed by this investigation, we will collectively reenvision our food future.
Our events seek to develop shared knowledge + to reincorporate, reimagine + recontextualise our shared future through the course of a tasty communal adventure.
INVEST in a biodiverse future.
4PM Workshop on sous vide + low-temp cooking, $35/pp.
7PM Dinner including five+ paired courses, $110/pp.
RSVP to reserve your seats for the Workshop and/or Dinner. Seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis + are only confirmed upon completion of payment. Tickets are nonrefundable, but fully exchangeable.
CONTACT This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Artists in Context Co-Director, with any questions +|or dietary restrictions.
Environmental Health Clinic
The xSpecies Adventure Club is a project of the Environmental Health Clinic. This NYU based program is a clinic and lab, modeled on other health clinics at universities. However the project approaches health from an understanding of its dependence on external local environments; rather than on the internal biology and genetic predispositions of an individual.
This inversion of health as an external phenomenon is not just a thought-experiment, but a growing concern. Take Pediatricians, for example: trained to diagnose and treat bacterial and viral disease, monitor for malnutrition and administer vaccinations. Pediatricians actually spend most of their office hours treating – according to Landrigan and the National Academies report – Asthma; Developmental Delays and Disorders (including Autism Spectrum); the increased rate of childhood cancers (an alarming 400-fold increase in some rare cancers); and increasingly now, obesity. All the conditions pediatricians spend their time on are ones in which the environment is implicated, yet this is not represented in medical curricula, or at least not proportionately to the time medical professionals spend, addressing these issues professionally.
Read more about the Environmental Health Clinic here.
$ Note
There is a fee associated with these events to defray the costs involved in producing the food and drinks, in addition to the lab equipment, and costs to our marvelous hosts. The cost is comparable to other supper clubs, and is a fraction of a similar restaurant meal. Initially we thought that your monetary contribution could support OOZ, Cross(x)Species research, and our supporting organizations as fund raising dinners. However, we decided to keep the fee to a minimum while sufficient to cover food of exceptional provenance. A contribution that exceeds the minimum will support this research and development – any micro-investment will be acknowledged. However, it is your participation that is most valuable to these Cross(x)Species experiments. Furthermore it is your potential experiential and intellectual contributions that are invaluable to developing food systems that improve environmental health.
Your monetary contributions are none the less appreciated and do confirm your seat. Leave comments for any clarifications required. Thank you for exploring these culinary possibilities.
Here’s to adventurous eating.