Utopian Lab: Our future on a plate

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Can we tap into the collective imagination of today’s people to distinguish possible food utopia and dreaded food dystopia? Each plate tells a story, representing the current public opinion over what makes up a food plate that is healthy for us, healthy for the planet, and what the future may hold. 

Exploring a ‘meat and two veg’ of the future, Our future on a plate showcases the possibility of cultured meat, algae and liquid nutrients as substitute food sources in an everyday diet. The aim is to spark an open discussion about current food production and what the future might hold for our food system. How thirsty is an avocado plant? What are the most wasteful food processes? Could liquid or pill-form food deliver all our nutritional – and emotional – needs? And how do you grow meat in the lab?

Through workshops run by Future Farm Lab this year, Joe Sarah's stark photography and collaborative research with non-profit New Harvest, King's College London, Imperial College London and a collection of independent farms and retailers, Our future on a plate collects data, processes and contextualises it, injecting transparency into the food chain and deconstructing how our choices impact the environment, our health and society.