PLANETARY INDIGESTION is a year-long series of conversations and performative lectures about food, ecology, and biotechnology between the Center for Genomic Gastronomy (CGG), UC Santa Cruz faculty, and non-institutional expert guests. The series is anchored by four public online lectures during the artists' residency period (October 2021–September 2022) with reading groups, artist hotlines, and experiments to be announced along the way.

All lectures are free and open to the public with student participation strongly encouraged.

November 19, 12pm–1:30pm PT
ABOUT US: Introducing the Center for Genomic Gastronomy
Register here [link TBA]

February 25, 12pm–1:30pm PT
UNEXPECTED INGREDIENTS: Smog Tasting, De-Extinction Dinner & Glowing Sushi Cooking Show
Register here

May 26 (rescheduled from former date of April 1)
THE AIR IS ALIVE: Civilizational Anxiety & Climate
Register here

June 3, 12pm–1:30pm PT
FRAME/SHIFT: From Microbial to Planetary
Register here

The Center for Genomic Gastronomy is an artist-led think tank launched in 2010 that examines the biotechnologies and biodiversity of human food systems. Their mission is to: 
- map food controversies 
- prototype alternative culinary futures
- imagine a more just, biodiverse & beautiful food system.

The Center has collaborated with scientists, chefs, hackers and farmers in Europe, Asia, and North America. They present their research about the organisms and environments manipulated by human food cultures in the form of recipes, meals, publications and exhibitions. Their work has been published in Science, Nature, Gastronomica and We Make Money Not Art and has been exhibited at the World Health Organization, Kew Gardens, Science Gallery Dublin, V2_, MU and the V&A Museum. 

The Center consists of Cathrine Kramer (Norway), Zack Denfeld (U.S.), and Emma Conley (U.S.), and is based in Portugal and the Netherlands. Their current research initiatives include: prototyping a Norvegan National Dish and mapping, tasting & cooking with crops smoke-tainted by wildfires.

Presented in collaboration with UC Santa Cruz's OpenLab and the Genomics Institute.