In August 2015 a study published that mealworm guts contain bacteria that biodegrade Polystyrene. (1) The larvae of the Tenebrio molitor can grow and survive on a polystyrene diet alone. Yet Styrofoam is far from appetizing. Polystyrene is a petroleum-based plastic made from the styrene monomer, hazardous in its production and as waste product for the environment. Up to Yang’s study nutritional value was considered nil. Surprisingly one of the most popular foods of the future (2) - the mealworm - can transform this hazardous and superfluous waste product. The mealworm is nutrient rich - Larvae develop quickly and they convert their food into protein efficiently, at a similar rate to chicken but better than pigs and cattle. It is environmentally friendly compared to animal farming which contributes 15% to greenhouse gas emissions, the larvae do not emit methane. This project proposes a mobile mealworm snack bar - where the worms are kept in transparent units, being fed with polystyrene waste and served on styrofoam plates in a synthetical architectural setting design, produced out of Styrofoam a.o. material. It is meant to expose the ambivalence and absurdity with which we interact with our bodies and the environment, highlighting the topic from an angle of food being an interface to the world (infrastructure of society) and the body at the same time. Furthermore it is supposed to present a base for discussion about systems, techno-ecologies, circularity and deep time; keeping in mind how through digesting the mealworm who has digested an artificial product which is made out of petroleum which is a mineral oil which accrued from plants, human becomes a part of circularity. It serves as a prosthesis for sensing time and developing an elevated recognition of a subject’s position compared to the consciousness we bare of and in our every day lives.
