How Would You Define Edible?
Posted 2/16/2012 12:02 AM by Nicole Garneau |
CommentsOn the bristling cold morning of January 23rd,
exactly one month prior to the opening reception for BMoCA's 2012
spring exhibition, I parked my truck in front of the studio and
home of Viviane Le Courtois. About a week or so earlier I had
received an email from the Museum highlighting the new exhibition
Edible? and as a scientist who studies taste and health, I
was more than stoked to find out more from the artist
herself.
"What does it mean for something to be
edible?" Le Courtois asks, gesturing towards the diverse
objects that surround us in her studio space. She carries with her
a French accent from growing up along the Brittany seaside, and in
her hand grasps a iron mold of an artichoke. Beside her are
boxes of handmade clay pots to be used during the exhibition for
drinking herbal tea. Her petite form backs to a life-sized
sculpture of an obese child, made from colorful mini marshmallows.
Beneath her desk and on each windowsill are seedlings of herbs and
sprouts.
I know the question is rhetorical, and yet I grasp for an
answer, recalling what I have chosen to eat and what I have decided
along the way was inedible. And I realize that the true answer is
more personal than I'd imagined because it depends on your own
unique perspective. This particular perspective is shaped by two
things in your life: genetics and
environment/experience.
Genetics. If you'll humor me
in my favorite analogy (which I hope you'll find exceptionally
appropriate to this post), your DNA is like a cookbook for your
body. And like any good cookbook, your DNA contains recipes, about
25,000 recipes in fact. These recipes are called genes. Genes, like
recipes, are specific instructions to tell your body how to make
one important thing it needs to survive. These "things" are called
proteins, and they are the mini machines in your cells that are
responsible for how your body functions.
(Cartoon credits: http://education.technyou.edu.au/book/export/html/91)
So back to Edible? … there are
approximately 60 genes* that are linked directly to your ability to
perceive various taste qualities (sweet, sour, bitter, umami
(think meat) and salt). These genes give the instructions for
how to make proteins that act like gate keepers in the taste buds
on your tongue. Depending on which of the 5 tastes we are talking
about, these proteins either bind small food molecules or will let
molecules into the taste cell (see oversimplified taste cell
below). Once a taste cell is activated in either of these ways, it
sends a signal to the brain about what the taste is and how strong
it it-this is how genetics can affect your perception of what is
edible and what is not. The brain then takes that message and acts
on it. "Should I spit this out or should I eat more?"
Image Credit:
http://www-psych.stanford.edu/~lera/psych115s/notes/lecture11/images/tstanat4.jpg
Environment/Experience.
Thousands and thousands of years of evolution on both the genetics
of taste and the way the brain responds to taste/consumption has
put modern day populations in a sticky situation. We have been
trained to crave umami, salt and especially sweet, with the goal of
survival. The protein we eat is broken down in our digestive system
into building blocks that will be used, based on the instructions
from our genes, to make our own proteins. Salt is required for
homeostasis (a balance in your body with the environment) and also
provides the ions needed for the chemical reactions in your cells.
And finally glucose- the simple carbohydrate that when combined
with oxygen in the reaction of respiration makes the energy our
body needs (and has the side products of water and carbon dioxide).
During nomadic times of hunting and gathering, it was essential to
find and consume foods that contained these necessary molecules.
Because of this, we evolved to feel good not only when we eat these
foods, literally, chemicals are released in the body akin to the
experience of pleasure, but also in anticipation of eating these
foods. Both can excite the reward center of the brain. This
evolution of how our brains and bodies respond ensures survival,
because it ensures we will repeat the activity that made us feel so
good.
But what about now? As we
have been wired based on survival in inhospitable environments,
meats/ salt/sugar still excite the reward center of the brain. Yet
our world is very different from that which we evolved.
Industrialized nations have taken away much of the inconvenience
and difficult work of finding food sources. There are convenience
stores with prepackaged and highly processed food snacks and nearly
a fast food chain on every other given intersection. And
interestingly, a very cool research study published in 2008 shows
that it is even worse than we thought. The reward center for obese
teens is excited MORE in anticipation of food
compared to lean teens. In contrast, the reward center for obese
teens is excited LESS during actual consumption of
the food compared to lean teens. So basically, obese children crave
food more, but don't get the same pleasure hit when they eat
compared to lean children. This means they have to eat more to get
the same level of reward, making it very difficult to change
unhealthy behaviors.
Read more about this study here.
On the flip side of the equation, foods that are bitter
often elicit a response akin to repulsion. Yet there are entire
families of vegetables that taste bitter. Depending on what was
made available to you as child plays a large role in conditioning
us to like healthier food choices, including bitter vegetables. It
begs the question, "What are we making available to our kids?" Most
neighborhoods don't have local grocery stores. Farm products don't
have nearly the shelf live as processed products and require
preparation, so aren't as enticing to buy. There is significant
concern over urban and rural food deserts. And while urban
gardening is on the rise in Denver, the idea of a backyard garden
is not one that is considered broadly. Modern day environments,
therefore, plays such a large role in perception, because where you
grow up and how food was presented to you has long term effects on
how you perceive foods and the habits you pass on to your
children.
This dichotomy of taste perception and behavior is
thoughtfully constructed in Le Courtois' studio. Figurines of obese
children, made from candy and each with a unique colorful glaze,
line up like militia on a side table. Drawn to the rainbow of
colors, I ask what was used to give the sculptures such hues. She
explains the process of melting down candy pieces and pouring the
liquid into a hand-crafted mold. That's it. The simplicity strikes
me, as does the implications. Many of the sculptures were made
years ago, and yet look as if they were crafted only yesterday. The
medium she chose, it turns out, is just as important as the
content. I contemplate this as she shows me sketches of the
exhibition install and describes the emphasis on experiencing both
ends of the polarized food world. As the light moves in the studio,
I know I must say my goodbyes and head back to the Museum. The
seedlings pale green leaves glow with the sun's changing position
and I notice the shadow is now moving across the army of candy
children. I find myself thinking that the sum of the whole is
greater than the sum of the parts when art and science intersect in
the realm of the human experience.
For more information about what you read about here, check
out any of these links:
Preparing dinner last night , using squash from
my end of summer harvest.
* A special thanks to
Dr. Tom Finger of the Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center. He
helped me roundout the estimation that there are over 30 genes
related to taste receptors in taste buds, about 10 related to
downstream signaling in taste cells, about another 10 related to
ion channels, and loosely another 10 (although probably more) known
to impact taste bud development.. for a estimated total of over 60
genes.
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