Plastic ice cream has appeared, the world's first food made from waste. It tastes like vanilla
Plastic ice cream: you read it correctly. This version of the sweet treat is, in fact, made from the same materials found in plastic bottles.
ALEXANDRA MANTA
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Scientists in Scotland use special bacteria and enzymes to break down a chemical compound in plastic and transform it into something called vanillin.
London-based artist and designer Eleonora Ortolani uses the new material to create what she claims to be the world's first plastic ice cream, according to ktvu.com.
The ice cream is then showcased in an art installation called "Guilty Flavours".
"Guilty Flavours is an ambitious project that uses microbiology to repurpose plastic waste for human consumption. In a radical new proposal, Ortolani shows how people can use their bodies as a machine to eliminate plastic forever. How? By eating it.
New biochemical processes, such as digestion enzymes and genetically modified bacteria, can allow people to safely consume plastic, transforming it into entirely edible molecules. Here, Ortolani presents the first sample of vanilla ice cream flavored with biotechnical vanillin.
The artist's work aims to challenge and expand the future of human cuisine and disrupt common thinking patterns. By literally playing with the consequences of our excessive consumption, Guilty Flavours challenges our willingness to adopt transformative innovations and participate in a circular ecosystem", reads a post on @ibartlondon's Instagram page.
"We have the necessary tools today to rethink the food system we live in", said Ortolani. "This project started from a great frustration with how the plastic recycling system cannot keep up and also the fact that, despite all the information about plastic, plastic production is not decreasing".
Scientists say the ice cream has not yet been authorized for human consumption.
"This has to go through exactly the same regulatory processes and food standardization processes as any other food ingredient, and only after it has passed through all of these could it come close to any kind of consumer product", said biotechnologist Joanna Sdaler.
However, controversy has arisen regarding plastic pollution and what can be done about it. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, only 9% of the world's plastic waste is recycled.
