Have you ever wondered what to do with your leftover food scraps from dinner? You usually have two options: 1) Throw them in the garbage or 2) Find somewhere to compost. Examining this dilemma from a conceptual art perspective, Ohio-based artist, Amy Youngs has created the "Digestive Table". The project attempts to recycle one's unused meal into food for soil-based creatures in order to create fertilizer or compost that is deposited at the base of the table and can be used to feed your plants. This homebrew "bio-factory" includes a dense mixture of live Red Wiggler composting worms, sowbugs, shredded paper, food scraps, and other biodegradeable materials. Included in the table structure is an embedded LCD screen and infrared camera so that people dining at the table can catch a glimpse of the decomposition process happening below. Although this reviewer likes the utilitarian aspect of this table concept, I would be hesitant about eating a meal near any kind of decomposition process. Since this problem might be prevalent with even the most relaxed eaters, the project potential side-effect might be to lower one's standards about "clean" eating environments.
Jonah Brucker-Cohen