Consume Our Consumption

Anya Koehne, Annan Zuo, Jiabao Li

Come eat "plastic" with us -- the "plastic" you can digest!

We take the poop of the superworm - the plastic eating worm - for fecal transplant to create pills called "Plascetamol". With "Plascetamol", humans can digest plastic, and so do other species. We will help you clean out the microplastic in your body, at the same time help humans to clean out their consumption.

The gut microbiome of Zophobas morio contains microbes with the novel ability to depolymerize and degrade plastics. To harness this ability, we are culturing frass samples from these organisms to isolate, identify, and amplify the bacteria capable of consuming plastic waste. Samples are cultured in a selective media containing all vital nutrients except for carbon, which is essential for all life. Experimental cultures contain a plastic nurdle as their carbon source; growth is therefore dependent on the microbes’ ability to extract carbon from the plastic through biodegradation.

Inspired by the Zophobas morio's ability to digest plastic, we have developed a speculative medicinal product named "Plascetamol." This probiotic contains microbes capable of depolymerizing plastics, enabling both animals and humans to consume plastic and thereby reduce plastic pollution. By linking eating (consuming) with plastic (consumption), this project envisions a dystopian future where plastic waste is perpetually recycled through ingestion, creating an endless loop of consumption, recycling, and production.

The environmental crisis isn’t just catastrophic—it’s exhausting. We’re bombarded with bleak, anxiety-inducing news, leaving audiences burnt out on doom and despair. Consume Our Consumption finally offers an engaging solution: eating plastic.

The gut microbiome of Zophobas morio, or the Superworm, hosts bacteria capable of degrading plastics, but studying these microbes traditionally involves euthanizing the worms and reducing them to “single-use organisms.” We experiment with an alternative method: analyzing frass (excrement) samples. This preserves the worms and enables long-term, less exploitative studies. Furthermore, our approach broadens the research potential into bacterial activity over time or across generations, unlocking new possibilities for remediation.

Our company EcoBite was founded to realize this potential. Inspired by the superworms' ability to digest plastic, we at Ecobite have developed a speculative pill called “Plascetamol” that enables inter-species microbiome transplantation. This probiotic pill facilitates the transfer of plastic-degrading microbes from superworms into new gut systems, enabling both animals and humans to consume plastic waste.

Our current food systems are fundamentally flawed, perpetuating a cycle of consumption that is inextricably tied to harm. Reform is essential.

The very act of giving and receiving food creates a power imbalance between producer and consumer. This dynamic perpetuates inequality and dependence, exploiting those who grow and harvest our food while consumers remain disconnected from the origins of their sustenance.

The globalization of food production fosters an insatiable demand for exotic and tropical foods, placing immense strain on our natural resources through overfarming and global food transport. And let us not forget the grim reality that there is no consumption without killing. Every meal sustains us at another’s cost, leaving our hands and stomachs perpetually stained with dietary sin.

Eating plastic is a profound act of redemption.

With Ecobite, we advocate for slow and local food, eliminating the need for large-scale producers who profit at the expense of our environment and health. By turning to plastic as a food source, our consumption habits cleanse the environment rather than degrade it. Ingesting plastic halts the cycle of killing for sustenance and absolves us of dietary guilt.

Plastic, once a symbol of despair, becomes a beacon of hope and regeneration. Ecobite’s visionary approach transforms our relationship with food, paving the way for a cleaner, greener, and more equitable world.

Imagine: cows graze in landfills instead of pastures, transforming waste into sustenance. Birds are energized by all the plastic they consume, no longer choked and killed by it. Sea life purifies the waters we have used as dumping grounds for decades. Forests will re-emerge, oceans will be cleansed, and even your neighborhood will be rid of the litter we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing.

And you too can participate in this consumption revolution! With just one pill a day, you’ll be able to eat up the waste around you. And if you’re not moved by this environmental call-to-action, there is an undeniable individual benefit. All those microplastics floating around in your blood? No more! Ecobite degrades the plastic before it has the chance to soil your body.

No more grocery shopping - plastic is everywhere! Preparing meals becomes effortless, and world hunger is eradicated. And forget about these shady, greenwashing politicians. With Ecobite, see if they really care – is your representative eating their plastic?

From fine dining experiences to plastic-eating theme parks and culinary tourism to the Pacific Garbage Patch, the possibilities are endless. Eat Your Way to a Cleaner Future!

With Plascetamol, you’re not just taking a pill – you’re becoming part of a global movement towards environmental salvation. This revolutionary product empowers each user to play a direct role in combating one of the planet’s most pressing issues: plastic pollution.

On the evening of Thursday, November 21st, 2024, we hosted the first plastic dinner, where guests dined alongside 500 superworms in a glass terrarium atop the table. While the superworms ate through a brick of styrofoam, we humans shared a three-course meal of edible bioplastics. Each themed dish was paired with a discussion on the plastic-related issue it represented. This immersive experience allowed us to step into the future that Ecobite enables and to envision the possibilities this pill supports.

We ended the night with helium-filled edible balloons. The helium-altered voices offered the perfect opportunity to reflect on how our perceptions of recycling have been altered by those “feeding” us false information. Phrases like “green energy” or “cruelty-free” are just a few examples of common taglines used to entice the climate-conscious consumer through deception. We recited a collection of these phrases aloud in our high-pitched voices to match the folly of the ideas they conveyed. As our guests continue their lives as consumers, we encourage them to engage critically with the advertisements and campaigns they are constantly bombarded with.

So, we can eat plastic—what’s next?

Plascetamol is designed to eradicate the need for plastic by enabling us to consume it, but history has shown us that miracle solutions often come with hidden costs. Bold claims about solving our environmental crises are not new. They frequently emerge from the same sources that profit from this problem: big oil lobbyists and plastic manufacturers.

The concept of recycling, initially lauded as an environmental savior, has paradoxically fueled the production of even more plastic. The rationale is simple: more recycling means room for more production. This relentless cycle raises the threshold of consumption, creating an endless loop of consumerism.

Imagine a future where this so-called “solution” merely extends the life of a flawed system. Instead of reducing our plastic footprint, we could be entrenching ourselves deeper into a culture of disposable convenience. Is this the kind of progress we truly want? How can we drive meaningful change?

Realizing our threats is the first step towards addressing them. Engaging critically with narratives presented by advertisers or politicians protects us from falling into blind complacency. Recognizing the depth of our environmental entanglements allows us to second-guess products or policies that make false promises. We realize this truth through an absurd lens with EcoBite, taking recycling to a scientifically-backed extreme.