diff --git a/src/components/AboutPage.vue b/src/components/AboutPage.vue index c0dcd6f..a0218ae 100644 --- a/src/components/AboutPage.vue +++ b/src/components/AboutPage.vue @@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ p {

About the video

-"Is It Time to Eat, or Is there No More Time to Eat" is a video essay that complements my research on meal replacements. As opposed to a broader look on the topic, the video essay focuses on the issue of solving problems through the means of techno-solutionism. It's built in the form of a vlog which responds to and exists in the same space as the sea of reviews, unpacking and tasting videos that exist around meal replacements. +"Is It Time to Eat, Or Is There No More Time to Eat" is a video essay that complements my research on meal replacements. As opposed to a broader look on the topic, the video essay focuses on the issue of solving problems through the means of techno-solutionism. It's built in the form of a vlog which responds to and exists in the same space as the sea of reviews, unboxing and tasting videos that exist within the culture of meal replacements.

diff --git a/src/components/CookingCard.vue b/src/components/CookingCard.vue index fdcb439..01cea9b 100644 --- a/src/components/CookingCard.vue +++ b/src/components/CookingCard.vue @@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ } p { - text-align: justify; - font-size: 18px; - color: #212322; - font-family: 'Inconsolata', monospace; + text-align: justify; + font-size: 18px; + color: #212322; + font-family: 'Inconsolata', monospace; } @@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ p {
-

We love food, we hate having to cook it

+

We love food, we hate having to cook it

There is a theory of evolution that says the following: the development of the Homo Sapiens brain happened mainly due to the discovery of fire, and subsequently cooking. By using less energy to hunt, and spending less time chewing raw food, the human brain had increasingly more space and time to develop new activities, ponder upon its surroundings @@ -28,14 +28,16 @@ p { the labour associated with it became a task reserved only for some.

- Women have been pushed towards domestic work ever since the evolution from more equal hunter-gatherer societies to settled agricultural societies (Smith, 1997). Traditionally, men provided the food, earned at first by hunting, and later on through their + Women have been pushed towards domestic work ever since the evolution from more equal hunter-gatherer societies to settled agricultural societies (Smith, 1997). Traditionally, men provided the food, earned at first by hunting, and later on through their paid job. Women would be in charge of preparing food for everyone, and that role rarely changed. Throughout time, cooking as a means of caregiving became a practice identified more with women, while cooking for entertainment or skill - display was, and still is, associated with men (Cairns et al. 2010). In many households it is still often considered a special occasion when the man of the house cooks. This view was reinforced in cooking advice from the 20th century; - men do not cook on a daily basis, but when they do, they cook dishes that best display their talents (Vester, 2015). + display was, and still is, associated with men (Cairns et al. 2010). In many households it is still often considered a special occasion when the man of the house cooks. This view was reinforced in cooking advice from the 20th century; men do not cook on a daily basis, but when they do, they cook dishes that best display their talents (Vester, + 2015).

Discussing the gender politics of cooking, Pollan wonders: “Was home cooking denigrated because the work was mostly done by women, or did women get stuck doing most of the cooking because our culture denigrated the work?” (Pollan, 2014). Men often had - a privileged position when it comes to their cooking practice - mostly with meat, outdoors, seen as entertainment, while women’s cooking happened behind closed kitchen doors. Today, most of the world-renowned chefs, the ones who win + a privileged position when it comes to their cooking practice - mostly with meat, outdoors, seen as entertainment, while women’s cooking happened behind closed kitchen doors. Today, most of the world-renowned chefs, the ones who win countless awards and get their own TV shows are men.

@@ -45,27 +47,31 @@ p { consume. “Food becomes just another commodity, an abstraction. And as soon as that happens we become easy prey for corporations selling synthetic versions of the real thing - what I call edible foodlike substances.”(Pollan, 2014).

- The phrase a woman’s place is in the kitchen, or the home, has been traced back as far as Ancient Greece’s Aeschylus. Since then, it has been restated and reinterpreted throughout history, in literature, art, and politics (Popik, 2013). We can see an - example of this belief in a clip from Leave it to Beaver, a popular 50s American sitcom. In it, the father explains to a confused son why he’s more suited to do all the grilling outdoors, while his mother works inside the kitchen. - “A woman’s place is in the home, and as long she’s in the home, she might as well be in the kitchen. Women do alright when they have all the modern conveniences, but us men are better at this rugged type of outdoor cooking. Sort of - a throwback to cavemen days.” (Leave it to Beaver, 1957). His last remark reinforces the idea that gender roles have an evolutionary development, are part of human nature and should not be questioned. -

- A brilliant example of the portrayal of women in the kitchen, from a woman’s perspective, is Martha Rosler’s Semiotics of the Kitchen. In this performance piece, set in a typical kitchen, Martha Rosler manipulates kitchen tools with sudden, violent gestures, - sometimes even performing useless tasks such as pretending to throw the contents of a spoon over her shoulder. Her piece is meant to express the frustration of women being stuck doing domestic labour, which is taken for granted. - It is also a parody of the cooking shows of the time, particularly the one hosted by an always cheerful Julia Child. In her mock culinary show, she is no longer a cheerful performer, but uses the tools that have been assigned to - her as an expression of anger and frustration: “when the woman speaks, she names her own oppression” (Rosler, 1975). Her piece shows that gender roles enforced traditionally within the household can be oppressive, especially when - the labour of women is devalued and regarded as trivial. -

-

- As both men and women have been finding their place within the workforce, sharing the workload within the home has increased slightly. However, even in homes where both partners work full-time, the majority of chores and administrative tasks still fall - on the woman’s shoulders, either mentally, or in practice. The extra workload that consists of planning and organisation and leads to the execution of the tasks has been coined by feminists as the mental load (Emma, 2017). Household - management is yet another invisible task done by women, a time-consuming work nonetheless, which adds up to the time already spent doing house chores. -

-

- Today, technology corporations provide more options. Rather than sharing the work equally, both the mental load and the actual chores can be automated, to some extent, through technological solutions. No longer framed explicitly as women’s work, but continuing - to be (de)valued as such, tasks such as cooking can be facilitated through various apps. From a tool of oppression directed at women, food becomes a task delegated to gig workers by startups and other corporations. Regarding food - as a tool of oppression has opened the way for many solutions, some more realistic than others. The automation of food and cooking has been a recurrent topic of conversation and space for imagination both within social movements, - and in popular culture.

+ The phrase a woman’s place is in the kitchen, or the home, has been traced back as far as Ancient Greece’s Aeschylus. + Since then, it has been restated and reinterpreted throughout history, in literature, art, and politics (Popik, 2013). We can see an example of this belief in a clip from Leave it to Beaver, a popular 50s American sitcom. In it, the father explains to a confused son why he’s more suited to do all the grilling outdoors, while his mother works inside the + kitchen. “A woman’s place is in the home, and as long she’s in the home, she might as well be in the kitchen. Women do alright when they have all the modern conveniences, but us men are better at this rugged type of outdoor cooking. + Sort of a throwback to cavemen days.” (Leave it to Beaver, 1957). His last remark reinforces the idea that gender roles have an evolutionary development, are part of human nature and should not be questioned. +

+

+ A brilliant example of the portrayal of women in the kitchen, from a woman’s perspective, is Martha Rosler’s Semiotics of the Kitchen. + In this performance piece, set in a typical kitchen, Martha Rosler manipulates kitchen tools with sudden, violent gestures, sometimes even performing useless tasks such as pretending to throw the contents of a spoon over her shoulder. + Her piece is meant to express the frustration of women being stuck doing domestic labour, which is taken for granted. It is also a parody of the cooking shows of the time, particularly the one hosted by an always cheerful Julia Child. + In her mock culinary show, she is no longer a cheerful performer, but uses the tools that have been assigned to her as an expression of anger and frustration: “when the woman speaks, she names her own oppression” (Rosler, 1975). Her + piece shows that gender roles enforced traditionally within the household can be oppressive, especially when the labour of women is devalued and regarded as trivial. +

+

+ As both men and women have been finding their place within the workforce, sharing the workload within the home has increased slightly. However, even in homes where both partners work full-time, the majority of chores and administrative tasks still fall + on the woman’s shoulders, either mentally, or in practice. The extra workload that consists of planning and organisation and leads to the execution of the tasks has been coined by feminists as the mental load (Emma, 2017). Household management is yet another invisible task done by women, a time-consuming work nonetheless, which adds up to the time already + spent doing house chores. +

+

+ Today, technology corporations provide more options. Rather than sharing the work equally, both the mental load and the actual chores can be automated, to some extent, through technological solutions. No longer framed explicitly as women’s work, but continuing + to be (de)valued as such, tasks such as cooking can be facilitated through various apps. From a tool of oppression directed at women, food becomes a task delegated to gig workers by startups and other corporations. Regarding food as + a tool of oppression has opened the way for many solutions, some more realistic than others. The automation of food and cooking has been a recurrent topic of conversation and space for imagination both within social movements, and + in popular culture.

 @@ -83,9 +89,14 @@ export default { theory_of_evolution: ' A theory developed by Richard Wrangham, biological anthropologist at Harvard University', woman_place: ' The origins of the phrase ', leave_it: '', - mental_load: '', + mental_load: '', martha_rosler: '', - man_cooking: '' + man_cooking: '', + semiotics: '', + women_opression: ' "The rise of class society brought with it rising inequality–between the rulers and the ruled, and between men and women"', + julia_show: '', + jetsons: '', + male_chefs: '', } }, } diff --git a/src/components/FullTextPage.vue b/src/components/FullTextPage.vue index 7efa7d8..4c50858 100644 --- a/src/components/FullTextPage.vue +++ b/src/components/FullTextPage.vue @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@

Your Body Will Make Itself Heard

-

Download the full text of my thesis.

+

Download the full text of my thesis.

@@ -23,11 +23,14 @@ export default { margin-top: 40px; } p { - text-align: justify; - } -#introduction{ - margin-top: 30px; + text-align: center; + } +h3 { + text-align: center; + font-size: 30px; + font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; + font-weight: bold; } diff --git a/src/components/FutureCard.vue b/src/components/FutureCard.vue index beeca3c..3458fde 100644 --- a/src/components/FutureCard.vue +++ b/src/components/FutureCard.vue @@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ p {
+

Becoming robots, losing our tastebuds

+

Within the mainstream technology field, there is a current trend towards enhancing brain and physical capacities through consumer products. More specifically, disconnecting the weakness of the body from the sharpness of the mind can be identified in trends such as, genomics, the quantified self and biohacking. These are also a result of the frustration of not being able to change some aspects of life, such as the need to eat, rest, and the inevitability of death. Within the small circles diff --git a/src/components/MenuBar.vue b/src/components/MenuBar.vue index afa0746..7346d43 100644 --- a/src/components/MenuBar.vue +++ b/src/components/MenuBar.vue @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Review Full text - Full video + Video diff --git a/src/components/ReviewPage.vue b/src/components/ReviewPage.vue index cee7de9..af8f25d 100644 --- a/src/components/ReviewPage.vue +++ b/src/components/ReviewPage.vue @@ -2,9 +2,8 @@ @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Inconsolata&display=swap'); @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans&display=swap'); - b-card { - border: 0px; + border: 0px; } .fade-enter-active, @@ -29,7 +28,7 @@ b-card { .review_block { border-bottom: 1px solid #D3D3D3; - box-shadow: 0 4px 8px -2px gray; + box-shadow: -1px 4px 8px -2px gray; } .icon_dropdown { @@ -38,25 +37,24 @@ b-card { } .card-text { - font-family: 'Inconsolata', monospace; - font-size: 14px; + font-family: 'Inconsolata', monospace; + font-size: 14px; } .card-title { - font-family: 'Open sans', sans-serif; - font-size: 16px; - font-weight: bold; - + font-family: 'Open sans', sans-serif; + font-size: 16px; + font-weight: bold; } .read-button { - text-decoration: none; - color: #212322; - font-size: 14px; + text-decoration: none; + color: #212322; + font-size: 14px; } .main-cards { - margin-top: 20px; + margin-top: 20px; } #intro_title { @@ -76,27 +74,28 @@ b-card {

+

THE REVIEW

- ... this is more than just a default product review. Instead of simply discussing the physical characteristics of one product or another, my analysis focuses on the broader context in which these products have developed, highlights the patterns of techno-solutionism - that I've identified as problematic, and deconstructs their benefit claims and potential for becoming increasingly relevant in today's Western societies. + ... this goes beyond a default review. Rather than discussing the physical characteristics of one product or another, my analysis focuses on the broader context in which these products have developed, highlights the patterns of techno-solutionism that I've identified as problematic, and deconstructs their benefit claims and potential for becoming increasingly relevant in today's Western societies. At the same time, having experienced such a diet myself, it also represents a situated look at what replacing food entails.

- I've become interested in meal replacements because the concept of rejecting food as inefficient, and replacing it with an ultra-processed powder, however many nutrients it contained, intrigued me. I found the idea to be completely alien, so far removed - from my values and desires, that I had to look deeper. I ended up writing an essay, following the historical path and cultural patterns that led to the growth of a culture, an ideology, a community around the act of replacing one - of the most basic human habits. + I've become interested in meal replacements because the concept of rejecting food as inefficient, and replacing it with an ultra-processed powder, however many nutrients it contained, intrigued me. The idea was alienating, so far removed + from my values and desires, so I had to look deeper. I ended up writing an essay, following the historical path and cultural patterns that led to the growth of a culture, an ideology, a community around the act of diminishing the importance of one + of the most basic human habits. In addition to the text, I translated my research into a video essay, which focuses on the techno-solutionist aspects of meal replacements: the problems they claim to address, and the solutions they put forward.

- Below, you will find excerpts of my essay, split into the main topics covered in my research. Scattered throughout the text are images, references, articles, quotes and video snippets, some extracted from my own video essay, which together build - a complex image of the world of meal replacements. + Below, you will find excerpts of my essay, split into the main topics covered in my research. Scattered throughout the text are images, references, articles, quotes and video snippets, some extracted from my own video essay, which together build a complex + image of the world of meal replacements.

+
@@ -105,8 +104,7 @@ b-card { - Meal replacements aim to replace food with food-like substances, removing the need to cook. - But what do people have against cooking in the first place? + Meal replacements aim to replace food with food-like substances, removing the need to cook. But why is the relationship between humans and cooking important in the first place? @@ -115,58 +113,58 @@ b-card { - + - - - When you have no time to eat throughout the day, you have to reconsider your priorities. Sometimes, that can mean eating your meals in liquid form. - + + + When you have no time to eat throughout the day, you have to reconsider your priorities. Sometimes, that means eating your meals in liquid form. + + + Keep reading - Keep reading - - + - - + + The food system has plenty of problems, from food waste to world hunger. Most meal replacement brands claim to tackle some of these issues through their products. - + + + - Keep reading - + Keep reading - + - - + If food is inefficient in keeping humans alive, what makes meal replacements an appropriate alternative? - + + - Keep reading - + Keep reading - + - - - In the future, we will probably have to change the ways in which we relate to food. Will future food be purely functional? Will agriculture change drastically, as well as our reliance on it? - + + In the future, we will probably have to change the ways in which we relate to food. Will future food be purely functional? + + + - Keep reading - + Keep reading - + @@ -188,7 +186,7 @@ b-card { - +
@@ -229,33 +227,33 @@ export default { this.showFutureCard = false }, resetShowTimeCard(currentValue) { - this.showCookingCard = false - this.showTimeCard = !currentValue - this.showSolutionsCard = false - this.showValueCard = false - this.showFutureCard = false + this.showCookingCard = false + this.showTimeCard = !currentValue + this.showSolutionsCard = false + this.showValueCard = false + this.showFutureCard = false }, resetShowSolutionsCard(currentValue) { - this.showCookingCard = false - this.showTimeCard = false - this.showSolutionsCard = !currentValue - this.showValueCard = false - this.showFutureCard = false + this.showCookingCard = false + this.showTimeCard = false + this.showSolutionsCard = !currentValue + this.showValueCard = false + this.showFutureCard = false }, resetShowValueCard(currentValue) { - this.showCookingCard = false - this.showTimeCard = false - this.showSolutionsCard = false - this.showValueCard = !currentValue - this.showFutureCard = false + this.showCookingCard = false + this.showTimeCard = false + this.showSolutionsCard = false + this.showValueCard = !currentValue + this.showFutureCard = false }, resetShowFutureCard(currentValue) { - this.showCookingCard = false - this.showTimeCard = false - this.showSolutionsCard = false - this.showValueCard = false - this.showFutureCard = !currentValue + this.showCookingCard = false + this.showTimeCard = false + this.showSolutionsCard = false + this.showValueCard = false + this.showFutureCard = !currentValue }, } } diff --git a/src/components/SolutionsCard.vue b/src/components/SolutionsCard.vue index b4d28cb..ac23e0c 100644 --- a/src/components/SolutionsCard.vue +++ b/src/components/SolutionsCard.vue @@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ p {
+

Techno-solutionism and the rise of meal replacements

+

The way we eat and think of food today is bound to change. The increasing demand for food, especially meat and dairy, combined with the damaging effects of climate change on agriculture (Cho, 2018), has the potential to push the food industry in new directions, and consumers to reconsider their choices. Within this context, technology companies, the new actors on the food industry stage, are putting forward a solution which regards food as being archaic and inefficient, and the practices around food preparation as time- wasters. Their solution, materialized in products dubbed as ‘complete foods’ or ‘meal replacements’, which allegedly contain all the essential nutrients for the human body, is backed diff --git a/src/components/SplashPage.vue b/src/components/SplashPage.vue index 371d4cc..c769163 100644 --- a/src/components/SplashPage.vue +++ b/src/components/SplashPage.vue @@ -2,14 +2,16 @@ @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Inconsolata&display=swap'); @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans&display=swap'); +@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto&display=swap'); h3 { margin-top: 40px; - font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; + font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif; font-size: 30px; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; + color: #212322; } p { @@ -19,6 +21,7 @@ p { #introduction { margin-top: 20px; font-family: 'Inconsolata', monospace; + color: #212322; } #short-review { @@ -35,12 +38,21 @@ p { #icon-text { font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; + color: #212322; } #why { font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; + margin-bottom: 20px; + font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif; + color: #212322; +} + +#read_full { + font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; + color: #212322; } @@ -48,14 +60,14 @@ p {