Algae Bioreactor 1
Orcutt Ranch Horticultural Center, West Hills, Council District 12
Artist's Website
About the Artist
Nonfood is a food company founded by artists. Nonfood makes food from algae because it grows quickly and uses less resources than any crop on earth. Its first product, the Nonbar, is an algae-based protein bar using algae as its source of protein.
About the Art
Nonfood’s algae-harvesting greenhouse presents an underexplored alternative food-production option for sustainable and nutritious products. Urban farms have recently sprouted up in cities in an effort to remedy food deserts, provide nutrition education, and create a community-based sustainable food economy. Because of its extremely low-resource use, algae are potentially the most sustainable food source now and in the future. The Nonfood greenhouse is an elegant, translucent minimalist structure with a functioning alkaline pond installation growing FDA-approved Anthrospira plantensis (commonly known as spirulina) and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (algae), both of which provide the rich green color that contrasts with the streamlined gray-and-white industrial elements of the space. Viewers are invited on designated dates to walk through the greenhouse, observe growing and harvesting practices, learn about algae as a food source, and taste a Nonfood algae-based nutrition bar.