Art Gobbledygook, Food and Drink

                                      Art Gobbledygook

Two Pairs of Complementaries of Equal Amount

Wilhelmina Barnes-Graham (1912-2004)

Photo Credit: Wilhelmina Barnes-Graham Trust [CC BY-NC-ND]

Can you imagine a space which serves for nothing and relates to nothing?

A durational performance taking inspiration from George Perec’s conception of a space without use. This performance work creates a space for reflection without purpose – a function without use – in response to the goal-driven context of the University.

(Flyer for an event at University of Brighton Galleries, Private Eye, No 1497)

Food and Drink:

A Mishap to Market Eggs, Thomas Barker (1769-1847) 
Photo Credit: The Holburne Museum [CC BY-NC-ND]

Britons are throwing away 720m eggs every year – three times more than in 2008 and at a cost of £139m – according to new research. The scale of waste has been blamed on over-cautious consumers relying on “best before” dates to decide if eggs are fresh enough to eat, while the growing popularity of vegetarian and “flexitarian” diets has boosted overall sales.

…eggs are often still good and safe to eat long after the date on the packaging has passed. EU legislation requires that the maximum best before date on eggs must be 28 days from when they were laid.

“…If you’ve been throwing your eggs in the bin based on the dates on the box, you’ve probably been wasting perfectly good food,” said Jamie Crummie, co-founder of Too Good To Go. “Food waste is a huge problem – a third of all food produced globally is wasted. Small changes from each of us can make a big difference.”

(The Guardian, 2019)

Much common sense but “a third of all food produced globally is wasted.” Where does that figure come from? What evidence is there for that assertion?

Sir, Your reports about wastage of eggs (letter, Apr 11) raises the question of the pointlessness of “use by” dates. This month I ate an egg with a date of November 2018. It had been kept in the fridge, and I have suffered no ill effects. The worrying thing is how many people take notice of them.

(Carolyn Williamson, Liphook, Hampshire, The Times, 2019)

*Cooking for myself is a rare delight, because normally there are other people to consider. Alone, I can indulge in my strangest culinary whims (oat soup, celery wontons, salt-and-vinegar noodles), which probably won’t see the light of day here.

The more crowd-pleasing dishes that I cook for myself tend to involve the vegan cook’s greatest ally, tofu. It can be quickly crisped for near-instant gratification, and today I’m submerging it in Indonesian flavours such as lemongrass and kecap manis (sweet soy), and surrounding it in greens. One pan, one person, no compromises.

(Meera Sodha, The Guardian, 2019)

I think I’ll stick to steak and chips or cottage pie.