“In 1992, the Food and Drug Administration claimed that they had no information showing that GM foods were substantially different from conventionally grown foods and therefore were safe to eat. But internal memos made public by a lawsuit reveal that their position was staged by political appointees under orders from the White House to promote GMOs. FDA scientists, on the other hand, warned that GMOs can create unpredictable, hard-to-detect side effects, including allergies, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional problems. They urged long-term safety studies, but were ignored. The FDA does not require any safety evaluations for GMOs.”
Institute for Responsible Technology

This technology is so new and untested that we have no idea what long term effects it will have on those who consume it, the lands on which it is grown, or what wide-ranging environmental impact that can occur. The Monsantra Project is named, after the Monsanto Corporation, which is one of the largest suppliers and producers of genetically modified seed in the world. Like a B-movie Mothra or Godzilla, Monsantra is a hybrid of imagination, possibility, and reality. We can only guess what will happen to the food supply with subsequent generations of GMO’s? Using seeds from the Monsanto Corporation, plants are grafted onto robotic or remote controlled bases to become an organism with no clear heritage and no clear future. This poetic GMO plant robot hybrid begs the question what will it all become?

By taking our form of cross breeding into the street, we create situations where these technologies affect how we think about our food culture. In the first phase of the project we germinated and grew GM plants hydroponically onto robotic substrates. Once mature, we release these hybrids into public spaces to have direct interactions with the community.

These interventions were then documented in video format to later be exhibited in the controlled environment of the gallery space. Joining this video documentation, the final stage will allow for gallery audience to directly experience and interact with our creatures by handing over the robotic controls to the viewers. The levity of the hybrid Monsantras and the accompanying interactive elements underscore community and foster discussions about the future consequences of this uncertain technology at both the informative and entertaining levels.