With Jell-O shots representing fecal-coliform levels in the Boston Harbor, this edition of food visualizations is as strange as ever. ... When the first “data cuisine” workshop kicked off in Helsinki in 2012—with dishes such as “Criminal Herring in Fur Coat,” a savory representation of Finland’s crime rates—not many likely expected the movement to last. Yet here it is four years later with its U.S. debut in Boston, in which chefs composed scrumptious snacks riffing on local issues like food sourcing, wealth inequality, and water pollution.

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In this smoothie-drinking performance, each of the fruit purees must be consumed simultaneously through straws whose length corresponds to the distance the food has traveled to Boston. The blueberries imported from Canada result in a 7.5-inch straw; the strawberries from Peru in a 27.75-inch straw; pineapple from Costa Rica in a 31-inch straw; Greek peaches in a 32.7-inch straw; Turkish cherries in a 35.7-inch straw. And finally, the Chilean Blackberries traveled the longest way resulting in a 37.5-inch straw.

In this smoothie-drinking performance, each of the fruit purees must be consumed simultaneously through straws whose length corresponds to the distance the food has traveled to Boston.
In this smoothie-drinking performance, each of the fruit purees must be consumed simultaneously through straws whose length corresponds to the distance the food has traveled to Boston. - The blueberries imported from Canada result in a 7.5-inch straw; the strawberries from Peru in a 27.75-inch straw; pineapple from Costa Rica in a 31-inch straw; Greek peaches in a 32.7-inch straw; Turkish cherries in a 35.7-inch straw. And finally, the Chilean Blackberries traveled the longest way resulting in a 37.5-inch straw.