FeelGut

We are what our soil eats

Humans are the biggest gap in the food cycle. Each year, we flush away about 8 billion nutrients through the toilet, which our soil desperately needs to stay healthy and continue producing our food. More than three-quarters of people aged 18-35 report that gut issues affect their mood. Clearly, something is wrong. We are undernourishing our microbiome. With 70% of our immune system located in the gut, and its direct connection to the brain, gut health is the foundation of our overall well-being. For decades, we’ve focused on production and efficiency, forgetting that a living soil, just like us, is essential for a healthy system. Using synthetic fertilizers, comparable to fast carbs in our diet, starves both underground and aboveground microorganisms, leading to soil depletion, nutrient loss, and reduced biodiversity. The poor health of your gut mirrors the poor health of the soil. To break this vicious cycle, we must understand the connection between these symptoms—they need each other. This offers opportunities!"

FeelGut 100% circular

FeelGut makes this connection tangible in a product. It teaches us to better understand our own bodies and creates a direct link to farmers and the food system. In the FeelGut vending machine, you are introduced to the fascinating flora and fauna of your gut, and you get the chance to experience FeelGut firsthand. FeelGut was designed by Fides Lapidaire and Yanna Hoek, and developed in collaboration with various partners in a supply chain network. In the coming years, their goal is to make FeelGut 100% circular—from processed shit to high-quality compost that farmers use to grow the ingredients for FeelGut.