Human beings have long pursued the enjoyment of eating. Food plays a significant role for their function to maintain living basis and their representations of cultural histories. However, A lot of heirloom foods are being lost or endangered nowadays: On one hand, humans have lost the close relationships they used to have with food. On the other hand, our market is dominated by few kinds of foods because of the most market values they have. Americans have not yet recognized the problem while many other countries have been finding the solutions. Gifted with a lot of unique foods, Americans should be aware of the issue and take actions to it. It is not only about maintaining biodiversity but also about preserving the precious taste and cultural stories behind the foods.Hypothesis:
Expand the markets of endangered food and convince nurseries their economic values help their preservation.
Primary Issue:
Foods are being endangered because farmers are not willing to cultivate them.
Secondary Issues:
1. Less food choices are available to the consumers.
2. Lost of cultural stories.
Design opportunity:
Promote specific types of endangered food such as Harrison Cider apples, Bronx seedless grapes, and Rubel Hightbush Blueberries. Utilize them in seasonal recipes and expand their market.
Stakeholders:
Cultural anthropologists
Environmentalists
Farmers
Eaters
Experts:
1. Brent Ridge: The founder of Beekman Farms who devotes himself to artisanal, hand-made and seasonal projects and goods.
2. Gary Paul Nabhan: The founder of the Renewing American’s Food Traditions whose work related to endangered foods in North American.
3. Makalé Faber Cullen: A cultural anthropologist who directs the RAFT, Ark, and Presidia initiatives of Slow Food USA at its headquarters in Brooklyn.
4. Seed Savers Exchange
5. Native Seeds/SEARCH
6. Cultural Conservancy
7. Chefs Collaborative
2 comments:
Hi Evanee,
this is an interesting idea, and you present your arguments very well. Now, you have a challenging problem. You have to decide how you can intervene through the product you will design, to lead to positive change. In this case, you seek to contribute to the preservation of traditional varieties of fruits and vegetables in the US.
Now, how can you, as a designer, make an impact? What kinds of products, if introduced, would acheive your goals? I suppose you could design a special kind of gardening tool or system that was especially useful in the cultivation of heirloom varieties; or, you could make a special container for seeds, to make it easier for home gardeners and hobbyists to plant, grow and prepare traditional foods. Is this what you have in mind? If so, I think you should begin developing this by figuring out the size of the market, the price, the materials, etc. You should not wait until next semester to decide on your product focus.
steven
Hi Steven,
Thanks for the response. My idea is to expand the market of these foods. The biggest issue is farmers are not willing to cultivate them because those foods are considered having less profitable values. I'm aiming to utilize them in various ways to increase their sales. For example, making an exclusive snack/meal package, having a collaborative project with notable chefs, or creating byproducts out of these ingredients.
Best,
Evanee
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