Leigh Ann: Design Brief Revised

For the past 2 weeks I have been testing the effort required to eat food that is more sustainable.  I am trying to understand the everyday conflicts that perpetuate the same unhealthy food system.  What is keeping people from buying local and organic food?  Why do people continue to rely on processed and fast food options?

The first week I tried to create an alternative to fast food for people who have very little time or money to spend on food.  My strategy was to buy ingredients that were cheap and prepare each dish in bulk so that it only needed to be re-heated each day. Breakfast was oatmeal with raisins, snack was a banana and apple cereal bar, and lunch was a collard green stir fry with rice.

The second week I wanted to learn how much it would cost to buy all organic food for the week's supply.  I prepared the food in bulk again to be reheated each day.  Breakfast was toast with blackberry jam, snack was a granola bar and an apple, and lunch was beans and rice with chorizo and a green salad with scallion vinaigrette. 

People I spoke to this week:

Honor Schauland at Organic Consumers Association

I interviewed her about the organization, its mission, and its efforts to make change.  Their main goal is to maintain high organic standards and make sure that the certifying agencies are enforcing these standards.  Their concern is that consumers are not being mislead about what "organic" means.

Glen at Middlebury Food Co-op in Vermont

I interviewed him about how their co-op distributes sustainable food to rural Vermont.  Their focus is mainly about a community owned store that supports the local economy.  I learned about their difficulties with distribution of local foods.

Pam Zweifel

I interviewed Pam about her experience in suburban Wisconsin.  We talked about her lifestyle, eating, cooking, and shopping experience.

Feedback:

+ identify reasons that people should or need to cook

+ how can community be the link between cooking and a local food system?

+ how do patterns of behavior determine food choices?

+ think about what food offers people (ex: comfort)

For Next Week:

+ visualize ideas from research to illustrate problem

+ analysis of survey conducted

+ analysis of interviews

+ documentation of experiments:

  - canning local food

  - labeling organic vs. conventional produce

  - cookbook transformation

+ active research documentation

  - shopping experiences in different kinds of markets

+ map out design opportunities

+ sketch design ideas 

+ plan design exercise w/ external contacts

+ 30x30 presentation of process 

Primary Issue:

America's industrial food system is not environmentally or economically sustainable.

Secondary Issues:

(1) Conventional agriculture contaminates our food with chemicals that may be harmful to our health.

(2) The increased eating of processed foods is correlated with the increase in multiple serious health conditions including diabetes and cancer.

(3) The less Americans cook, the more we loose the culture and history told through food.

(4) The less Americans cook, the less time we spend sharing food together and getting to know our friends and family.

(5) Supporting local economy could strengthen the social community.

(6) Small family farms are rapidly failing next to the competition of industrial farming. 

Design Problem:

The purchasing and preparing of organic and local foods seems inconvenient to suburban consumers.

Stakeholders:

Suburbanites

Farmers (big and small)

Grocery store chains

Farmers markets and Co-ops

Experts: Planned Interviews

Miriam Haas at Community Markets

Rebecca Sherman at Stone Barns 

Harry at Brooklyn Kitchen (soon to open cooking school in Brooklyn)

Andrew Smith (Food Studies Professor at the New School and Food Writer)

Honor Schauland at Organic Consumers Association

Tim Shwab at Food and Water Watch (researcher)

Sophy Bishop at Sustainable Table

Consumer Research: Contacts (I have 4 people to interview that live in a suburban area)