å Sunday, November 1st, 2015

How can designers engage audiences around issues pertaining to the most fundamental human activity of all: FOOD?

This project asks you to consider all the ramifications of its procurement, consumption, ritual, and economies.

In our ever more global world, one thing we all have in common is the need to eat.

Our bodies need food for sustenance, and our souls need to gather with others for the health of our communities and for human contact. Design is complicit in how we think or know about food and how we buy it, see it, use it, learn about its politics and problems, its rituals and complexities. We are asking students to consider their own position and or interests and points of view around of: Food and Food Culture, in the context of food as part of a system of production and consumption, distribution and procurement.

Consider how the process of production, consumption, and other food/dining activities contribute to massive environmental change; which has produced 19 to 29 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions per year and deeply impacts the environmental changes that are taking place.

 

TWO PHASES:

1) phase one:

>> Information design (project given Mon Nov 2 Due Mon Nov 9)

>> Unit 03 asks you to consider and choose among the suggested topics one of them.

>> Investigate its background Information that are related to your topic.

>> Find articles, websites, news sources, videos, books etc.

>> Evaluate, edit, organize your data to its very basic facts and core.

>> Develop a comprehensive and well-researched and knowledgeable presentation of your research and information. Show your content, drawings, and maps, and make digram(s) charts, show statistics, etc. to tell your story through the quantitative and qualitative aspect of information design (like the previous work shop study).

Format 24 x 36 poster.

Learning Goal: To develop a qualitative and quantitative understanding of information

Unit Objective: To encourage designers to engage in critical cultural and global issues.

 

2) phase two: Visual Narrative (project given Mon Nov 9 Due Wed Nov 18)

Based on your phase one project, begin to draw, sketch, develop a formal  visual story with rhetorical narrative attitude.

It should define your narrative voice and position.

Use any media including: visual narrative, text, image, sound performance, projection, etc.

Goal is to engage your audience.

Medium is open to the most appropriate and communicative format.

 

SUGGESTED TOPIC AREAS:

Chemical agriculture
Other agricultural practices can impact the climate. Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are widely used in agriculture, and are often made from fossil fuels. Manufacturing and transporting these chemicals uses significant quantities of energy and produces greenhouse gases.

Local food
Where your food comes from is also a factor. Currently, the average meal travels 1200 km from the farm to plate. Food that is grown closer to home will therefore have fewer transportation emissions associated with it, and also be fresher and support local farmers. And as the distance food travels decreases, so does the need for processing and refrigeration to reduce spoilage.

Food and health
We are what we eat, and getting it right can significantly slow the clock down

The one dietary approach that has consistently been found to extend the life span of animals is simply to feed them less. A diet based on natural, nutrient-packed foods such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils will help the body get by on less without the need to go hungry. Drinking plenty of water has been linked with a reduced risk of major killers including heart disease and cancer, and helps to prevent overeating too.

Food waste
America has a wasteful food culture because of the pattern of our eating, and that kind of diet is one we’re unfortunately exporting to the rest of the world.  one third of the world’s food is wasted before it is consumed  In the developed world most of the waste happens at the consumer end, when food spoils in grocery stores or in refrigerators. Most of the waste in the developing world happens on the farm as a consequence of inefficient storage and processing facilities.

Each year 1.3bn tonnes of food, about a third of all that is produced, is wasted, including about 45% of all fruit and vegetables, 35% of fish and seafood, 30% of cereals, 20% of dairy products and 20% of meat.

Price volatility
The price of food is wildly volatile. In 2008, the United Nations Food Price Index almost doubled in less than a year before crashing in 2009. Prices then shot up again in 2010 and 2011. Despite this volatility, our supply of food stayed stable throughout this period. This suggests that the price of food is not determined by our ability to produce food at a global level.

Food additives
Do we choose the product that is “free from artificial sweetener” or has “no MSG”? What about the one that “contains no GM” Researchers have become uneasy about the use of iron in our diets. It brings dietary advantages to many, but problems for others. Folic acid, wheat, soya, nuts, shellfish and milk products bring benefits – but can pose risks. Dealing with occasionally dangerous trace ingredients is a vexed issue.

Organic food
Organic food has more of the antioxidant compounds linked to better health than regular food, and lower levels of toxic metals and pesticides, according to the most comprehensive scientific analysis to date. There are “statistically significant, meaningful” differences, with a range of antioxidants being “substantially higher” – between 19% and 69% – in organic food.

Processed food
The IARC’s experts concluded that each 50-gram (1.8-ounce) portion of processed meat eaten daily increased the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.

Global food system
The most important thing to know about the global food system is also one of the least appreciated: there is enough food for everyone on the planet to live a healthy and nutritious life. In fact, the UN tells us that there is about 2,800 kcal per person per day available. But, the global food system is deeply inequitable. There are about 842 million people hungry on the planet, while at the same time there are about 1.5 billion who are overweight or obese.

Environmental impact
The way we’re producing our food is impacting our environment. Agriculture is responsible for 75% of deforestation worldwide, and is the largest contributor of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions. We’re also rapidly losing marine food sources. In 2010, 53% of fisheries were fully exploited (pdf), 28% were overexploited, 3% were depleted, and 1% were recovering from depletion.

Corporate control
A very small number of corporations control the vast majority of the world’s food trade: four companies produce more than 58% of the world’s seeds; four global firms account for 97% of poultry genetics research and development; yet another four produce more than 60% of the agrochemicals farmers use.