Feedback to the 13 questions

Finally I went through all of your contributions, made comments and came up with suggestions. Please find here a PDF that might be a bit better readable for you. Enjoy!

Please find below all your questions in an overview and my respective feedback. I put that in one document to have a better connection and overview. Please note that all questions are starting points for projects where different results can emerge. In most cases it might be very useful to focus on a specific type of food / vegetable / farm, a specific product, a specific place to start working. For all the question key insights of the cases you presented yesterday and knowledge about the phases will be very helpful.

Up to now, you have done a really good job to investigate the really broad topic (feed the world in 2050…) and come up with questions that are of interest for you, that are feasible to address and highly relevant. Some are similar, but you can either team up or work on the similar questions in a different way etc. – no problem. Please do not forget the wonderful Cumulus Green Competition – I see quite a few opportunities for you!

I tried to relate the questions to the activities and domains of consume/r, produce/r or product  and distribute/ion

Here you find a summary of the core questions I see:

Q1: How can we design / change the situation of “common meals” at restaurants or in food stalls in order to connect people more to the food (its origin, its culture, its value…) they are eating?

Q2: How can we design settings where people in cities connect to local and seasonal food and their production context? How could we use data and digital media to increase the possible impact of people engaged in CSA for them and their friends / community (both in relation to the ingredients used and the more efficient / less waste use)?

Q3: How can we design and use data about food / ingredients to support people in selecting specific regional and seasonal food? This question should deal with different retail situations of food and work with specific examples of organic food allowing to connect to the origin of the food and dealing with different layers of information depending of the interest of the customer.
It adresses different situations with different contextual information needs.

Q4: Looking at regional and seasonal food, what are the opportunities to reduce or avoid packaging in retail situations in cities but in the same way provide necessary information about the products (goes together with Q3)? Are there services that enable change of the existing patterns of shopping regional and seasonal food in supermarkets (e.g. through engaging with the regional farmers through digital channels / platforms or through building communities)? Which new experiences and retail channels might emerge supporting local farmers?

Q5: Which possibilities emerge through emerging data technologies (like block chain) to establish a stronger relationship between people living in large cities and the food they buy and consume? Both types, regional and distant food will be explored for ways to connect both to the food and their production, cultivation, their value and the engaged people. What could this mean for interested people in the city?

Q6: How can social media and digital platforms be used to create local communities of people living in big cities sharing an interest in local and regional food? Can specific characteristics of food culture support this process and which type of services or processes might emerge?

Q7: How can we learn from the two phases of production and consumption in the food cycle in a way to better connect producers and consumers of food through a digital platform and build urban communities more aware of the value and origin of food, appreciating and enjoying food?

Q8: How can CSA around Cologne and Taipei be more efficient and appealing to a broader community / audience, supported through activities and new services based on available data and digital platforms? How would this change the work at CSA (or new types of farming) in a sustainable way? Which new roles for both urban citizen and farmer emerge?

Q9: How can we create value in limited availability of (local, seasonal) products, making them special and appreciate its very quality? What type of food might be a good example for that?

Q10: How could the street stall culture in Taipei can become a unique pioneer (and new best-practice) in connecting to peri-urban food production / farms? Can the farm-to-plate principle, currently applied to more pricy restaurant, be applied to this very common type of “eating out”? Street stalls might be satellites or pop-ups of a farm.

Q12: Which non-food products made of upcycled food waste relate to the city / urban context are able to tell a story about its origin through digital information layers? How could the experience be? (How) can it be a strong story supporting a brand?

Q13:Which types of narratives using food / ingredients / cultivation / production data are able to create a relation to the product (and a strong user experience)? It might be the process of growing, or taking care, of the use of fertilizers etc. that can be “shared”.

Q14: How could urban citizen connect through local / peri-urban farming products and which new types of supply chain / distribution could emerge?

Your input, my comments:

Diana Samano Ramos

1) Should we need to find new rituals, habits or traditions to cook/eat/share food?

2) How explore gastronomic territories? Which are the role of food designers in the future? Could they help us to find new ways to be more open minded about food diversity and combat our unsustainable appetite?

Comment: Good to focus on the situation of “eating together”, either at a restaurant or at home / other places. The second question is indeed a series of questions, I suggest the following:

Q1: How can we design / change the situation of “common meals” at restaurants or in food stalls in order to connect people more to the food (its origin, its culture, its value…) they are eating?
consume (and relate to produce)

Sarah Pearson

I have found some interesting material on existing products, which trigger a new way of recycling. It is not all about plastic, paper and tin, but also food waste!

1. How can we challenge the idea of food up-cycling, by repurposing food waste as products useful for everyday life.
2. Can we go back to our roots? How can we learn from traditional cooking methods in order to reduce food waste and encourage the use of local and seasonal ingredients.

Comment: As we discussed, the idea of waste re-use and upcycling is a thing we have in mind (and refer to) but we will not focus on. The second question allows some opportunities.

Q2: How can we design settings where people in cities connect to local and seasonal food and their production context? How could we use data and digital media to increase the possible impact of people engaged in CSA for them and their friends / community (both in relation to the ingredients used and the more efficient / less waste use)?
produce (and relate to consumers)

Matea Varvodic / T

How can supermarkets inform/ enlighten consumers about the sustainability of their products (maybe sustainability index on packaging)? -> supermarkets should pre select sustainable products so that consumer does not have to do so

How can we nudge people to buy more sustainable products and how can we educate and motivate them about sustainability of certain products (trough design)? 

Comment: It is good to have one in the team who works with retail / POS, maybe broaden it to have both markets / supermarkets as places where to buy food. It seems to make sense to maybe focus on finding regional and seasonal products, both in supermarkets (broad range of products require information through labels etc) but also other activities allowing to connect to the origin.

Q3: How can we design and use data about food / ingredients to support people in selecting specific regional and seasonal food? This question should deal with different retail situations of food and work with specific examples of organic food allowing to connect to the origin of the food and dealing with different layers of information depending of the interest of the customer.
It adresses different situations with different contextual information needs.
distribute (and relate to producers)

Kalia Ruiz

1. Are packages a real necessity for food to be properly provided? In which cases is packaging crucial and which could we avoid?
2. Should we get back food traditions to produce less food/packaging waste?
3. How can the vast agglomerations avoid supermarket food consumption?

Comment: I gave comments yesterday…I try to answer with a quite complex question allowing you to choose a focus!

Q4: Looking at regional and seasonal food, what are the opportunities to reduce or avoid packaging in retail situations in cities but in the same way provide necessary information about the products (goes together with Q3)? Are there services that enable change of the existing patterns of shopping regional and seasonal food in supermarkets (e.g. through engaging with the regional farmers through digital channels / platforms or through building communities)? Which new experiences and retail channels might emerge supporting local farmers?
distribute (and relate to producers)

Anna Luz Joséphine Pueyo Kirwan  /T

1 : How can wasted by-products of the food production processes find a new meaning in the food distribution chain?

2 : How can new technologies find ways for the consumers to establish a lost relationship with products & producers?

3 :What meaningful contribution designers could bring to the block-chain technology?

Comment: I see a strong opportunity in 2&3 as they might be connected and suggest to focus on them.

Q5: Which possibilities emerge through emerging data technologies (like block chain) to establish a stronger relationship between people living in large cities and the food they buy and consume? Both types, regional and distant food will be explored for ways to connect both to the food and their production, cultivation, their value and the engaged people. What could this mean for interested people in the city?
consumer (and relate to producers)

KOJIRO WATANABE

1, What are the characteristics and problems of food culture that is about food, tableware and lifestyle in Germany and Taipei?

2, How can we use SNS and digital technology to create a new local community for food?

Comment: I gave comments yesterday…

Q6: How can social media and digital platforms be used to create local communities of people living in big cities sharing an interest in local and regional food? Can specific characteristics of food culture support this process and which type of services or processes might emerge?
consumers (and connecting them to each other)

María Becerra Martínez

What’s the best way to educate people about food cycles so that each phase can be improved?

Which type of design (industrial, graphic, etc.) would be the best to get an impact in a mega city about changing their food consumption? 

Comment: I gave comments yesterday…

Q7: How can we learn from the two phases of production and consumption in the food cycle in a way to better connect producers and consumers of food through a digital platform and build urban communities more aware of the value and origin of food, appreciating and enjoying food?
producers (and relate to consumers)

Clara Schmeinck / T

1.How can organic farming methods improve the sustainability of food production on organic farms in the peri-urban area of Cologne or Taipei?

2.By using tech to improve processing and packaging, it can improve the shelf life and safety of food. How are the applied tech methods different in Cologne and Taipei and are they really necessary?

Comment: I gave comments yesterday…concerning  2: it is not clear if you are interested in processing and packaging tech or in opportunities to increase shelf life and safety?

Q8: How can CSA around Cologne and Taipei be more efficient and appealing to a broader community / audience, supported through activities and new services based on available data and digital platforms? How would this change the work at CSA (or new types of farming) in a sustainable way? Which new roles for both urban citizen and farmer emerge?
consumers (and relate to producers)

Maxime Laika Charlotte Ridzewski

How can we reframe consumers’ expectations regarding the availability (abundance, variety, prize, quantity, time) of food in order to make them understand and accept a reduced permanent offer and/or less service in the food industry?

How can we create a closer, more direct and trust-based relationship between food-producers and consumers – based on more transparency regarding the supply chain, production and origin of food products – in order to increase the felt value of food products and to reach a more responsible behaviour towards the consumption and waste of food? (How) should we use digital technologies to reach this goal?

Comment: I gave comments yesterday… both questions go together. Please add detail to my question if you like, as you addressed quite a few relevant aspects. There really seems to be a focus on this question for many of you, but this helps to ideate and create a variety of emerging designs / opportunities!

Q9: How can we create value in limited availability of (local, seasonal) products, making them special and appreciate its very quality? What type of food might be a good example for that?
consumers (and relate to product)

Sarah-Yasmine Aoufi

How much would replacing the old wrappings with a sustainably produced packaging affect the economy of a company?

What kind of food waste can be found in Taipei, considering the street stall culture and how does it differ from Cologne? Where would catering supplies made of waste make the bigger impact?

Comment: I gave comments in the meeting and I suggest to rethink the questions. The first question is very open and hard to investigate, the second question might focus on street stalls and culture around it…and relate it to our criteria. I don´t know what you think and how you feel about it, but maybe it works otherwise you are free for different suggestions.

Q10: How could the street stall culture in Taipei can become a unique pioneer (and new best-practice) in connecting to peri-urban food production / farms? Can the farm-to-plate principle, currently applied to more pricy restaurant, be applied to this very common type of “eating out”? Street stalls might be satellites or pop-ups of a farm.
consumers (and relate to producers)

Jeldrik Kirschbaum / T

Where is the leak of unsustainable and irresponsible waste or thinking of natural resources, in the sense of food, and why are there so few approaches on how to process this “waste” into novel products?

In which way can innovative inventions re-design our daily life with “wasted” food?

Comment: I also gave comments in the meeting and you need to give me a feedback how much you want to stick to the waste topic. If so, you could try to make something very visible through an intelligent type of “mis-use” or re-use that makes people think in general. And I think this topic is relevant to be researched and figures to be communicated but for me it is currently hard to anticipate a possible outcome unless you specify and narrow down to a situating, a specific type of packaging or a specific product, I need one more clarification from your side…

Q11: (tbd)

Kira Eßer

1. Can food waste recycling into materials or other food become a standard of production and optimize people’s consumption? If so, which technological advances are necessary, for example, to process the production of soybeans?
2. The biggest waste in food processing is in the tomato, fruit juice and wine industry, which is very common in Europe, and which comparisons can be found in Taipei?
3. How can we reduce wastage in the production of food, such as juice production, such as the leakage of certain quantities?
4. How are food waste processed in Taipei and in Cologne, where are the differences in processing?

For my research, I want to look at German and worldwide companies like Oatly, Dörrwerk, alpro etc. I want to trace back the single steps of the production and the further processing I have talked to an student of KISD, Jule Schacht, she did the intermediate about this topic and was a big help for that. Maybe an idea for some others of our project. I will print out my results for Monday. 

Comment: You need to relate this to cities and the criteria we fed back this Wednesday (see https://spaces.kisd.de/fcf2020/2019/11/06/recap-05-11/ )

Q12: Which non-food products made of upcycled food waste relate to the city / urban context are able to tell a story about its origin through digital information layers? How could the experience be? (How) can it be a strong story supporting a brand?
consumers (and relate to products and production)

Samia Rachid

1. How can we educate people on the benefits and positivity of cellular meat, to help increase its demand?
2. How would meat consumption change for Germany and Taiwan, if cellular meat is introduced to the market?

rephrase:

1. How can we copy successful fact-based marketing (example: Oatly) and use it to create a campaign for conscious consumption, without making the consumer look like the culprit and have a more engaging conversation between local farmers and consumers? Are there any favours and or advice our local farmers would say to the consumer? Would it be possible to find financial support from the local cities if this was done in form of an ad campaign?
2. Are there any common messages between farmers in cologne and Tapei in regards to what they would like their consumers to know?

Comment: I like the approach very much. It aims basically about knowledge of food and processes a farmer has and wants to share with his “customers” to better understand, use and appreciate his product. It might help to look at specific, very typic regional products both in Taiwan and German. And in a sense you are creating new “product experiences” or innovations through data layered narratives of a (less sustainable) product to be replaced by another, but through rational argumentation, but to a positive sensory experience.

This also helps all of us if you once would deeply investigate which data are related to a non-processed food product (vegetable , fruit,  crop etc.) and how this might become relevant! Think at high-priced products where it is all about distinction (wine, tea, coffee, cheese…) through labour- and knowledge-intensive processes. Every detail of production is relevant and contributes to the story! We share so many moments with people, other people share so many moments with us. Why not letting plants share their “moments” with us to create their story?

Q13:Which types of narratives using food / ingredients / cultivation / production data are able to create a relation to the product (and a strong user experience)? It might be the process of growing, or taking care, of the use of fertilizers etc. that can be “shared”.
consumers (and relate to products)