reducing food waste.

Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

own experience & knowledge

Barbara Putman Cramer Jamie Oliver Tristam Stuart Gram-Hanssen (2011) Kramer (2000) Voedingscentrum Too Good to Waste LOVE FOOD hate waste Eten is om op te Eten Zembla: voedselverspilling Taste the waste Arjen & Aileen Iris & Tim Owen & Charlotte Family Friends Roommates Pauline Spengemann Ahmed Bektes Juan de Borja Graduation show DAE 2012 De etende mense (Designhuis) Graduation show DAE 2011

TED talks design goal literature study why?

existing initiatives/movements

which?

documentaries

activities

observation

explorative interviews interactions graduation reports existing products exhibition(s)

visit (web)shops interaction prototyping

Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

introduction
Hi! Welcome to my design and research explorations report of the first cycle of project EI. To refresh your mind my design goal is stated on the right hand side of this page. To gain insight in the characteristics of the users, the activities and the context that play a role in this design goal the following research questions were formulated: 1. Why do working couples waste food? 2. Which kinds of food are wasted and what state is this food in? 3. What do people think of wasting food? 4. What are the activities and their interaction qualities that play a role in dinner preparation, during which activity does foodwaste play the most important role? 5. Which are the interactions between the working couples during dinner preparation and what are the interaction qualities of these activities? 6. What are the characteristics of the context? 7. What are valuable interaction qualities of existing products that reduce food waste? The diagram on the left shows which research methods and sources are used to answer the research questions. In the next chapter these research activities are explained in depth.

Create something that enables and inspires working couples to reduce the amount of food they waste

Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

value of information observation sessions graduation reports desk research explorative interviews

desk research (literature, documentaries, existing products/initiatives)

time first ideas concept direction design process interaction vision interaction qualities define design goal

Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

activities
This chapter explains the research and design activities performed during this first cycle of the project. The diagram on the left shows which activities took place during each part of the project and communicates the level of information gained from these different activities. The rest of this section will explain the characteristics of both the research and design activities. Explorative interviews This method gave me my first insights for setting up my research plan and defining my design goal.The exploring interviews were conducted with friends, family and roommates. These interviews were documented as notes in my workbook. Desk research This research existed of literature search, watching TED talks, reading graduation reports and watching documentaries. Important findings that could answer the research questions were documented in my workbook and can now be found in the results section. Graduation reports The three graduation reports I read provided me sources for literature and gave me some deeper insights on the topic. During the preparation of the context mapping sessions these were useful, since this research technique is during these projects. Observation sessions During the observation sessions me and my buddy Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout observed the whole dinner preparation ritual, from food acquisition till the moment in which everything is cleaned and restored, of three working couples living in small apartments in Delft. We explicitly mentioned that the couples should act how they do in a normal situation. Hereafter we had an unstructured discussion with the couples about food waste and their perceptions and experiences around this topic. These sessions were documented in the form of notes and video material. After analyzing these materials a summary was made which can be found in appendix A. Design activities The design activities performed during this cycle are also depicted in the diagram on the right. How the research outcomes are related to this design activities can be read in conclusion.

amounts

knowledge

creativity

meaning
of food to people

cooking

acquisition

consciousness

overview & storage

Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

results
In this section the results of the research explorations are documented. After collecting lots of insights I wrote the most important insights on post-its and organized them. Eight topics turned out to play a role in the topic of food waste. These are shown on the left. First some more general information. Consumers throw away 19% of the food they buy, hereof 14% is edible. According to Voedingscentrum dairy products are wasted most, according to toogoodtowaste fruit and vegetables are thrown away the most often. The three couples of the observation sessions and the people I did explorative interviews with mention that throw away bread, vegetables and fruit the most. They also mention that leftovers are forgotten once stored in the fridge. However, Voedingscentrum mentions that 25% of the food wasted are dinner leftovers. The following pages will explain the results of the indepth studies that have been done. These results are supported with quotes from the explorative interviews and the observation sessions. The word cloud on the left depicts the reasons for food waste in short. Some of these reasons will be explained more in depth as this chapter continues.
dairy bread, pie & cookies vegetables
26% fruit & vegetables 16% drinks

10% dairy

6% meat 12% prepared meals

17% other

13% bakery

Diagram 1: kinds of food wasted according to too good too waste

Picture <>: top 3 wasted food accoding to Voedingscentrum

Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

results
The wordcloud on the right depicts the reasons for food waste in short. Some of these reasons will be explained more in depth as this chapter continues.

buying too much lack of conservation skills desire of perfect food too much time between acquisition and eating forgetting food Why the packages sold are too big

wrong estimation of amounts lack of knowledge THT & TGT (fear of) expiration dates

lack of overview of storage space nonchalance lack of time not using a shopping list

leftovers (cooking too much)

Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

results
The dinner ritual The diagram on the right shows the activities that shape the dinner ritual, gained from the observation sessions and the graduation report of Ahmed Bektes, the arrows indicate the way food moves between the five activities. Moving from the conservation phase to the preparation phase is difficult and the step that has the most influence on food waste.
acquisition

leftover

conservation consumption

preparation

leftover

leftover

waste

Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

results
Acquisition Two out of three couples do groceries every day, they do not check their storage before going to the supermarket. However, they indicate remembering some food that they have in storage. In the supermarket they are inspired by offers and semi-prepared meal packages (for instance wereldgerechten). One couple does groceries in the weekend and buys food without planning their meals for that coming week, they make sure that they have enough basics to improvise with. During weekdays they buy only some additional fresh food. always perceived as positive. Busy people often feel uninspired and fast preparation is the most important requirement. However, Arjen and Aileen always like cooking. Both Iris and Tim as Owen and Charlotte do like cooking when they have the time for it. Owen and Charlotte never cook together, for the other couples cooking is an activity that provides social connection and quality time. Conservation Food conservation plays an important role in wasting food. The documentary of Zembla communicates that people lack in conservation skills. They do not know how to conserve different kinds of food in an optimal way. Besides people are not used anymore to trust on their own smell and taste while judging the edibility of food (Voedingscentrum). The initiative too good too waste mentions that people often lose the overview while conserving food. Once the food is out of sight people do not relate to it anymore. This is also stated in the graduation report of Ahmed Bektes. Besides, the well-being of the food is not communicated when out of sight.
I experience that friends do not know how much to use of for instance a courgette, they just use the whole vegetable, no matter for how many people the dish is.

I buy this basil plant, we can conserve that better than those pre packed leaves

I did not have a plan before visiting the C1000.

I see the containers in the freezer as surprises since you do not know whats in there, sometimes youre lucky, sometimes youre not.

Preparation Both the observation as the desk research show that people do not know how much they have to use of (fresh) products. The packages sold in the supermarket are often too big for small households (Voedingscentrum) and make the customers use more than needed. Furthermore, the activity of cooking is not

Leftovers are definitely stored, but in the end we mostly forget about them

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results
Peoples attitude towards food What is defined as food and edible is culturally dependent. In the Netherlands we want food to look perfectly, since food is a natural product this is unrealistic. Bektes states in his graduation report that the culture of todays Dutch society lacks in connection with food. People do not have enough knowledge on food and its storage due to our modern society in which all the food is bought in the supermarket and the share of prepared food is increasing. Weve lost touch with food (Tristam Stuart). The taste the waste documentary validates this statement: people do not even realize that food comes from living things weve lost our basic attitude towards food. In her TED talk Barbara Putman Cramer mentions that the biggest part of the Dutch people see food purely as a fuel, people have a functional approach to food. However, this does not count for everyone. The couples we approached for the observation say to be conscious regarding food and food waste. On the other hand, the subconscious patterns in peoples behaviour in daily activities might imply that the couples still have the attitude as described above. Voedingscentrum mentions that people tend to underestimate the amount of food they waste.

I am not especially focused on not wasting, but it just does not feel good

Saving food from being thrown away feels like saving a dog from the animal shelter

Creativity According to Jamie Oliver peoples attitude towards food is influenced by nurture and society. The amount of prepared food that is available in the supermarkets (for instance wereldgerechten and steam meals) prevents people from being creative in planning a meal from scratch (fresh ingredients combined with spices). Creativity in the field of cooking is closely related to knowledge on food and cooking.The lack in knowledge about food and cooking is an important factor that Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

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results
influences creativity. The basics of cooking are essential: If you can cook, you can be creative. Cooking basics can be interpreted in more ways: 1. Cooking skills that are practical, for instance these prevent food from burning. 2. Cooking experience provides imagination that make it possible to come up with new ideas on combining ingredients to a proper meal. This lack of creativity is also confirmed by the observation studies. Attitudes towards cooking The activity of cooking is not always perceived as positive. Busy people often feel uninspired and fast preparation is the most important requirement. However, Arjen and Aileen always like cooking. Both Iris and Tim as Owen and Charlotte do like cooking when they have the time for it. Owen and Charlotte never cook together, while the other couples often do so.

I only like cooking when I have the time for it

While I am cooking I have a plan from which I cannot deviate

We love cooking, it is quality time we have together..

Oo, that shelf.. we hardly use that food, I do not know how to prepare it and which meals I can prepare with it..

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results
The following pages provide insight in the context; the kitchens of the couples. The three couples live in small starters apartments. They do not have much room for food storage. Owen and Charlotte are the only couple that owns a dishwasher and have a big fridge/freezer.
dried spices

Iris & Tim

this area is used for food preparation their freezer is always full

on this shelf they keep their uncooled food the products on this shelf are hardly used however their fridge is empty and organized Tim found two forgotten tomatoes

Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

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results
Owe n& Cha rlott e

these chickpeas are stored here because they were leftover preparation space preparation space

Owen & Charlotte are the only couple having a big fridge

uncooled food dishwasher

their freezer is full of surprises

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results

uncooled food

dried spices

Arj

en

il &A

een
space for food preparation

they store their onions and garlic here opened jars and leftovers are often forgotten

uncooled food

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results
Existing solutions On the right existing products that reduce food waste are shown.

preparation

recycling of waste

existing solutions

acquisition

conservation

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Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

conclusion
This section will answer the research questions posed during the first cycle of project EI. After answering these research questions possible design directions can be established Why do working couples waste food? Food is wasted for several reasons as shown in the wordcloud on page 7. However, the diagram below shows the basis of these reasons. When people do not
nature

have enough creativity in for instance improvising in meals or when they do not have sufficient knowledge on for example conserving food, food will be wasted. In todays society people are not as connected to food as they were before. Food is seen as functional, people do not value it anymore as they value living things. But this relationship can also be explained in a physical way. When people do not see food while its conserved it is often forgotten since they do not relate to it anymore. Which kinds of food are wasted and what state is this food in? Vegetables, fruit and bread are wasted the most. Prepared food food is often forgotten while being stored in the fridge. What do people think of wasting food? Both the couples of the observation sessions as the participants of the explorative interviews mention to be conscious in their food consumption and not willing to waste food. However, this might be different on a subconscious level since other sources point at peoples nonchalance and the quantitative results show that still a lot of food is thrown away.

chaotic routinewise

insecure distant chaotic passive

nurture

society

relationship connection value

intuitive connecting routinewise insecure joyful social functional social connecting nonchalant habitual shameful

creativity reduction of foodwaste

knowledge

What are the activities and their interaction qualities that play a role in dinner preparation, during which activity does foodwaste play the most important role? The activities that play a roleand the interaction

Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

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qualities they evoke are shown on the right. The most food is wasted during the activity of conserving food. Especially the move from the conservation stage to the preparation stage seems to be hard and therefor is important for causing food waste. During the design activities the focus will be on these activities. However, an important thing will be to change peoples daily behaviour since they tend to live in the patterns they are used to. Which are the interactions between the working couples during dinner preparation? Two out of three couples move through the (biggest part of) the process of dinner preparation together. Out of these situations the following interaction qualities can be established: social, collaborative, connecting, and routinely. What are the characteristics of the context? Where a rich overview of the context is given in results the most striking characteristics are: Working couples live in relatively small appartments Their fridge is often a table model (85 cm) They do not have a lot of space to store their food Both their freezers and their storage space for uncooled products are full. All fresh products (vegetables, meat and fish) are stored in the fridge. What are valuable interaction qualities of existing

products? The overview of the existing products can be found in results section. The diagram on the right shows the interaction qualities these products evoke that could be valuable in reaching the design goal.
inspiring structured authentic

inspiring structured

secure connecting open inspiring engaging active authentic

inspiring explorative authentic playful open active connecting active open engaging

connecting open inspiring secure authentic

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Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

design activities
Interaction qualities & concept direction The current interaction qualities of the activities shaping the dinner preparation ritual are depicted in the conclusion. The interaction qualities of the activities focusing on in the new situation are depicted below. This is in the same time the context direction.

natural inspiring

conservation

preparation

connecting secure
Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

exploring

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design activities
Interaction vision

Feeling like a little kid in a candy store: seeing, exploring and being inspired by all the different kinds of candy, having a lot of possibilities but in the end feeling secure of what you want...
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Exploring Interactions - Report Cycle I - Pauline Wout

design activities
Preliminary design ideas

provide overview in conserved food upgrade image leftovers

offer meal possibilities

foodpairing availability of basics

integrate homegrown food in modern kitchen

inspiring

connecting

share ingredients with others

point out versatility of ingredients

support real home-made food

exploring secure centralize food in household prevent food from being hidden provide knowledge on conserving

natural

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