REVEALING THE TRUE COST OF FOOD

— Gregory E. Pence, The Ethics of Food

“Food makes philosophers of us all. Death does the same, but most of us try to avoid

thinking about death. Of course death only comes once, so we can postpone thinking

about it, but choices about food come many times a day, every day.”

CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION

AUDIENCE

PRECEDENTS

BOOKS AND DOCUMENTARIES

TERMINOLOGY

MAIN FOCUSES

MINDMAPPING AND SKETCHES

INFORMATION HEIRARCHY

FINAL DESIGN CHOICES

WIREFRAME

INFORMATION CATEGORIES

WIREFRAME DETAIL

BACK-END DETAIL

ICONOGRAPHY/ COLOR THEORY

EXHIBITION DESIGN

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An efficient transition to a sustainable food system requires a level

playing field. Currently, industrial agriculture benefits from a variety of

policies that encourage destructive industrial practices and make

industrial foods seem less expensive than they really are. For instance,

despite the many well-documented problems it causes, industrial

agriculture is aggressively promoted by the US government through

the subsidization of industrial crop production, extensive research

support from land grant universities, and institutional procurement of

industrial foods. Furthermore, as a result of insufficient regulation and

inadequate enforcement, industrial agriculture generates substantial

negative externalities (i.e., hidden costs of production) such as

environmental destruction, damage to human health, socioeconomic

degradation, and reduction of animal welfare. The cost of these

damages isn’t included in the sticker prices of industrial foods at the

grocery store, but instead is borne by society as a whole.

Unfortunately, these conditions conspire to undermine successful

establishment of sustainable agriculture by making industrial foods

seem comparatively inexpensive, and therefore more attractive to

many consumers. This situation must be remedied; policies should be

created to support and reward responsible agricultural practices, and

regulations must be strengthened in order to prevent industrial

agricultural interests from imposing costs of irresponsible production

on the rest of society. Ultimately, justification for this policy shift will

involve adoption of a form of accounting that measures progress and

prosperity by assessing overall social wellbeing rather than simply

tallying the profits earned by a select few. Such an analysis will enable

the true cost of food to be accurately presented, providing the

impetus for an effective transition to a sustainable food system future.

INTRODUCTION

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AUDIENCE

FEAR & TRUST IN THE FOOD SYSTEM

The audience will begin to realize that they trust the system and that gives them reason to fear the system. Few global corporations control the

world’s food production, seed distribution, and this gives those corporations a power over the food market that is unprecedented.

REALITY VS THE IDEAL

Westernized populations are often mislead to think that their food is grown, produced, and packaged in perfect balance with nature. Many people

believe in this ideal because of false representations as well as false news. The audience that views Farm to Table will have a better understanding

of what is awful in reality, and what reality should be.

THE WHEEL OF LIFE

My audience should walk away with is the fact that we are all part of a living system- we are not above it- or below it and we must work with it. There

is an ecology in life that must carefully be tended to. A farmer can never do just one thing, and neither can the consumer - every move counts

towards something bigger.

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PRECEDENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS VICTOR KROEN

Victor Kroen creates beautiful illustrations

using a human or another natural form as

his base and adding an invisible interface

to the body. The illustrations are a

response to technology and it’s impact on

the natural world. This apple could be a

metaphor for the bioengineered world of

agriculture.

CHICKENOSAURUSJACK HORNER

“What we’re trying to do is take our

chicken, modify it, and make a chicken-

osaurus.” - Jack Horner. Horner is a reverse

evolver of chickens and a dinosaur-maker.

This project appeals to me because not

only is it a hilarious concept, but also plays

with the idea of taking technology too far.

BIOMIMETIC BUTTERFLIES THE BARBARIAN GROUP

The Barbarian Group created these

beautiful lifelike butterflies using simple

programming tools and laser cut butterfly

patterns. The series is a beautiful example

of technology and nature working

together in a way that is graceful and

intelligent. I feel that this is applicable to

my topic because I also want to comment

on tech- nology’s influence in the natural

world as well as the power of technology.

DANGERS OF FRACKINGLINDA DONG & GASLAND

Linda Dong, designer of successful

website, dangersoffracking.com, worked

with the makers of Gasland the movie to

visually illustrate the dangers of fracking.

The website is tangible, informative,

accessible and aesthetically pleasing. It

serves as a precident because of it’s

scrolling nature.

INVENTIONS & MACHINESRUBE GOLDBERG

Rube Goldberg was cartoonist and

inventor famously known for his Rube

goldberg Machine. This machine was

more- or less a toy that represented an

endless stream of motion. When one

component was activated, it would trigger

another activation and so on and so on.

This Machine is an metaphor for the

endless cycle of life and technology that

has influenced it.

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BOOKS

DOCUMENTARIES

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CATEGORIES, TERMINOLOGY, TOPICS

Biotechnology

Monoculture and GMOs

Polyculture

Ecology

Chemical Fertilizers, Natural Fertilizer

Pesticide/ Herbicide Development (Bt)

Livestock/ Crop Machinery

Soil Erosion / Germination

Irrigation Systems

Ethanol and By-product

Fuel, Biomass, Methane Capture, CO2 emissions

Corporation/ Agribusiness

Labeling (specifically GMO’s)

Freedom of Information Act

Farm Bill

Subsidies for Oil and Monoculture

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

Risk Assessment

FDA (Food and Drug Administration)

WHO (World Health Org)

WTO (World Trade Org)

EWG (Environmental Working Group)

TECHNOLOGY POLICY

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CORN AND MEAT PRODUCTION

Grown and produced in ways that are disrupting natural ecology of the American Food System, monoculture and mass production are a threat to

food security in the United States. Human, animal and the environment's health are at risk because of these man-made processes. They are the

source of many problems in the US including toxic by-products and a national nutrient-depleted population.

MAIN FOCUS/EMPHASIS ON MONOCULTURE AND MASS PRODUCTION

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MINDMAPPING AND SKETCHES (SPRING 2012)

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MINDMAPPING AND SKETCHES (SPRING 2012)

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INFORMATION HIERARCHY

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The narrative will be told in both time and space. Z-space allows the plane to have depth. Through careful planning and

aesthetic choices (shadows and highlights) a 3-dimentional space will be created.

Z-SPACE

Parallax scrolling practice of the arrangement of images that creates the illusion of a three dimensional space. Working

along side Z-Space, Parallaxing will complete the picture by allowing staggered movements. An example of parallaxing can

be seen at http://dangersoffracking.com/.

PARALLAX SCROLLING

Horizontal layout with endless scrolling allows the user to effortlessly understand that the narrative is told over a period of

time. A Horizontal layout also allows for a vast landscape, much like reality.

HORIZONTAL LAYOUT

I will be illustrating and coding my final design: a website with multiple features. The website will feature a Horizontal Layout, creative use of

z-space, and Parallax Scrolling, along with hover areas and clickable targets to create a false reality. Mini- infosystems will cleverly be hidden within

the broader narrative.

FINAL DESIGN CHOICES

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WIREFRAME

FIG 1. WIREFRAME WITH TARGET PLACEMENT.

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INFORMATION CATEGORIES

FARM

MEAT PROCESSCORN PROCESS

PRODUCT

PRODUCT

EARTH (Soil Erosion/ Soil integrity (NPK levels) )

WATER (Toxicity, Runoff, de-/Salinization)

AIR (Emissions at each stage)

NUTRITIONAL VALUE (value of a calorie)

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DETAIL OF FIG 1.(DEPICTING FIRST 2/3RD)

MINI INFO-SYSTEMS(EXAMPLE)

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BACK-END DETAIL

HOVER, TARGET & NAVIGATION DETAIL

PARALLAX DETAIL

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ICONOGRAPHY AND COLOR THEORY

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EXHIBITION DESIGN

BUSINESS CARDS

TAKE-AWAY

TRACKPAD

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