OTHER POTENTIAL TITLES:BEHIND THE BURGER

EDIBLE ETHICS

UNCOVERING THE FOOD SYSTEM

FOOD TRUTH

FOOD ETHICS

(WORKING TITLE)NAKISKA SHAIKH

— 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

RESEARCH & BOOKS

MINDMAPPING AND SKETCHES

TERMINOLOGY

MAIN FOCUSES

POTENTIAL MEDIUMS

TRANSPARENCY DECISIONS

ICONOGRAPHY/ COLOR THEORY

Food is one thing in the world that everyone needs to survive. It is our

energy source, and because of this, food has become the subject of

one of the largest, if not the largest global industries. Even though a

majority of people are exposed to this system multiple times a day,

they may not understand the process that lurks behind their store

shelves. This process includes many different elements including

commercial and governmental policy, and biotechnology that enables

change. Both policy and technology are the two driving forces that

make it possible for the food system to evolve in the world, yet they

are often not included in the idealized picture of agriculture.

A majority of the population continues to understand the agricultural

process as one that is pure and natural without ever seeing a real

farm. A sort of tunnel-vision has come over the general population;

people trust what they are told because they (generally) depend on

purchasing food rather than growing it themselves. Labels, numbers

and codes have become the new way of understanding safety.

Nutrition facts and ingredient lists seem to satisfy the majority of the

consumer population because they trust in the food system, and the

technology and policy that puts food on their shelves. In reality, the

food system and agricultural industry have developed into one of the

most unnatural and manipulated processes that can be deemed as

hazardous to the future population.

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.

GLASS CITY EL ULTIMO GRITO

Grito uses glass as a medium to show how

common spaces seen in everyday life can

be broken down. He features some of the

most distinct spaces in the city such as a

hotel, a theatre, a parking garage, and the

underground metro systems. This is a

great way to display the flow of traffic in

city systems.

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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MINDMAPPING AND SKETCHES

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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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TRANSPARENT PANELS

This is the tentative choice of medium to represent the complexity of the food system. The transparent panels will each have a broken information

graphic on them. Viewed separately, each panel will reveal one category; viewed together, the entire system is completed (diagrams on following

pages). Physicality is an important factor when considering audience interaction. I have chosen this medium because it makes a complex system

completely transparent.

WEBSITE USING Z-INDEX LAYERS

Coding a website is still well in reach because of my personal website capabilities. Using Z- index layers will easily allow the information to become

layered, however not as transparent as I would like. An example of this type of layering can be seen at http://dangersoffracking.com/. Layers

literally disappear beneath the page as the user scrolls down. I understand that this may be an extension of my primary medium.

RUBE GOLDBERG

To construct Rube Goldberg machine was my initial plan because of it’s potential engagement with the audience. However, after factoring in the

one-time demonstration of a Rube Goldberg machine, the time and effort did not seem to equate to the impact that I want to make on my

audience. Engineering such a machine that is kinetic in form is much more appealing because of it’s ability to reset itself and be used multiple

times. This method can be problematic because of the fact that it may make the information inaccessible and very difficult to understand.

POTENTIAL MEDIUMS FOR THE FINAL INFO GRAPHIC

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COMPLEX LAYOUT (DECISIONS)

Transparent panels can be aligned according to (one of the following):

Front to back; Farm to Table -or - Front to back; Table to Farm. (Is it necessary to include a final meal?)

Divide into two distinct ways of farming? The (to put it simply) bad way vs. the good way of agriculture.

Categorize each panel according to important facts and align topics according to location and time of activity.

TRANSPARENCY PANELS

FARM

TABLE

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FUEL

HUMAN/ANIMAL NUTRITION v TOXICITY

BIPRODUCTS , BIOMASS, EMISSIONS

SOIL EROSION/ SOIL INTEGRITY (NPK)

MONOCULTURE-> Bt &Rt / ANTIBIOTICS

(DRAFT) CATEGORIES

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Both Iconography and color will be important aspects of the

final body of work because they will set the mood in the

learning environment. The audience needs to feel like he/she

is self-educating rather than being forced to read/look upon

the project. Lightness in icons and color will help lift the

weight that this subject can often carry. The burden of

consuming this vast body of information should be non-

existent. The information will be presented in a more image

and icon based design as to assist the flow of information.

ICONOGRAPHY AND COLOR THEORY

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