This micro-campaign came about in the frustration of seeing edible food being wasted in households and in dumpsters from grocery stores. Throughout my research, I noticed a pattern of my participants where food was being disposed of because of a lack of knowledge and value. Food with brown marks or wrinkles was being disposed of in the belief that it was either old or inedible. When in reality that is not the case. Due to different complex reason, that I explain in my thesis, consumers together with the market has created beauty norms of food that is contributing to food waste. But why I chose to work with households is because it’s the place where most food is being wasted.
Can our perception of what food looks like change in order to reduce food waste in households?
Do you dare to eat us? aims to reduce food waste in households by exposing food that is considered bad and showing how one can cook with them. Why am I using exposure as a method? The meaning of exposing is “to remove what is covering something so that it can be seen”. By removing the lens of beauty norms and uncovering bruised, misshaped, or spotty food, this project breaks the stereotype of how food is displayed. However, only showing what our food can look like isn’t going to help the viewers; therefore I’m providing recipes of how to cook with the “bad” food and tips on how to store it or make it last longer. As such, I am both highlighting the issue, as well as offering tools for the viewer to make a change in their personal habits simultaneously.
By collaborating with Karma and Willys Teleborg I was able to reach a bigger audience by having Karam repost some of my content on their Instagram, and having recipe cards displayed at Willys. As both Karma and Willys are working with food waste I found them to be good collaborators for this project.
I see design as a powerful way to make a change in society. By packaging all this complexity and data into a micro-campaign I am making the problem accessible for my audience. I do not only make my audience aware of the food waste problem but I also provide them with tools on how to manage “bad” looking foods, food waste prevention in households, and how to start reflecting on the waste. These tools were created in a way for the audience to feel encouraged and informed of why actions need to be taken.
