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Uncovering/ revealing the true cost of food.TRANSCRIPT
— 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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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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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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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)