Documentation of research
FoodPrint Documentation of research: expert interviews, self-ethnography and ethnography. Will Brown Master of European Design Glasgow School of Art 1
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Contents
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Expert interviews
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Self-ethnography Learnings Sustainable eating diary
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Ethnography Tools Shadow + long interview Street engagement
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Documentation of research This booklet documents the qualitative research as part of Will Brown’s Master of European Design thesis project, FoodPrint. Understanding the latent needs in people and stakeholders related to the domain of this project (which is food - so that is many!) is fundamental to understanding how a strategy for behavioural change can be implemented. A variety of methods were used to achieve this: expert interviews to understand where current stakeholders in this area are at; self ethnography to experience behavioural change first hand; and ethnography to clarify where the mainstream point of view on the topic is and test assumptions from the research.
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Expert interviews The expert interviews were carried out in the first weeks of the project to quickly assess what stage Glasgow is at in organising itself around the topic of food sustainability. Through a series of 4 interviews I was able to build up a quick base of knowledge “standing in the shoulders of giants� so to speak. This enabled me to explore how design can play a role in the current activities of the stakeholders active in beinging about change.
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Angela Blair 1400 - 24.02.16
How will it impact the project? Angela gave me a list of contacts and followed up with some governmental data to read. It also raised my awareness of the existing key organisations that are already doing work in this area.
Top takeaways 1. Glasgow recently joined the Sustainable Food Cities Network, and the Glasgow Food Policy Partnership is a result of this. 2. Since Glasgow and Scotland in general is in the early days of this action, there is potential to work in bringing together key stakeholders. 3. There are lots of silos in council / government, which are being broken down but have a way to go. 4. There is potential in using systems thinking to make sense of the issues.
What could be improved about the method? This interview was very unexpected and sudden, so there was little time to prepare for it.
Bill Gray 1000 - 03.03.16
What did you do? Interview with a nutrition and health member of East Midlands council.
Top takeaways 1. Communication prior to policy is essential to facilitate change, otherwise changes come unexpectedly, without allowing people to have made their mind up on the issue. Better that people are informed and have come to a decision beforehand. 2. Many food co-ops focus on income maximisation and social justice, with environmental justice being a secondary driver. 3. The partners involved in the GFPP each have different agendas and perspectives. What is yet to come is that each partner understands their role, what they have to offer, and how to work with other partners. 4. In the GFPP is it mainly public and
What did you get out of it? Since this was during the project's first week, it served as a means to explore the role of the project from the perspective of a non-designer. The conversation validated the importance of systems thinking, and how a lot of this kind of thinking is happening already. Due to the familiarity of Angela with Gordon, the informality of this allowed me to test some possible directions this project could take. It also showed the typical challenges being faced by a council worker, namely issues in visualising work.
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voluntary organisations involved. They really want the private sector to get involved, however there is a challenge in persuading them to see the value in doing so. 5. Dilemma of working with large supermarkets or not: recognising that due to their size, they have a lot of power and influence. However when it comes to working with them, it is hard to get them to commit to change because they will not send high level representatives, instead someone who is low on the chain of authority. 6. Other cities in the Sustainable Food Cities network, such as Brighton and Bristol, are worth looking at as case studies due to their success. Glasgow in comparison is in the early stages, having just joined. 7. Interesting work around ‘food reminiscing’ with elderly people, remembering the experiences of life in the second world war and the national food campaign. 8. Community cafes work well as recruitment for other engagement activities like cooking classes. 9. Motives for community members to get involved are not just about learning more about food, but just getting out the house, and tackling issues like loneliness. 10. What interventions can act as conversation starters, for example John Hancock’s fruit tree project to encourage councils to plant fruit
trees in schemes. What did you do? Interview with stakeholder who works for Community Food and Health Scotland, part of the NHS. The intention was to learn more about his role as an advisor for the Glasgow group of Sustainable Food Cities. What did you get out of it? Knowledge around how a government group goes around promoting health issues in communities. The work done so far with the Glasgow Food Policy Partnership and the challenges involved. It also made me realise that many of these partners have intimate knowledge of people and the issues they face. Bill is actively engaged in doing things, so the conversation was less high-level and more actions-based than with Angela, however still keeping in mind the bigger picture. This helped focus the direction of the project and which possible partners/users to work with. Sustainable development is such a big topic that encompasses a lot of things which therefore makes it easy to get lost within it. For this reason, it is important to find a frame/focus for the project to swiftly move forward. When this is done then it would be useful to return to speak with Bill. How will it impact the project? It has made me realise that there is a to of thinking and work going on, but
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the wrong thing to do is to jump into actions. An essential step ahead in the process is what Bill defined as having ‘conversations’ with communities and the general public. This way they embrace change, and feel that they have an active part in bring it about. Focusing on engagement activities in raising awareness amongst people could be a focus of this project. The focus currently in community groups is hugely on health and social justice, with sustainability taking a back seat. Any concepts that I generate will have to consider these issues to be accepted by low-income communities.
Top takeaways 1. What food sustainability looks/feels like at the individual level is under defined. 2. GFPP is quite bottom up oriented and lack buy-in from government level (apart from CFHS and GCPH) 3. ...and sees itself currently as forum for conversation and networking among interested partners 4. A big barrier to moving forward is funding. 5. Communicating the value of food sustainability and de-risking it would be a powerful mechanism to increase funding for local, bottom-up change from the top-down. 6. They are focused more on community gardens (such as Lambhill Stables and Dennistoun Diggers) committed to food production - rather than allotments, which tend to be badly organised. 7. There is no coherent agreed vision for different food production partners to align themselves with. 8. Partners within GFPP each have different motivations and perspectives that are not necessarily aligned either.
What could be improved about the method? Would be helpful to reflect at the end of the interview with the participant on their thoughts on my project, looking at it from their perspective. Having a printed stakeholder map would also help, to gain input from each interviewee on how to expand it, and reach out to more people. Explaining clearly my purpose, with supporting visualisation would be helpful in setting the frame for the interview. It would also help ‘sell’ the role of design in the existing work that is going on.
What did you do? Intended to interview Deirdre Shaw, a Glasgow University professor who founded the Glasgow Food Policy Partnership (GFPP). However, due to her being ill, I met with one of her
Robert McMaster 1600 - 21.03.16
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colleagues, Robert McMaster, who is also involved in the GFPP.
push this further.
What did you get out of it? We discussed what GFPP is doing, barriers to progress and how I might be able to fit this project into their activities. The key learnings were around the challenge to get buy-in from the Scottish Government and exploring the implications for individuals. Robert and I concluded that a possible reason for this might be the perceived risk of the unknown of transitioning to a new system. Exploring implications for individuals might help in this, since right now this has been focused on the policy and production level. This could be done by telling highly visual narratives of what this new food production system might look / feel like from the individual point of view.
What could be improved about the method? The slides were helpful in explaining my strategic thinking, and proving my skills as visual communication. However, they could be better structured to tell a compelling narrative.
Johnnie 1300 - 24.03.16 Top takeaways 1. GFPP is currently at the stage of moving past asking conversations, towards creating nudges and actively working with partners. 2. Johnnie is compiling a list and ‘institution map’ of growers in Glasgow. 3. …However, he is searching for the best way to communicate this information so it is actionable by end users: Community Garden organisers & starters. 4. There is no communication between the urban food producers, which might help each other share information or start new community growing projects 5. “The key to a sustainable food production system is a short supply chain and access to land for communities.”
How will it impact the project? The chat with Robert has re-emphasised the need to explore and understand user needs and the impact that a new food production system might have on people’s everyday experiences. Similarly, it also reinforces the purpose of the future vision: to create clarity around how this new food system operates and looks like, to de-risk the idea of it in hope of encouraging funding of this from a top level. For this, Robert will put me in contact with someone from the Scottish Food Commission who might be able to
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6. A major barrier to change is Arms Length External Organisations (ALEO), such as the food supply company for Glasgow City Council since they are independent of public organisational control. 7. Policy makers need to understand that they should work with these ALEOs - not just local councils. 8. Community Gardens have less rights than Allotments and were not explicitly mentioned in the Community Empowerment Act. 9. Community gardens need to grow and reach out to volunteers, however they are not all skilled in marketing and communications.
- Finding funding - Connecting different growers, suppliers and consumers - Policy, especially to empower communities to work with their councils to develop sustainable food strategies
How will it impact the project? Johnny highlighted the importance of understanding the needs of ALEOs. The format of the research should empower managers to influence people around them, and help in overcoming bureaucracy. What could be improved about the method? /
What did you do? Interviewed a Glasgow University researcher, Johnnie, who specialises in Human Geography and is a founding member of the GFPP. Being an expert of growers in Glasgow, I used the session to find out more about this, and to test out my assumptions and current ideas relating to that topic. What did you get out of it? Johnny shed some light on some of the current activities and future barriers facing GFPP: Activities - searching for funding opportunities, - engaging in different organisation - facilitating conversations between partners Future barriers
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Self-ethnography Lead by example
In order to speak to users with a true voice, I had to experience first hand the behavioural change that I was proposing others should engage in. To achieve this, I completely changed my food consumption habits to try and eat as sustainably as possible. Some starting assumptions I began this self ethnography with are to choose: - Seasonal ingredients - Local (within UK) - Plant-based (vegan) - Fresh / unprocessed This is a learning exercise - not a test of wills. Therefore the intention is not to be perfect, but to explore, fail, learn and update my understanding of what is and is not sustainable diet.
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The format of how I have recording my data is through: - The Food Consumption Logbook, focused on the purchasing of food, brands, and origins. - The Food Diary, recording daily reflections of how that day went, and records of what I ate (which differentiate from what is purchased, due to timing and sharing food with other) and how I prepared it.
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Learnings 1.
The supermarket system is oriented around convenience at the end expense of sustainability, making it very challenging to swim upstream against it.
2.
Changes to daily routine make it harder to stick to new behaviours, for example, when staying elsewhere with a friend or family member.
3.
When busy and working late, new habits go out the window! Especially since supermarkets are the only shops to stay open late.
4.
Public places, such as train stations, are challenging to find the right thing, especially since people are often in a rush in these environments. When travelling, the best option would be to make packed lunches.
5.
There is no single source of information around the environmental impact of food. I had to search many different websites, not sure which of them provided credible information.
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6.
Constantly double guessing yourself due to unclear information that is not at hand in the purchasing process is very tiresome in what is normally an effortless activity.
7.
There is no black and white when it comes to judging a product’s sustainability, resulting in an overwhelming experience. There are so many factors to consider: water usage, land usage, distance, greenhouse gas emissions, farmer rights, fair wages, treatment of animals, preserving biodiversity, pollutants, deforestation, soil health, and animal antibiotics.
8.
A major barrier to being able to dedicate mental headspace to maintaining sustainable behaviour is time, as I have been working on average 10-12 hours a day on this project. People need to work less if they would want to live more sustainably.
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Day 1 / 23.02
porridge didn’t set off any alarm bells, and likewise with my leftover lunch of vegetarian version of chilli con carne. The trouble began with doing a ‘quick’ foodshop after leaving the studio late, finding my local Indian grocers was shut, so had to go to Sainsbury’s. Initially I had planned a spinach and sweet potato curry, however wasn’t satisfied with what I found, so improvised and made a swede and cauliflower curry.
0845 1/2 cup porridge oats 1 cup water 15 mins gas medium-low flame 3 tbsp chia seeds 1 TSP honey 2 heaped tsp coffee 50ml water 7mins gas low flame 1258 Leftover lunch [chilli con mushroom] microwave reheat 4 mins approx 1411 1 cup Clipper green tea exact water boiled in kettle 1636 1636 50g Alesto Fruit & Nut Mix [Lidl] 2020 Not-Indian Curry 500g swede 500g cauliflower 400g can organic chopped tomatoes 2 tsp whole cumin seeds 2 tsp whole coriander seeds Generous amounts of ground turmeric Conservative sprinkle of cayenne pepper Sprinkle of garam masala to finish 1 cup of rice Half pot of Tick Tock redbush tea Half a squeezed lemon
Were there any challenges? Late night shopping restricts me to the ‘convenience’ supermarkets, so instead of loose vegetables that I can get at my local Indian grocers, I was faced with packaged produce, with too many in each package than I actually need, and from countries too far away. Indeed, it was a challenge to find anything that was actually local and in season. Perhaps this is equally do with my frame of mind than what Sainsbury’s is actually providing, as I should be realistically looking for produce in season. To be fair to myself, I was looking for sweet potatoes as the main ingredient for tonight’s dinner, which I thought would be in season - and it was from North Carolina! Did you learn anything? Finding in season ingredients is harder than I imagined it might be. It also surprised me just how far some ingredients were from. For example, I naively thought butternut squashes
How was today? I initially felt like today was a great start, before going for a shop in the evening and realising what a mess this is going to be. My usual breakfast of
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were local, but the ones stocked in Sainsbury’s were from Argentina, similarly surprised that ginger was shipped all the way from China. However, the most important learning for me is that you don’t need to be restricted to ingredients from India to make an ace curry!
How was today? Most of the day went without a challenge, because I was mainly eating leftovers for lunch and dinner that I had prepared. However, I did feel some pressure in the early evening, during trip to Tesco’s to pick up some snacks for a sustainability workshop at GSA. This was primarily because I felt like I might be judged by others who are involved in sustainability by what snacks I decided to bring. In the end I brought a couple of bags of oranges. In the morning I had gone to the gym, doing a mixture of cardio and weights. Normally when I leave, I consume a high protein food that is usually animal based - like eggs or cottage cheese. I didn’t know what to eat so I had my usual porridge but with an overdose of flax seeds (which created a weird glutinous texture).
Any unanswered questions? How restrictive of finding regional food do I need to be? Is it okay to buy Italian tomatoes grown in season then canned and consumed in the winter in UK? Does the impact of making the packaging outweigh the impact of transport? It looks like I need to understand which factors are most important in making a purchasing decision: locality, production method, means of transport, seasonality, packaging? It is a lot to consider, so narrowing this down will help.
Day 2 / 24.02
Were there any challenges? Trying to understand what might be a sustainable snack, when surrounded by the huge amount of choice at the local Tesco was quite overwhelming. When faced with too much choice, it feels natural to default to normal selections. In this case, it was the dilemma of trying to find a snack that is seasonal and local to the UK, but something I can subject to other people, i.e. not everyone might want to munch on raw carrots as that is not an expected ‘normal’ snack.
0900 1/2 cup porridge oats 1 cup water 10 mins gas medium-low flame A handful of flax seeds 1 TSP honey 1120 1 cup Clipper green tea Handful of nuts 1315 Leftover lunch 1400 Double espresso 1800 1 tesco ‘easy peel’ orange Handful of roasted nuts 2015 Leftovers [chilli con mushroom]
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Did you learn anything? Flax seeds have double the amount of fat than protein in them. However, the fats are healthy unsaturated fats, so this is not such a concern.
Nothing challenging, especially since there was little variation from my normal routines, only spending time at home or at university - where there is an excellent cafeteria.
Any unanswered questions? I shouldn’t have worried about being judged by other ‘sustainabilityenthusiasts’ at the meeting, because they all brought biscuits and whatever they wanted anyway. The act of playing through the tradeoff between locality and seasonality of the oranges (import them from Spain, but at least they grew naturally there) did raise an important issue to explore. I have been focussing a lot on provenance, but what is more important - locality or seasonality?
Were there any challenges? My lunchtime curry was especially hot, so I craved some milk. I thought I was going to have to fold and go for some dairy milk, but luckily there was some soya. However, even this caused some hesitation, since I have heard that soya causes deforestation in the Amazon. Did you learn anything? After a discussion over lunch about soya’s links to deforestation, I did some follow up research and found that it is probably okay to drink soya as a direct product. The problems that drive deforestation are mostly to do with growing soya as cattle feed, which makes up the overwhelming majority of land use.
Day 3 / 25.02 0830 1/2 cup porridge oats 1 cup water 10 mins gas medium-low flame 2 tbsp flax seeds 1 TSP honey 1205 Thai vegetable curry // Cafeteria [pepper, sweet potato, courgette, coconut milk, thai curry paste, rice] 500ml Provamel Organic Soya Milk drink 1315 1 cup Clipper green tea 1915 Dhal curry with cous cous
Any unanswered questions? I wonder if coconut milk is okay? Also, I am still very unsure about the impact of imports.
Day 4 / 26.02 0830 0830 1/2 cup porridge oats 1 cup water 10 mins gas medium-low flame Handful dried fruit and nuts
How was today?
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Day 5 / 27.02
1 cup Lidl jasmine and green tea 1230 1230 Leftover lunch [Dhal curry with cous cous] 1430 1430 1 double espresso [WTMS] 2015 2015 1 pint Heverlee lager [The Vic] 2135 2135 1 pint Tennents [The Vic] 2255 2255 Leftover dinner [Dhal curry]
0910 1/2 cup porridge oats 1 cup water 10 mins gas medium-low flame 1 tsp honey 1 espresso 1340 Roasted tomato soup and basil oil w/ sourdough bread Tomatoes Onions Splash balsamic vinegar 1 slice sourdough bread knob of butter Basil Extra virgin olive oil Mackerel pate on toast w/ gherkins 1 fillet smoked mackerel Cream cheese Creamed horseradish sauce Juice of half lemon 2 slices sourdough bread 3 or 4 gherkins 2005 Creamed chicken with swede and potato mash [leftovers]
How was today? Normal day followed by a couple of drinks in the pub and a late night dinner after resisting the local chippy to satisfy post-pub munchies. Were there any challenges? Being the first time ordering beer, I was quite confused over what deems sustainable beer. It is also especially hard since alcoholic beverages are not marketed based on their sustainability like food products are. Therefore there is no rough benchmark to work with. Did you learn anything? Don’t ask the barman what he thinks is the most ‘sustainable’ beer, you will receive a blank stare, and maybe the piss taken out of you depending on the friendliness of your barman.
How was today? It was great, because I went home to visit my mum for the weekend. This meant that today and tomorrow are relatively out of my control, as I feel uncomfortable about subjecting my strange experiment on others!
Any unanswered questions? This is my first time confronted with choosing a beer, and therefore raises the question of what is a sustainable alcoholic beverage?
Were there any challenges? Yes! Since I was eating whatever my mum had already planned, I ended up
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eating a bunch of things that I wouldn’t have normally: out of season tomatoes, fish, cheese, and chicken.
1 bunch coriander 1 bunch flat leaf parsley 4 cloves garlic 2 white onions 1 tbsp cumin 1 tbsp coriander 3 tbsp plain flour Seasoning Olive oil Fatayar: 500g plain flour 1 tsp yeast Olive oil Warm water Salt 700g Frozen spinach 1 small white onion 50g pine nuts Lebanese yogurt 1 tbsp cumin Tabbouleh: 200g plum tomatoes 1 cucumber 1 cup bulgar wheat 1 bunch flat leaf parsley Lemon juice Olive oil Seasoning Baba ganoush: 3 aubergines Generous amounts of tahini Olive oil Lemon juice Seasoning Pomegranate Tahini sauce Tahini Olive oil
Did you learn anything? That swede is amazing and a totally underrated vegetable. Also, through the offer of pickled gherkins and a long conversation with my mum about the merits of pickling, I realise that pickled products are definitely sustainable and a good way of enjoying out of season produce. Any unanswered questions? I guess not every fish is the same, there must be ones that are more sustainable than others?
Day 6 / 28.02 1120 2 eggs 1/2 avocado 1 slice sourdough bread 1 espresso Freshly squeezed carrot, orange and ginger juice 2 carrots 1 orange Large chunk ginger 1520 Pu-erh tea (fermented chinese tea) Cranberry and oat cookie 2035 Lebanese maze dinner: falafels, fatayar, tabbouleh and baba ganoush Falafels: 3 400g cans chickpeas
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Water Lemon juice Sumac sprinkled on top
Fresh squeezed juice (around 150ml) 2 Apples Large chunk ginger 3 sticks celery 1245 Leftover lunch [falafels, spinach fatayar, tabbouleh salad, baba ganoush] 1630 2 dark chocolate digestives 1 ‘easy peel’ orange 2040 Swede & Cauliflower ‘shepard’s’ pie 1 swede 2 potatoes 1 Cauliflower 3 Leeks 3 Shallots 100g sunflower seeds 1 can chopped tomatoes
How was today? Went to a teahouse with my mum for lunch, trying some new fermented Chinese tea. In the evening, I offered to cook sunday dinner for my mum and her partner, so made a full lebanese mezze platter. Were there any challenges? Strictly speaking, the mezze dinner is not local, however it was vegetarian. The only things imported would be spices, tahini, lemons and olive oil. Unsure about the aubergines, they could be grown in UK, but probably weren’t. Did you learn anything? /
How was today? Enjoyed some leftover lunch from the Lebanese dinner, and embraced the swede again with a vegan version of shepherd’s pie. During the day we facilitated a workshop with some college students, and I bought some snacks for them.
Any unanswered questions? Is it okay to import products that are used in small quantities? For example: spices, herbs and condiments as opposed to heavy and/or perishable items that need to be transported quickly to maintain freshness?
Were there any challenges? When buying the snacks for the workshop, it was hard to find something that seemed sustainable, so I just folded and bought some treats: chocolate digestives. Bought oranges too as an alternative (which weren’t as popular at the biscuits!).
Day 7 / 29.02 0715 1/2 cup porridge oats 1 cup water 10 mins gas medium-low flame Pinch salt
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Did you learn anything? When buying food for others, it can feel awkward to get something that you might consider okay, but not everyone has the same tastes.
where we had a few more pints and I had a halloumi burger and chips. Were there any challenges? Buying beer was much more complicated than I expected. It raised questions around which factors were most important: locality, the size of the brewery, and where they source their hops from. From the label it is impossible to know hop locality, and surprisingly the only local beer in the shop was Tennents!
Any unanswered questions? /
Day 8 / 01.03 0815 1 oatcake 1 espresso 1030 4 oatcakes and honeycomb 1 chocolate croissant 1 cup orange juice 1425 Leftover lunch [swede and cauliflower ‘shepards’ pie] 1820 1 can Tennents 1 small bag popcorn 1905 1 can Tennents 1 small bag popcorn 2015 1 can Tennents 2125 Halloumi burger and chips 1 pint Tennents 2155 1 pint Tennents 2235 1 pint Tennents
Did you learn anything? From keeping a note of everything I bought, I realise how expensive alcohol is! In one evening I easily spent the equivalence in cost to nearly one week’s food shopping. Cant put a price on fun though… Similarly, keeping track of what to consume (and photographing it!) becomes diminished when drinking. Any unanswered questions? How much of an environmental impact does beer have compared to other alcoholic drinks? Does halloumi always come from Cyprus/Greece? Is halloumi a better/worse/same cheese since it comes from sheep/goats rather than cows?
How was today? Breakfast was quite late and not fully of my control since we had a breakfast meeting in the studio, where everyone brings along food to share with the team. I hosted a film night at uni today, so picked up some beers at a corner shop to bring along. Afterwards we had a discussion in the union about the film
Day 9 / 02.03 0835 3 oatcakes and honey
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1220 Leftover lunch [swede and cauliflower ‘shepards’ pie] 1305 1 cup Clipper green tea 1745 1 cup Douwe Egberts instant coffee 1 cookie 2035 Kale and bean stew 2 tins broad beans Half bag kale 1 tin chopped tomatoes 4 cloves garlic 5 bay leaves 2 dried chilis Seasoning 30 mins medium-low heat 3 slices organic rye sourdough bread
in the ingredients...
Day 10 / 03.03 0715 1/2 cup porridge oats 1 cup water 10 mins gas medium-low flame 1 TSP honey 1250 Leftover lunch [swede and cauliflower ‘shepards’ pie] 1330 1 slice carrot and walnut cake 1 cup Clipper green tea 1745 1 cup Clipper green tea 2110 Leftover kale and bean stew How was today? Today was a day of leftovers! Both for lunch and for dinner. I guess that is pretty good.
How was today? Normal day at university, followed by a workshop in the evening, pushing dinner later in the evening.
Were there any challenges? None.
Were there any challenges? Quite a long day, so ended up cooking and eating late in the evening. Usually this is okay, since I like to use cooking as a way of disengaging from the day’s activities, however today I felt especially tired.
Did you learn anything? Leftovers are great. Any unanswered questions? I wonder how other would feel about eating leftovers as often as I do?
Did you learn anything? /
Day 11 / 04.03
Any unanswered questions? While cooking my stew I pondered how much energy I was using in the cooking process relative to the energy embedded
0846 1/2 cup porridge oats 1 cup water 10 mins gas medium-low flame 1 TSP honey
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Did you learn anything? Imposing your hardcore sustainable diet on others (like my girlfriend) is hard, and sometimes you just have to gently nudge and roll with it.
1 cup coffee 1325 Vegetable Ratatouille w/ rice [WTMS] 1615 Egg Mayo Sandwich [Boots] Walkers Max crisps 1730 Chicken & stuffing sandwich [Boots] 1 can cold Starbucks double espresso 2240 1 bottle Brewdog Punk IPA Avocado & pearl barley salad 1/2 avocado Feta cheese Rocket Spinach 1/2 cup pearl barley Splash vinegar Olive oil 2305 1 bottle Brewdog Punk IPA
Any unanswered questions? /
Day 12 / 05.03 0920 2 eggs 2 slices Polish rye bread 1 cup coffee 1030 Potato & Cauliflower Curry w/ rice 1 onion Bhaji 1455 Chocolate brownie 1520 Polmeni dumpling soup 1910 1 slice of homemade cheesecake 2055 1 pint Carlsberg 0015 Can Red Stripe 0100 Can Red Stripe 0215 Can Red Stripe 0420 2 slices Polish rye bread 2 gherkins
How was today? Today has been a total rush, and as a consequence, food got sidelined a fair bit. Standard day until leaving to go to London, where I only had 5 minutes to get food for the journey, resulting in rushed food decision.
How was today? Today was a great day of indulgence.
Were there any challenges? On-the-go food choice is pretty poor! Everything is over-packaged, and overprocessed. In the heat of the moment of grabbing some quick food for the train I bought a can of Starbucks chilled espresso - which I felt pretty bad for afterwards. At least it isn’t a regular purchase.
Were there any challenges? Cheese and cream is off my list of sustainable ingredients, however when your girlfriend makes you her legendary cheesecake, sustainability cheesecake. At least she didn’t make sirloin steaks. Did you learn anything?
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Committing to recording selfethnography and a sustainable diet is incredibly hard when quite drunk.
locally. Were there any challenges? When you are at a great quality restaurant, it is often disappointing to have the vegetarian/vegan option (if there is an option at all!). Another challenge was similar to last night. The comedy club had a standard selection of beers, with little better than Carlsberg available. I guess we go there for the comedy - not for the selection of local beers - however theres no reason why good comedy and local beer are mutually exclusive.
Any unanswered questions? Beer imported from Jamaica is probably not that good, right?
Day 13 / 06.03 1230 1 slice cheesecake 3 eggs 2 slices Polish rye bread 1/2 avocado 1 cup coffee 1520 1 can Irn Bru Light 1635 Fried squid ‘Tokyo’ Ramen with pork belly Bottle Fever Tree ginger beer 1755 1 espresso [Jaguar Shoes] 1920 1 pint Sam Smith’s Organic Wheat Beer [The Angel] 2010 Pint Carlsberg 2105 Pint Carlsberg
Did you learn anything? / Any unanswered questions? How much of a difference is there between big brand lager and local independent brewers when it comes down to sustainable impact?
How was today? Since it was my birthday, my girlfriend planned my whole day as a surprise, meaning that I could not check which restaurants we might go to. In the end it was okay, since we went to a Japanese restaurant that doesn’t sell sushi (so no need to tempt fate with bluefin tuna). Here I decided to treat myself to squid and pork belly - since it was my birthday after all. This was followed by a Sam Smith pub, where everything is brewed
Day 14 / 07.03 0845 0845 Fruit and yogurt [Look Mum! No Hands] Cappuccino 1030 1030 Pot of Peppermint tea [Ace Hotel] 1300 1300 Paneer curry wrap with spiced chutneys [Dishoom] Spiced chai tea 1910 1910 Porcini risotto with red onion marmellata and courgette pesto
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salad 250g Arborio rice packet dried Porcini mushrooms soaked in water 500ml vegetable stock 250ml white wine 100g parmiggiano 1 white onion 4 red onions 100ml red wine vinegar 50g dark sugar 3 small courgettes Packet of rocket Large bunch basil Olive oil Cashew nuts 50g Parmiggiano 1 slice cheesecake Cup peppermint tea
brand themselves as offering sustainable food. This should be an offering everywhere - not just for vegetarians or people with allergies. However, I am sure vegetarians felt like this a few decades ago; time will tell. Did you learn anything? / Any unanswered questions? I should probably pay attention to brands when choosing things like teas and coffees to check their ethics. Generally, good quality brands are also quite attuned to ethics but it would be good to understand how much this makes a difference.
How was today? In terms of eating, today was great. I started out my day with a breakfast meeting at a cafe, then had a belated birthday lunch with my sister at a Mumbai-inspired restaurant. Finally, I made a risotto using some dried mushrooms I gave my girlfriend a year ago. On the downside, it was quite expensive, something I will overlook since I am enjoying my time in London.
Day 15 / 08.02 0950 2 eggs 1 avocado 2 slices Polish rye bread 1 cup coffee 1235 1 chocolate croissant 1435 Egg & cress sandwich 1 banana Can Rubicon sparkling mango 1 bottle Brewdog Punk IPA 90g bag of salted popcorn shared Fried rice 1/2 cup rice 1 carrot 1 leek Sweet chilli sauce
Were there any challenges? As a general reflection over my time going out to restaurants and cafes in London, it is surprising how little of them offer vegan options. I feel that you would have to seek out the places that
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How was today? Due to travelling from London to Glasgow, literally rushing there to host my weekly film night, the sustainable diet more or less went out the window. Should have learned from the trip down, and made a packed lunch, or given myself more time to buy some food at the train station…
1 tsp honey 1220 Vegan hotdog and chips [WTMS] with mustard and BBQ sauce 1410 1 cup Clipper green tea 1750 1 cup Douwe Egbert’s instant coffee 1 oat cookie 2110 Chana dhal with rice 1/2 cup chana dhal 1/2 cup red lentils 1/2 cup basmati rice 1 white onion Generous sprinkle of turmeric, coriander and cumin Seasoning
Were there any challenges? Again, finding on-the-go food was difficult, especially when under the time pressure of not missing my train! Did you learn anything? As a general reflection over the course of this weekend in London, when travelling, it is important to time in food breaks. A lot of the time, I find myself rushing to catch trains or activities and getting hungry - both of which erode the willpower involved in seeking out the sustainable food option. Finding ways to cut down the decision making process and enable convenience are really important - since most people tend to rush through life anyway.
How was today? I wanted to go to the shop today, but due to a workshop in the evening, I had no time/energy in the evening. Were there any challenges? I never thought I would say this, but I might be getting a bit bored of dhal. It is my backup meal when I have nothing in the cupboards so not surprising that I always make it. Did you learn anything? I guess busy lifestyles and trying to change habits towards a sustainable lifestyle is not so compatible. If people want to save the world - they will need more free time! Smaller cities and 4 day weeks might not be such a bad thing…
Any unanswered questions? /
Day 16 / 09.02 0805 1/2 cup porridge oats 1 cup water 15 mins gas medium-low flame
Any unanswered questions? /
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Ethnography Engagement tools
I made two kinds of ethnographic activities: shadowing users around a supermarket followed by a long interview; and a street engagement, short interviews with testing an assumption from earlier research. For these interviews I made a series of research probes and one provocation or “sacrificial concept� - to be tested on interviewees: Shadow + long interview - Values chart - Experience mapping - Information priority cards
Street engagement - Values chart - Mock packaging provocation
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Food is exploration
Food is for all
I like to experiment with combinations and come up with my own ideas when cooking.
I look for local, seasonal and carefully grown produce that benefits our environment.
Food is novelty
Food is giving
I like to try new and exciting foods whenever I can.
I use food as a means of sharing moments with those I care about.
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Food is pleasure
2
Food is tradition
I tend to go for the most indulgent food that satisfy my senses.
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I stick to the recipes that represent our culture and heritage.
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Food is expertise
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Food is stability
I think my food choices shows off how much knowledge and skill I have.
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I am a creature of habit and like to go for the tried and tested recipes.
Food is luxury I think what I eat gives me prestige in the eyes of others that I appreciate the fine things in life.
Values chart The values chart is based on Shalom Schwartz research into how shared values influence behaviours. This was used at the beginning of each interview to guage the respondents predisposition to food, creating an understanding of individual’s values and the views that were eventually discussed during the interview.
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Information priority cards These prompt cards were used to understand what information people priorities when making food purchasing decisions. The cards had information types on them ranging from health benefits, to cost, nutritional needs, origin, and embodied environmental considerations such as water usage and animal feed conversion ratio. Interviewees were invited to arrange these in order of most to least important. This was then
used as the basis of a discussion around their top and bottom 3 that were probed further as to why they are there.
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Mock packaging provocation I decided to bring an element of testing early into the project, instead of leaving it too close to the end. During the ethnography I tested an early concept around the transparency of information on labelling during the food purchasing decision.
Each mocked up packaging displays a fact about the environmental impact. I deliberately kept the tone factual and neutral, so as not to influence the interviewee.
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Ethnography Shadow + long interview
4. Quality is a big deciding factor, for example fish that Ritchie was brought up on in Barra, he doesn’t like the supermarket stuff due to quality 5. The social element of food is a big draw: giving away fresh grown produce on the stairs, and sharing meals with many at Barra 6. The organic label is not entirely clear: he acknowledges that it is pesticide free, but doesn’t see the link to environmental sustainability. 7. Instead, equates the benefits of organic to be more around taste and quality: “what you put in you get out” “£2 whole chicken - why bother… it’s tasteless.” 8. Also makes link of organic to “handmade” - perhaps this is a way of trying to work out what the added cost is determined by. 9. Happy to pay a premium for quality, but not more than 25% in the case of the differential between ordinary and organic. 10. Cynical of supermarkets: muses over possibility of beneficial relationship between supermarket and big
Ritchie 1600-1936 05/04/16 Top takeaways 1. Recently retired and lives between his house in Glasgow and Barra where he grew up. 2. Grew up on a traditional Barra diet of fish and potatoes - so as a result, likes to try new ingredients and listed tradition as very low on values list 3. Loves food and different ingredients, we start interview with him listing off at least 5 different greens he will grow this year that I haven’t even heard of.
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manufacturers, and described them as having too much power in UK 11. Doesn’t like the idea of processed food, however is happy to buy fishcakes from Waitrose - the image of the supermarket influences perceived quality. 12. Food is a freeform activity, and Ritchie doesn’t like constraints: he likes to buy ingredients on the fly in the supermarket, believes the same choice in supermarkets is tedious and loves to experiment with cooking. 13. Strong associations of being sustainable with recycling: indeed, spends a lot of effort on recycling, getting satisfaction from it, but does not think this way towards the food that he buys.
14. Finds it challenging to relate to abstract factors like C02 emissions, water use and feed conversion ratio What happened? Shadowed Ritchie from his home in Partick, to the Asda at Govan, then back home again for the research activities and interview. We had a great rapport - mainly because I have a previous connection to Ritchie, and we spent the car journey talking about Barra. What could be improved about the method? I need to be more upfront in the beginning about how long the interview will take. As a result, we rushed the final part and still went overtime by half an hour than agreed.
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I feel that Ritchie might have changed his behaviour slightly, perhaps because he thought I might be judging his food choices. I need to establish clearly in the beginning that there is no right or wrong answer and that I am not there to judge him.
Liz 1300-1555 06/03/16 Top takeaways 1. Since retiring last year, Liz has found herself better able to enjoy food due to having more time to plan, purchase and prepare it. 2. Strong joy for living: her motto is “while we can” and “let’s do it before the plastic chair [a personal metaphor for ill health] gets you.” 3. People are very important to her, sharing food moments with people was her highest rated value. 4. …because of this, she feels a sense of guilt that she is comfortable, whilst others in Glasgow rely on food banks. 5. Has a strong set of values that food should be a right for all, and not a status signifier. 6. The planning part of the food shop is important to Liz, which is why vegbox schemes are not appealing to her - a lot of control. 7. Loves a good bargain, and is happy
The journey mapping activity felt at times a bit tedious, perhaps this was down to the time constraint. Would be better to focus more on the act of choosing, rather than details like driving, finding a trolley, etc. This was a fault on my part, because of not explaining clearly my particular focus on the project, or indeed what I even ‘design’. This was actually a deliberate move, as I didn’t want to influence Ritchie that I was interested only in food sustainability. For the next interview, I will tell the participant that I am interested in food choices, but not mention sustainability. Then the focus of the mapping activity can be more narrow.
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to visit different shops to get the right deal. 8. Likes to visit different shops for different ingredients as part of a routine during the week: bakers on a friday, Aldi on a Monday or Tuesday. 9. Has never considered the environmental impact associated with food beyond transportation during the food decision moment. 10. ...however when exposed to other environmental impact factors, was very interested and concerned.
themselves. It was nearly a 3 hour interview! Future participants might not be as willing to spend as much time as Liz did (due to Liz being really enthusiastic and engaging).
What happened? Interviewed Liz in her home with the research tools. Because she did not have a food shop planned, and is going on holiday in a couple of days, we were not able to do the shadowing. Overall, Liz is an open and optimistic person, who was very articulate in her answers and reasoning. She appeared to enjoy the process; commenting on how the interviewing and activities were very well structured and planned. What could be improved about the method? The experience mapping activity takes up a lot of time, and perhaps some time could be sacrificed from that into the information prompt cards - since the insights from this were the most valuable for the project. Perhaps the experience mapping activity could be speeded up with activity prompt cards that the participant can arrange
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Ethnography Street engagement
What happened I engaged with over a dozen shoppers for between a 10 and 20 minute interview each. This was conducted outside of the Lidl in Maryhill, which was selected in particular due to having a wide range of demographics as its customer base. To entice people into a conversation, I made a brownie tray that I wore around my neck, naming it “A brownie for a blether”. This was intended to make me more approachable for a chat.
Top takeaways 1. Most interviewed care about and are interested in knowing more about the sustainability of their food. 2. Interviewees were vaguely aware of some of the facts presented or at least unsurprised by them, however it still did not often play a role in their food choices. 3. The context and relationship to human experience is what made the facts most understandable to the interviewees. 4. …However, they were unable to compare the facts across different
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products, and the pressure of what a good alternative might be did not feel easy, therefore creating a barrier of potential use. 5. Food waste prompt was most easily understood, most likely due to publicity in the media (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ‘War on Waste’ for example) 6. Beef’s feed conversion ratio was the most challenging to understand, especially the perceived difference between grass-fed and grain-fed in terms of resource use. 7. …However, once understood, it
invoked strong reactions where interviewees were interested in learning more about the topic. 8. Origin is an easily understood metric that a lot of interviewees wanted to see. 9. Perception of trust from the source is important when communicating these facts: many interviewees held skepticism towards organic and fairtrade labelling. 10. However most of all, supermarkets and food brands themselves were not to be trusted in communicating this information.
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