A short documentary on collaborative design around food waste and dumpster diving
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OF PRODUCED FOOD GOES TO WASTE In many countries of the western world. THIS HAPPENS DURING ProDUCTION, LOGISTICS AND IN PRIVATE HOUSEHOLDS.
Outset
As hunters and gatherers humans have had to live with a natural shortage of food that is no longer part of our experience today. Consequently, many people have become alienated from what they eat. The value attributed to food items has decreased drastically.
Explore
Towards rebuilding some of this lost appreciation we explored the idea of dumpster diving. In an act of civic disobedience, supermarket trash is accessed with the aim of recovering food that would otherwise not be eaten.
Supermarkets tend to not only discard expired food, but also products that are close enough to expiration to seem less attractive, outdated product lines, food with damaged packaging and visually imperfect items.
Blind Dinner
How can we better deal with imperfect food as a society? We wanted to examine the shifting of mindsets on a communal level. For a blind dinner event participants were asked to bring one dish each to be shared.
As many of the prepared meals contained rescued ingredients, a considerable level of mutual trust was crucial. By eliminating the visual aspect from the consumption logic, we hoped to reestablish a deeper connection with the food that does not rely on superficial factors for evaluation.
Intervene
To moderate the transition from a local level to a broader public discussion, we distilled our ideas into a manifesto which consists of eight statements outlining the issue as well as concrete demands for change. We exhibited the manifesto in front of the Stockholm parliament during a Fridays for Future rally. We also wrote a letter to the prime minister – we yet have to hear back.
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