Introduction

Having explored interactive anime exhibit spaces in my research compendium, I decided to tackle a more important space, one we use on the daily, spaces where we eat,— investigating the future of consumption spaces.

As someone that refrains from eating a lot to prevent an afternoon slump at work, I end up wasting parts of my rice, yes, I feel immense guilt on my part. Somedays, I bring a spare container to keep my leftovers at work to bring back home, but some days,
I was worried about the judgement I would receive from friends, if I were to pack the bits of food I could not finish. When eating out with friends, I notice that my friends would complain about how full they were and throw out a portion of their meal.


But these instances of food wastage vary depending on the food space where food is consumed:

→ In more pricier resturants, it is subjective to whether a person expresses their need for lesser food portions or takes home what they can’t finish.

→ In fast-food restaurants where packaging is more “take-away” friendly, we are easily able to bring home a paper bottle drink compared to a glass of liquid in a sophisticated restaurant. Why is that so? Could I design dine-in experiences that are “take-away-able”?

Observing Food Habits 1.1

Why do more sophisticated restaurants prioritise form over function in presenting a more eloquent dining experience than encourage consumers to take home what they can’t finish? Because they need to maintain a careful brand image or because they can afford to waste food? All silly questions that I believe I shouldn’t look past when trying to research and justify my research proposal. Food wastage. Consumption Culture. Overconsumption. It is a topic that can be framed indifferent angles & approaches. I realised that I should find out why and how food wastage happens.

Inspired by a reading: "Japanese Mothers and Obentōs: The Lunch-Box as Ideological State Apparatus" It states how institutions like schools cultivate the idea of healthy eating practices, where in Japanese households, Japanese Mother create obento set lunches that are typically made with a variety of ingredients, all-rounded in nutrition for their kids and is often eaten together with other children in schools, cultivating healthy eating habits that are also taught by school teachers in Japan. This could be one way of a targeted approach to influencing and inspiring young individuals to make good food choices and educating them in schools.

Lack of food security with 90% food supply imports

Singapore, an island with little natural resources, imports 90% of its food supply.“The world is poised to face a 56 percent shortage in food nutrition by 2050. It may be tough to relate to this in Singapore, crowned the most food-secure nation in the world in 2019. Even as COVID-19 descended and extreme lockdown measures were implemented, our food supply survived relatively unscathed, thanks to our diversified food sources from more than 170 countries.

On a macro level, it’s sad to see that even as a student myself, I bare the effects of this as well. Where buying myself the regular order of 1 meat and 1 vegetable at a neighbourhood cai fan stall suddenly costs $4.20 instead of the previously priced $3.50..

Semakau Landfill running out of space

But why is this problem concerning? 1/3 of all food for human consumption is wasted every year. In Singapore, an estimated 26,000 tonnes of food is thrown away from households even before it is cooked, including expired food and food that is spoiled as a result of improper storage. This equates to 52 plates of nasi lemak — the amount of food which the average Singaporean household tosses out every year. Semakau Landfill, Singapore’s one and only landfill will run out of space by 2035 at our current rate of waste growth.

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Trends in People adopting food sustainable practices

In a consumer survey on food wastage conducted by NEA, Singapore in 2019, more people wanted more tips on reducing food waste, the same fraction of respondents are bothered when uneaten food in thrown away and are aware of the environmental impact of food wastage.

Extinction Park (2018) by Lara Torrance

Explores sustainability issues of mass extinction by allowing users to come in contact with the figures of extinct animals

Seed Vault (2016) by Magali Daniaux

A VR experience for Oculus Rift, is based on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Represents the world’s largest collection of crop diversity. Artists Daniaux and Pigot took the architectural blueprints of the vault to construct an experience where a user can explore its imagined future.

Anthrocepene: A Multimedia Exhibit investigating the impact of human footprint on the Earth

A multimedia exploration of the human footprint on Earth.