The Pink Food Movement - Food Rescue by Changing Your Visual Perception

PROCLAMATION 📣 PFM is an alternative social movement. Take a deep breath and get ready to spread your message with unconventional approaches during the semi-digital age!

This is a critical design project, which aims at challenging the current social norms and habits on a symbolic level, viewers will reflect on their habit or reinterpret it in their personal projects.

CONTEXT - HUMAN, FOOD, UNCONVENTIONAL MOVEMENT

The Revolution begins in the near future…

PINK (CMYK: 0,84,0,0) [n][color] - the symbol for The Pink Food Movement; the representation of scientifically-proven consumable food with appearance defects.

In the wake of more than 60% amount of food being wasted at retail and consumer level (40% of total food production by 2019), which mostly due to over-emphasizing on its appearance, a group of activists start the Pink Food Movement, aiming to change how we define “food waste” by visual perception.

Inspired by the blind-dining trend in France and Switzerland, one core strategy of this Movement is to collect “food waste” from restaurants and grocery stores, and have them examined by local labs to prove the quality is safe to be consumed.

The food will then be transported to the Pink Lab where its surface will be covered in organic food colouring (ingredients: e.g. beetroot, red dragon fruit) and be sold at the Pink Shop.

The Pink Shop is a grocery store selling only food with defects on its appearance, which after the treatment, will hardly be recognizable.

The Movement is widely supported by the media and citizens from all fields. Through social campaigns, education and extensive media promotion, people have now associated PINK (CMYK: 0,84,0,0) as a socially and sustainably-conscious choice of food purchase habit.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT! PAINT OUR FUTURE FOOD CULTURE!

PROCESS - FROM LO-FI TOOLS TO VIRTUAL PLATFORM (1 WEEK 1 EXPERIMENT)

In the initial phrase of the project, I was planning to dive deep into the lo-fi direction of exploring the possibilities of producing accessible, DIY and inexpensive tools that can change peopleʼs visual perception on food waste.

The reason for taking the reverse mechanism and anti-technology approach, is because nowadays there are too many people from all fields trying to solve problems with technological advancement without even looking at the fundamental cause of the problem itself.

As the project evolves, the lo-fi approach has slightly shifted to utilization of digital tools, such as photo-editing programmes, as they can manipulate the human visual perception more dynamically.

1. Spray machine // a metal and plastic device using simple leverage to spray paint to cover appearance defects on food
2. Phone machine // a phone case DIY device allows paint to drip over appearance defects on food
3. Superimposition of food projection over dining table // projecting food images on table to challenge the concept of “perfect food”
4. Projection of food waste onto facade of restaurants in Reykjavik // Images of contrasting image of “food defects vs nicely served” as a mean for protest
5. Food waste keyboard // changing of the way of defining food waste via audio perception rather than visual
6. Food waste basket installation with informative audio recording // an animistic approach to inform consumers the resources required to grow the food they throw away
7. Color projection on food with appearance defects // Changing the perception of defining food waste via visual means
8. Social media account // Challenge the present trends of compressing 3D food one perceived with 5 senses into flat 2D image
9. AR filters on food and poster graphics (virtual food) x 2 // by targeting the phone on food or specific graphics, virtual food will be generated to let one experience what Pink Food is about.
10. AR filters on human face (movement promotion) x 4 // by targeting at human face, different bold and eye-catching effects will be triggered to increase participantsʼ engagement in the social media
    world.
11. Movement e-posters // a tribute to the classic mean for protest movement
12. Movement hand-drawn signs // a tribute to the classic mean for protest movement
13. Virtual food experience // the future of pink food the movement envisioned can be perceived in 3D constructed in the virtual world.
14. Video promo propaganda // a tribute to the classic mean for protest movement
15. Physical mockup of pink food // viewers can perceive the pink food in reality via 5 senses.
16. Presentation with superimposition methodology // to showcase the symbolic representation of how future social movement will be organzied in both virtual world and reality at the same momentum

REFLECTION

This kind of unconventional approach in movement is not common yet but is on a rising trend. Time will tell whether it will become a mainstream way in the social context. For all communal and social matters, through education and community collaboration, the issues shall be resolved through peaceful solutions, may it be international collaboration, government policy, science, community values, neighbourhood discussion, technology, DIY skills, or Art and Design.

We may not be able to change the macro-environment with just one move, but hope by as simple as spreading positive belief, at least one person will be inspired and continue the journey.