Field notes for food cultures
Developing a culture sensitive design guide for the Protein Transition
M.M.A. Dijkstra (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
AGC van Boeijen – Mentor (TU Delft - Form and Experience)
A.L. Peeters – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Form and Experience)
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Abstract
The Protein Transition is a societal transition that resolves around shifting society towards consuming more plant-based proteins instead of animal proteins. There are numerous drivers for this transition, the most well-known and considerable ones being climate change, animal welfare, public health and unfair agricultural economics.
To accelerate the Protein Transition, we need to understand the role and impact of food cultures in this transition. Culture is recognised as a promising strategic lever for accelerating societal transitions, but literature and methodology on the subject are limited. The intersection of transition design and culture has never been explicitly studied up until now. This thesis aims to fill the knowledge gap on how culture can impact societal transitions and what design methodology is needed to address this.
The thesis focuses on Dutch food culture. Animal proteins play a significant role in Dutch food culture. They are part of many rituals, traditions and behaviours. This is the result of a collection of socio- behavioural and cultural factors, including, but not limited to, meat and dairy being part of the Dutch identity, the government undertaking conscious efforts to increase meat and dairy consumption, a feeling of entitlement to meat and dairy, and meat and dairy being regarded as symbols of wealth and prosperity.
After gaining an understanding of Dutch food culture, it was decided to continue by studying a specific food culture. The borrel is a uniquely Dutch eating practice that can be considered its own food culture because of the many symbols and rituals linked to it. The methods used were a historical analysis,
interviews, observations and culture sensitive design models. By studying Dutch food culture and borrel culture, knowledge has been accumulated on how to study a food culture effectively.
This comes down to the seven principles for culture sensitive design for the Protein Transition:
1. History: How did we get here?
2. Consider the whole system (macro - meso – micro).
3. Scoping: Food cultures are huge; you cannot study them all.
4. Embrace diversity: Acknowledge different perspectives and conflicts.
5. Be aware of your own biases and experiences.
6. Keep your goal in mind.
7. Developing cultural sensitivity for transition design is a lifelong process.
All the accumulated knowledge has been compiled into a field guide for designers: the Food Culture Field Guide, which consists of an A6-sized guidebook and a card deck with 35 cards. The field guide contains information on studying (Dutch) food cultures and guides designers in their design process. This will help them create more culturally sensitive design interventions to accelerate the Protein Transition.