Something is food only with respect to some other thing // Bio - Design W1
Sep 11, 2024
Beyond Sustenance
Something is food only with respect to some other thing, under a set of circumstances. It is inherently relational. Its status as nourishment depends on context, consumer, and circumstance. Beyond sustenance, food forms a complex web of cultural, social, economic and personal connections.
Over the past week, while working on the ITP floor, I found myself often skipping meals and not having time to engage with food meaningfully. This experience contrasted sharply with my time during the pandemic when remote work afforded me the opportunity to cook all three meals at home. Living with two professional chefs during this period opened my eyes to the idea that food exists in a complex web of relationships.
Through their expertise, I explored food through its various temporal identities: from seasons of growing to periods of harvesting, techniques of interaction between food, person, and cooking instruments, to time under pressure and heat, ultimately yielding special qualities. This process revealed the relational nature of food—a unique quality imbibed into objects when the cycles of time between people and objects intersect.
Cooking is a way to engage in 'food relations,' and any given 'food relation' represents and expresses habits, convictions, deliberations, and compromises. However, with the rise in dark kitchens, delivery apps, and other technology advancements in food and agriculture I started to see the collapse and simplification of relational loops with food, there's a need to reexamine how food is seen in relationship with other objects, structures, and processes in place for its production.
Relational Framework
To delve deeper into these relationships, I wanted to take a meal and look at a single ingredient that was a part of that meal and investigate the naming convention of food/object throughout its journey. For this example I looked at a meal that I ordered on Tuesday night, 10th of September, a Chicken burger from burger king. I’ll be more specifically looking at the chicken patty and examining it in this blog.
For each relationship category, I wanted to identify: Key stakeholders, Main processes or interactions, How the food item is perceived or valued, Challenges or issues within this relationship.
This framework can be a way to explore how a single food item is simultaneously: A biological entity, An economic commodity, A cultural symbol, A political issue, A technological product, An environmental factor, A human necessity, An information carrier, A historical artefact.
Here are a few criteria I considered while tracing back the chicken patty across the supply chain.
1. Ecological Relationships
Natural Ecosystem: Egg/Chicken as part of biodiversity
Agricultural Ecosystem: Chicken as livestock
Land Use: Farmland, feed crop areas
Water Systems: Usage in farming, processing
Climate: Impact on farming, effect of farming on climate
2. Economic Relationships
Commodity: Chicken as a tradable good
Investment: Stock in poultry companies
Labor: Employment in farming, processing, service
Market Forces: Supply and demand dynamics
Economic Policies: Subsidies, trade agreements
3. Technological Relationships
Farming Technology: Incubators, feeding systems
Processing Technology: Automated slaughtering, packaging
Distribution Technology: Cold chain, tracking systems
Culinary Technology: Cooking equipment, food tech innovations
Digital Platforms: E-commerce, food delivery apps
4. Social and Cultural Relationships
Cultural Identity: Traditional dishes, dietary customs
Social Practices: Family meals, fast food culture
Ethics: Animal welfare concerns, vegetarianism/veganism
Religion: Dietary laws and restrictions
Health: Nutritional guidelines, public health policies
5. Political and Regulatory Relationships
Food Safety: Regulations, inspections
Agricultural Policy: Farming subsidies, land use laws
Trade Policy: Import/export regulations
Labeling Laws: Nutritional information, origin labeling
Environmental Policy: Emissions regulations, waste management
6. Infrastructural Relationships
Transportation: Road networks, shipping lanes
Energy: Power for farming, processing, refrigeration
Urban Planning: Location of farms, food deserts
Waste Management: Disposal of agricultural and food waste
Communication: Internet for e-commerce, supply chain management
7. Human Relationships
Producers: Farmers, farm workers
Processors: Slaughterhouse workers, packagers
Distributors: Truck drivers, warehouse workers
Retailers: Grocery store staff, restaurant workers
Consumers: Individuals, families
8. Informational Relationships
Data: Nutritional databases, sales figures
Research: Agricultural studies, food science
Education: Culinary schools, nutrition education
Media: Food journalism, cooking shows
Marketing: Advertising, branding
9. Temporal Relationships
Seasonality: Growing cycles, seasonal menus
Historical Context: Evolution of farming practices, dietary changes
Future Projections: Sustainability concerns, emerging food technologies
Naming Convention along the supply chain
1. Financial and Economic Infrastructure
Farm Business:
Tax ID: 12-3456789 [IRS-issued identifier for tax purposes]
Bank Account: 1234567890 [Unique bank-assigned account identifier]
Poultry Company Stock:
Stock Ticker Symbol: TSN [Short code for company on stock exchanges]
CUSIP number: 902494103 [Unique identifier for securities trading]
Futures Contract:
Contract Symbol: PF [Short code for commodity being traded]
Contract Month Code: PFV23 [Commodity, month, and year of contract]
Industry Classification:
NAICS Code: 112320 [Federal code classifying business type]
Trade Documentation:
Bill of Lading Number: MAEU123456789 [Unique shipment identifier]
Commercial Invoice Number: INV-20230915-001 [Unique invoice identifier]
Insurance:
Policy Number: AGR-POL-123456 [Unique insurance policy identifier]
Government Subsidies:
USDA Program Identification Number: USDA-FSA-123-2023 [Specific USDA program identifier]
Commodity Exchange:
Trading Account Number: CME-12345 [Unique trading account identifier]
2. Pre-Farm Stage
Genetic Material: RR-308 [Specific chicken breed identifier]
Feed: BF-2023-06 [Specific feed formulation code]
3. Farm Stage
Egg: EGG-20230615-01 [Batch identifier for eggs]
Chick: FL-2023-07-001 [Specific flock identifier]
Growing Chicken: FM123-BN04 [Farm and barn identifier]
4. Processing Stage
Live Chicken: LT20230915A [Lot identifier for live chickens]
Processed Chicken: P-1234 09152023 [USDA establishment number and production date]
Packaged Chicken: 0-23700-00032-4 [UPC for retail scanning]
5. Distribution Stage
Boxed Product: LT20230915A-PO123456 [Lot and purchase order combination]
6. Restaurant Chain Headquarters
Inventory Item: CHK-PTY-4OZ [Internal product code]
Menu Item Component: RCP-CSPW-001 [Recipe identifier]
7. Individual Restaurant
Stock Item: 1234-CHK-PTY [Internal stock code]
Prepared Item: MENU-15 [Menu item number]
8. Digital Platforms
UberEats Listing: UE-1234567890 [Platform-specific menu item ID]
Restaurant POS System: 4011 [PLU code for point-of-sale systems]
9. Customer Order
Order Item: ORD-12345-ITEM-03 [Specific item in customer order]
10. Environmental and Sustainability Tracking
Carbon Footprint: CF-FM123-2023 [Farm-specific emissions identifier]
Water Usage: NPDES-123456 [Water permit number]
Sustainability Certification: GAP-CERT-789 [Specific certification identifier]
Unanswered Questions
As we trace the journey of a single chicken patty, we start to a vast network of relationships spanning ecology, economics, technology, culture, and more. This exploration reveals the complex, multifaceted nature of our food systems—far beyond the simple act of consumption, and as an end product.
The identities our food assumes throughout its lifecycle—from a living being to a commodity, from a cultural symbol to a data point—challenge us to reconsider our relationship with what we eat. In an era of increasing technological intervention in food production and distribution, how do we maintain meaningful connections to our sustenance?
This journey raises several questions for future research:
How do the naming conventions and identifiers assigned to food items throughout their lifecycle influence our perception of them?
In what ways might understanding these relationships change our approach to food sustainability and ethics?
As technology continues to reshape our food systems, how can we ensure that important relational aspects of food are not lost?
What role do consumers play in shaping these intricate food relationships, and how can we become more conscious participants in this web?
By viewing food through this relational lens, we open up new ways of discussing and addressing the challenges in our food systems. It invites us to look beyond the plate and consider the network of connections that bring each meal to fruition—a perspective that might be necessary to navigate the future of food.