Aesthetics of Produce: A systemic and design-based approach to reducing food waste
2022-12
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Aesthetics of Produce: A systemic and design-based approach to reducing food waste
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2022-12
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The invention of the baby carrot is an exemplary case that illustrates the power of design for solving a major problem with food waste. In the early 1990s, a farmer from California, Mike Yurosek, came up with the idea of machining leftover carrots to produce a new miniaturized form of carrot. This not only reduced the amount of unsellable carrots to be discarded, but it also created a whole new vegetable commodity market that is widely popular among kids and adults alike (Elizabeth Weise, 2004). This thesis is based on the strong belief that design thinking can bring about positive changes to food systems to remediate unnecessary food waste problems. Since the industrial revolution, we have been living in a world that has been designed for mass production and consumption. This ideology of “the more, the better” in industrial production and consumption has increased food wastefulness (Barber, 2014). As a result, a third of all food, equivalent to 1.3 billion tons, is lost or wasted each year globally, and in the U.S. alone, up to 40% of food supply, equivalent to 40 million tons of food, is estimated to be uneaten (Gunders, 2017). While food loss occurs at various stages of the food chain, consumers and retailers are mainly accountable for food waste in the US and other higher income countries. One of the major reasons identified by farmers and food organizations is the “imperfect” appearance of natural products (e.g., produce & fruits). Although they are perfectly edible, we, as consumers, tend to shy away from aesthetically displeasing looks of produce. To prevent this biased perception from creating more food loss and food waste in the future, it is crucial that we understand the specificity of consumer perception, and behavior associated with aesthetic factors of food. This research examines aesthetic principles of produce from the consumer’s perspective and provides the potential for seeking and applying design thinking to the problem of food being discarded due to cosmetic reasons. Existing literature on food aesthetics, psychology and perception-based studies demonstrate how visual aspects of food can have a significant impact on consumers’ perceptions. A myriad of studies uncovered the relationship between cosmetically imperfect produce and consumers’ preferences. Over the past decade, a growing number of studies began investigating effective strategies to combat food waste due to cosmetic imperfection (e.g., anthropomorphism, price reduction, graphic signage/linguistic solution). Yet none have explicated on the wide breadth of aesthetic standards and definitions for produce and their relationship to consumer needs, willingness-to-pay and purchase behavior. The lack of these understandings have caused delays in remediating food waste due to aesthetics reasons. This work uses mixed method research design and consists of three parts: 1) The first study captures the breadth of consumer perception on two produce types with varying aesthetic ranges. In this step, aesthetic attributes that have the most impact on consumers are identified. 2) The second study investigates the relationship between willingness-to-pay and average aesthetic ratings for three different types of produce. 3) The last study tests consumers’ market behavior in relation to the consumers’ willingness-to-pay. In all three studies, intended functionality of the produce was also examined. Results from the three studies demonstrated that consumers perceive produce aesthetics from a more functional perspective. The first study revealed surface imperfections to have the most impact on consumer perception for tuber type produce. The second study demonstrated that the rate of depreciation for consumers’ willingness to pay for cosmetically imperfect produce is consistently lower than the rate of reduction in average aesthetic rating. In the last study, the majority of the participants were not willing to trade their regular looking potatoes for the cosmetically imperfect produce for a small monetary value. This research illuminates our true needs regarding produce aesthetics, which is not one that is driven by the force of the industry, outdated policy & guidelines, or our biological instinct. The implications of this research can be summarized in three parts: 1) Produce aesthetics can be re-defined from the functional perspective. For example, a perfect tuber crop could be described by the least amount of surface imperfections that would allow a person to peel the surface more easily. 2) A redirection of consumer needs is suggested for food sellers, marketers, and designers. They can distinguish their strategies for the cosmetically imperfect produce by developing separate venues and locations, which helps consumers draw more attention to their intended purposes. 3) Revision of policies and guidelines for filtering produce is strongly advised to accommodate more practical and more modern consumer needs. For example, inspection criteria that are not directly related to edibility and the safety of produce should be eliminated as it is detrimental in creating a flawed perception to the consumers. In conclusion, stakeholders and designers in the food industry should work in tandem to reformulate our flawed perception to cosmetically imperfect produce by making a wider range of aesthetic diversity acceptable to consumers. Ultimately, consumers should perceive what they know as “ugly” now, as “normal” in the future. This would allow us to build a more sustainable environment for future generations.
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University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. December 2022. Major: Human Factors/Ergonomics. Advisor: Barry Kudrowitz. 1 computer file (PDF); x, 141 pages.
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Hwang, SunMin. (2022). Aesthetics of Produce: A systemic and design-based approach to reducing food waste. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/252541.
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