Product
Background information & problem description
With 192 member states globally, the United Nations today are the main body of collective human intervention on a global scale on wide range of issues (UN, 2010). In September 2010 the nations comprising the UN agreed on a common agenda termed the Millennium Goals” to tackle the most pressing problems of human mankind. Next to important issues such as the reduction of poverty and HIV, sustainable development is a hugely important part of the agenda. While the UN has achieved substantial successes in tackling the spread of HIV (UNAIDS Global report, 2010: 5) and seems to achieve targets for the reduction of global poverty (UN, 2010) and, the loss of biodiversity is projected to continue throughout this century with 2010 biodiversity protection targets being missed (UN, 2010). Given the wider implications of global warming and soil degradation, and deterioration of food chains, this is a shocking fact.
Today humans increasingly are living in a substantial disconnect to their ecological environment (Meroni, 2007: 144). Humans today live like “astronaut in space” as we obtain more knowledge from media than nature. Large supermarkets provide the convenience of when ever, where ever, what ever. It has resulted in the thinking of never-ending resupply. Global supply chains enable us to import cheap corn from Brazil, or even Potatoes from Egypt, or all year-round strawberries from green houses in Spain. For milk, there are only 3-4 large bottling plants remaining in the UK (Phil Wilcock, pig farmer, 2010). Lancaster Partnership for Sustainable food notes that food seems to be swapped internationally: in 1997 the UK exported 270 million liters of milk, but it also imported 126 million liters (Lancaster Partnership for Sustainable Food, 2007: 3). Trading statistics show food exports worth GBP 13.7b opposing food imports worth GBP31.6b (Defra, 2010). In 2001 74% of beef processes meat was imported from Brazil, where since 1970 600000 square kilometres of Brazilian rain forest has been destroyed (Butler, 2010). 8% of the UK energy production is consumed in food product, retailing and transport, all of which 47% is accounted for by food transportation alone (Sustainable Development Commission, 2004). Food passes through large and long capital-intensive supply chains. For many, farming has become an highly capital intensive business. Given this scheme of organisation, farmers are inclined to specialise in producing large quantities of a low variety of products. The even larger whole sellers they sell to, force them to ever lower margins. In short, human food supply chains today are largely unsustainable and disregard local environmental differences.
It is interesting to note, that based on our research, local farmers believe their products to be price competitive to products sold in traditional supermarkets (Phil Wilcock, 2010). Stroudco states that locally traded food is 10% than goods in the supermarket (Stroudco website, 2010). Why then do people in local communities rather prefer large food retailers which do not benefit the local economy at all? The reason is probably multi fold. Small farming businesses fail in attracting awareness in the local community. Oftentimes local communities also lack a dedicated central sales outlet which provides the convenience of shopping in a supermarket. Additionally, according to our research selling on a local farmers market does not help the farmer in establishing customer loyalty. It was said that most often, customers shopping on a weekly farmers market are inclined to one-off investments in over-prices food goods to feel a certain reward for having bought something special as a treat.
The challenge then is to change the mind set of those people but also establish respective local food shopping infrastructure. Local shopping does not need to be a “treat” or luxury but it should regain its rightful place. Not long ago, probably up to the 1950s, farmers were actually an integral part of the local business community. The aim of our project to reestablish local infrastructure facilitated by the use of modern IT technology. We believe that doing so would result in a multitude of benefits for various stakeholders on the local level. At the same time a wide adoption of our proposed scheme is very adapt to make a huge contribution to ensuring the UN Millennium goals for ecological sustainable development
Our proposed solution
Background to our approach
The embedded cup of Microsoft’s Imagination competition and the UN Millennium Goal on environmental sustainability provide the two pillars of the project. The team decided to deviate from the rules as stipulated by Microsoft which required us to develop an embedded solution using the Microsoft proprietary Embedded Compact 7 Operating System. We wish to develop an open system that provides open data about the production and consumption of local food. The team felt that strictly adhering to these rules would contradict the open ethos we have used to underpin the system. As a result, the devices the farmers and sellers are given within our scheme are open source embedded devices.
We propose the development of a social network for food which is deeply embedded in the local context of its implementation (i.e. Lancaster). We aim to reconnect farmers, sellers, and consumers of local food. This framework is aimed to achieve shopping convenience for the consumer. We also hope to uncover the hidden narratives of local farmers and therefore enable the consumer to see the multitude of benefits of investing locally. In the age of networks the local is far from dead. Taking ownership in the local fosters the development of communities of practice, increased resilience, mutual trust and local cohesiveness. (Meroni, 2007)
We propose the development of specialist low-cost embedded devices which function as a vehicle to achieve the wider aims of our project. These low-cost devices will be handed out to farmers and sellers of local produce. On the side of the farmer, these devices will allow the quick and easy input of data on products which are about to be sold locally. Similar embedded devices are proposed to be used by sellers to keep a regular log of local inventory. Consumers will receive a loyalty card. This artifact will allow to track individual purchases. Data is proposed to be used for small financial rewards which will incentive for further local purchases. At the same time the consumer is provided with a virtual shopping map on which recent purchases are being shown.
The next sections will provide further technical description, detail the benefits for various stakeholders to buy into our scheme, as well as expected initial start up cost.
