University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Foodable: a voice to fight food waste with digital design solutions and sustainable minds

(USC Thesis Other)

Foodable: a voice to fight food waste with digital design solutions and sustainable minds

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content

FOODABLE:
A VOICE TO FIGHT FOOD WASTE WITH
DIGITAL DESIGN SOLUTIONS AND SUSTAINABLE MINDS

by

Soo Ji Lee

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSKI SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
DESIGN

May 2022

Copyright 2022 Soo Ji Lee

ii

To Mom, Dad, and Isaac,
*waves*

iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my group of advisors, Ewa Wojciak, April
Greiman, and Jason Ellenburg, for your guidance through the thesis. Your constant
encouragement and wisdom made the enjoyable process.
I would like to thank Grant Delgatty for his kind help in guiding me through the product
development and design research process.

I would like to thank Wich Choomwiset, a site engineer of Scholl Canyon Landfill, and
Dave Green, a chief operating officer at Agromin, for taking the time to provide me with a great
introduction of Scholl Canyon Landfill.

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication .................................................................................................... ii

Acknowledgements ......................................................................................... iii

List of Figures ................................................................................................ v

Abstract ...................................................................................................... vii

Chapter 1 My Story ......................................................................................... 1
1.1 Moving to Los Angeles ...................................................................... 1
1.2 Can I Save the Earth?: Sustainability and My Design Work ............................ 2

Chapter 2 Food Waste Studies ............................................................................. 6
2.1 Food Waste ..................................................................................... 6
2.2 Problem Analysis ............................................................................. 7
2.3 Waste Generation ............................................................................. 9
2.3.1 Country-specific Data ................................................................ 10
2.3.2 Sector-specific Data .................................................................. 11
2.4 Landfill Dependency ........................................................................ 15

Chapter 3 Exploration ..................................................................................... 17
3.1 Visit to Scholl Canyon Landfill ............................................................ 17
3.2 Survey ......................................................................................... 20
3.2.1 Survey Questionnaire ................................................................. 20
3.2.2 Survey Findings ....................................................................... 21

Chapter 4 Foodable ........................................................................................ 24
4.1 User Persona .................................................................................. 25
4.2 Application Features ........................................................................ 27
4.3 User Flow ..................................................................................... 28
4.4 Wireframe Sketches ......................................................................... 29
4.4.1 Low-Fidelity Testing ................................................................. 29
4.5 UI Kit .......................................................................................... 31
4.6 Prototypes ..................................................................................... 33
4.7 Results ......................................................................................... 42
4.7.1 Testing Questionnaire ................................................................ 42
4.7.2 Reflection .............................................................................. 44
4.8 Spreading Sustainable Minds .............................................................. 46

Chapter 5 Conclusion ...................................................................................... 51

Bibliography ................................................................................................ 52

v
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Plastic Utopia, 2020 .............................................................................. 3
Figure 2 Plastic Utopia and Lost Wild, 2020 ............................................................ 4
Figure 3 See Me Save Me, 2021 ........................................................................... 4
Figure 4 Total annual household food waste produced in selected countries ...................... 11
Figure 5 Distribution of Wasted Food Generation, Including the Industrial Sector............... 14
Figure 6 Distribution of Wasted Food Generation, Excluding the Industrial Sector .............. 14
Figure 7 Distribution of Wasted Food Management, Including the Industrial Sector ............ 16
Figure 8 Distribution of Wasted Food Management, Excluding the Industrial Sector ........... 16
Figure 9 Scholl Canyon Landfill ......................................................................... 19
Figure 10 Food/Green Waste Operation Area .......................................................... 19
Figure 11 Survey Results A ............................................................................... 22
Figure 12 Survey Results B ............................................................................... 23
Figure 13 User Persona A ................................................................................. 25
Figure 14 User Persona B ................................................................................. 26
Figure 15 User Flow ....................................................................................... 28
Figure 16 Wireframe Sketches ........................................................................... 30
Figure 17 UI Kit ............................................................................................ 32
Figure 18 First Steps ....................................................................................... 33
Figure 19 Home ............................................................................................ 34
Figure 20 Seller Detail ..................................................................................... 35
Figure 21 Cart ............................................................................................... 36

vi
Figure 22 Orders ............................................................................................ 37
Figure 23 MyFridge ........................................................................................ 38
Figure 24 MyFridge Items Management ................................................................ 39
Figure 25 Share ............................................................................................. 40
Figure 26 User Account ................................................................................... 41
Figure 27 User Feedback .................................................................................. 45
Figure 28 Foodable Box .................................................................................. 47
Figure 29 Foodable Kitchen Products ................................................................... 47
Figure 30 Foodable Bag ................................................................................... 48
Figure 31 A Green Hand, Edible ......................................................................... 49
Figure 32 A Green Hand, Sharable ...................................................................... 49
Figure 33 A Green Hand, Earthable ..................................................................... 50

vii
ABSTRACT
The thesis examines the studies about the actual condition of food waste and explores potential
solutions through utilizing the design thinking process. As the food waste problem exacerbates,
many organizations are participating in a movement to halve global food waste. Not only is food
waste a cause of a social, humanitarian, and ecological problem, but also it significantly affects
the environment with its greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, biodiversity loss, and water
scarcity. By incorporating analytical/synthetic thinking processes and various methodologies, I
have built operable and inclusive design solutions that are accessible to all users who wish to
tackle the problem. With a sustainable mind, I aimed to create a design system that provides
applicable methods to solve the food waste problem, promoting environmental and social values.

1
CHAPTER 1: MY STORY
1.1 Moving to Los Angeles
My work has always been a mirror of my life. My works are filled with fragments of big
and small events, the stories of people around me, and moments that I witnessed. This thesis
reflects my life after moving to Los Angeles for graduate study.
I had always imagined Los Angeles as a place where culture, nature, and industry
harmoniously coexist in a single location. A dream city where skyscrapers are beautifully
harmonized with relaxing beaches. My new life in L.A. was going to be different from my
previous college experience at the University of Michigan. I was thrilled that I no longer needed
to suffer from the icy breeze and snow showers of Ann Arbor's winter. Not only was the weather
warmer, but the city was also packed with shopping malls, notable art museums, and
architectural landmarks. Above all, my favorite part was the innovative and diverse dining
culture of downtown L.A. where cutting-edge restaurants, street vendors, food trucks, and pop-
ups coexist. I was infatuated with the fun and flavorful experience for a while, but soon, I figured
something was wrong — I, or we, were doing something wrong.
I felt the odd discomfort when I noticed the copious food waste in the city. People
frequently left half of their food uneaten at fancy restaurants while the dumpsters behind the
restaurants were overflowing. I also witnessed that many shoppers bulk purchased products at
grocery stores, spending excessively on food. At the same time, in Skid Row, an area couple of
blocks away from luxury restaurants, homeless people were starving to death. I could easily
witness hungry people begging for food, digging in the trash cans, and lying helplessly on the
streets. Although those areas were just a few blocks apart, it was like seeing two different
worlds. One side hosts the most garnished food scene, filled with people squandering money on

2
food, and the other side represents the brutal reality where people stay on the verge of starvation.
Seeing the two opposite worlds was devastating, and at the same time, tragic.
In between the opposite worlds where one squanders money on food, and the other is left
with hunger, there exists unnecessary food waste. Frankly, I did not expect this. What I
anticipated was all about the fun and exciting dining culture in L.A. However, what I did not see
— what I now need to see — was poverty, starvation, and the copious amount of food waste.

1.2 Can I Save the Earth?: Sustainability in My Design Work
My interest in food waste has grown from my background. Whenever our family
gathered around the dining table, my dad always told me to take food only as much as I could
eat. Then, he started his 10-minute lecture about farmers' hard work to grow the food, the lives of
hungry people, and especially how our food waste can make the Earth sick. Moreover, people in
Korea discard food waste in special biodegradable bags into designated waste collection buckets.
It is because the South Korean government banned sending food to landfills, enforcing everyone
to follow a rigorous food waste recycling system. All the residents, including my family, use
these discarded bags, which can be purchased from the local supermarkets, and each bag is
charged a fee to its volume. Growing up observing how my family handled food waste in Korea
and my dad's strict upbringing slowly formed my awareness of food waste and sustainable
habits.
Hence, my interest in sustainability (especially in environmental problems) has greatly
affected my creative practice. For example, my work, "Plastic Utopia," portrays our world filled
with plastic (see fig.1). The goal is to criticize our indiscriminate use of plastic, which is a
quickly processed and easily consumed man-made material. In the “Plastic Utopia” series, not

3
only is plastic destroying nature, but it is also a symbol of modern society itself. I aim to depict
the beauty of artificial utopia at the surface with its splendid looks of plastic; however, upon
closer inspection, what I really wanted to portray is the loss of nature. In addition, I expanded my
research to study how plastic use affects wildlife. Based on my studies, I designed "See me, Save
me," a disposable book, to inform how disposable products can destroy the lives of wild animals
by vividly visualizing the death of millions of animals by plastic debris (see fig.3). The human
figure is covered by plastic in the book, and when the page is ripped off, the endangered animal
logo is revealed — announcing how nature needs our attention, love, and care.

Fig 1. Plastic Utopia, 2020

4

Fig 2. Plastic Utopia and Lost Wild, 2020

Fig 3. See Me Save Me, 2021

5
The idea of sustainability has begun impacting our lives more and more as public
opinions on environmental, social, and economic movements have drastically expanded over the
past few decades. The term “sustainability” greatly influenced the design world, inspiring the
designers to lead social and cultural changes. The concept of sustainability has been a powerful
inspiration for my design practice, and it constantly pushed myself to reflect on my impact on the
environment. It broadened my horizons as a person and a designer. With these experiences and
epiphanies, I desire to raise social consciousness, suggest potential solutions, and participate in
creating a healthy, productive environment through my design.

6
CHAPTER 2: FOOD WASTE STUDIES
“Food waste is a challenge of epic proportions, and
it needs to be addressed with a real sense of urgency.”
1

2.1 Food Waste
Technically speaking, both terms, food waste and food loss, refer to the decrease in
nutritional value and mass of any food which was intended for human consumption.
2
However,
food loss is typically considered as a bigger category, referring to food that goes uneaten at any
stage before it reaches its final product stage. Simply, food that gets spoiled, lost, or incurs a
reduction of value during its process in the food supply chain is considered as food loss. This is
often caused by inefficiencies in the food chains, such as lack of technology, poor infrastructure,
or natural disasters. Then, what is food waste? Food waste simply refers to food that does not get
consumed because it is discarded. Food waste is considered to be a specific piece of food loss,
referring to “food with good quality and fit for consumption that completes the food supply chain
up to a final product but hasn’t been consumed.”
3
It usually - but not exclusively - occurs at
consumption stages in the food chain due to deformed appearance or color of food, markets’
oversupply, or consumers’ waste habits.
The burden of food waste is immense on a global scale. According to the UN
Environment Programme(UNEP) study, 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste are generated across the
world each year
4
. The food waste problem in the United States is also getting more extensive,

1
Teresa Welsh, “UN Report: Countries at All Income Levels Waste Food,” Devex, March 4, 2021,
https://www.devex.com/news/un-report-countries-at-all-income-levels-waste-food-99323.
2
“Food Loss and Food Waste,” FAO(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations),
https://www.fao.org/food-loss-and-food-waste/flw-data).
3
Ibid.
4
“UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021,” UNEP(UN Environment Programme), n.d.,
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2021.

7
generating nearly 40 million tonnes of food waste annually.
5
The report shows that it has rapidly
increased by 50 percent since 1974. The amount of food waste is equivalent to each person
throwing away 219 pounds of waste. Grasping the magnitude of the problem, the UN agreed to
the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to halve per capita global food waste by
2030 and solve global inequality in food consumption. Despite the earnest effort of some
organizations to solve the issues of food waste and inequality in food consumption, they still
remain unsolved — instead, the hunger problem across the world has been exacerbated due to
Covid - 19 pandemic, reporting 690 million people affected by hunger in 2019.
6

2.2 Problem Analysis
I started my research by raising the fundamental question. Why is food waste a problem?
Why should we care about this issue? Throughout the study, I identify the issue with two
different aspects to observe why it should be addressed as a "problem."

It is unsustainable.
First, from the environmental aspect, food waste heavily contributes to the waste of
resources and the emission of greenhouse gases. Wasted food squanders resources such as water,
soil, energy, and fertilizers used to produce the food. Therefore, food waste means that we are
throwing away much more than just "food.” According to Jonathan Bloom, a food waste
journalist, ninety percent of the water in the U.S is used for agriculture. We also are losing soil in

5
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food.
6
“Deutsche Welle, “Total Amount of Global Food Waste Remains Unclear, New UN Report Reveals,” EcoWatch,
December 10, 2021, https://www.ecowatch.com/global-food-waste-un-report-2650921184.html.

8
the U.S ten times faster than we can replenish it due to food waste.
7
The PLOS study indicates
that wasted food uses more than one-fourth of the total freshwater consumption and 300 million
barrels of oil per year.
8
Along with losing significant amounts of resources, the production of
greenhouse gases is also a considerable problem. When food goes to the landfill, it rots and
produces substantial quantities of methane, a gas with 25-fold more potent global warming
potential than carbon dioxide. "Landfills are the number two source of human-related methane.
Food accounts for 18 percent of the landfill contexts", said Bloom,
9
marking the problem of
wasted food significantly impacting our environment. These greenhouse gases like methane or
carbon dioxide heat up the earth's atmosphere by absorbing infrared radiation, generating climate
change and global warming. The data from recent studies point out deep connections between
food waste and environmental consequences.

It hurts the economy.
A substantial amount of money is wasted for material resources, labor, and energy on
food that is never eaten. According to the New York Times, $162 billion worth of food is wasted
every year in the United States alone.
10
Throughout the research, I found out that the money is
wasted in various ways, such as resources costs, retail loss, or personal expenses. Annual loss
from resource costs is estimated to be around $1 trillion, according to the Food and Agriculture

7
Sharom Palmer, “Why Is Food Waste an Environmental Problem?,” Sharon Palmer, The Plant Powered Dietitian,
October 13, 2020, https://sharonpalmer.com/food-waste-a-serious-problem-for-the-21st-century/.
https://sharonpalmer.com/food-waste-a-serious-problem-for-the-21st-century/
8
Kevin D. Hall et al., “The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact,” PLoS
ONE 4, no. 11 (2009), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007940.
9
Sharom Palmer, “Why Is Food Waste an Environmental Problem?,” Sharon Palmer, The Plant Powered Dietitian,
October 13, 2020, https://sharonpalmer.com/food-waste-a-serious-problem-for-the-21st-century/.
https://sharonpalmer.com/food-waste-a-serious-problem-for-the-21st-century/
10
Ron Nixon, “Food Waste Is Becoming Serious Economic and Environmental Issue, Report Says,” The New York
Times (The New York Times, February 25, 2015), https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/us/food-waste-is-
becoming-serious-economic-and-environmental-issue-report-says.html.

9
Organization of the United Nations
11
. Along with the excessive cost, the amount of food waste
from consumers and retailers is as copious as to feed the world's 870 million people with food
insecurity
12
. On the consumer level, many people experienced that an extensive amount of
money is wasted, eating up a large portion of our household
13
. By observing a large amount of
wasted money on food that is never eaten, I came to imagine the potential economic benefits of
solving food waste. This is not just for our own benefits, but it is also for others. The lost
consumer surplus resulting from our food waste drives up prices of food, indicating that people
have to get lower quantities of food with higher prices. It can significantly impact the lives of
lower-income people who cannot afford the healthy food they need
14
. The study clearly explains
the social dilemma caused by food waste, showing the rising rate of food waste coincides with an
increasing number of hungry people.

2.3 Waste Generation
In order to observe the generation of food waste, my next question is, “Where is food
waste generated?”. There are two steps to approach the research question. First is to research
how much food waste various countries generate each year, analyzing the correlation among
food waste, population, and individual income. Then, I examined sector-specific estimates of
food waste generation.

11
“Food Loss and Food Waste,” FAO(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations),
https://www.fao.org/food-loss-and-food-waste/flw-data).
12
“UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021,” UNEP(UN Environment Programme), n.d.,
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2021.
13
“Consumer Expenditures--2020,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 9,
2021), https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cesan.nr0.htm.
14
Christina Gayton, “Food Waste Economics,” December 29, 2018, https://christinagayton.medium.com/food-
waste-economics-f3176cfaeb1a.

10
2.3.1 Country-specific Data
According to the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, the total amount of food waste
expands in proportion to the population (see fig.4). The report unsurprisingly indicates that
countries with larger populations produced more food waste than the smaller countries. China
generates the highest food waste annually, an estimated 91.6 million tonnes of discarded food,
followed by India’s 68.8 million tonnes.
15
However, food waste per capita does not expand in
proportion to population. Australian households generate 102 kilograms of food waste per year
while the total Australian food waste is less than many other countries on the list (see fig.4). At
first, most developed countries seemed to have higher amounts of food waste per capita in this
data, observing European countries produced relatively higher amounts of food waste while it
comes to 50 kg in India. As the study by Emiliano Lopez Barrera shows, “food waste begins to
grow as household incomes rise, diets diversify, and wages rise, increasing the opportunity cost
of time spent on food procurement and preparation”
16
, my initial presumption was the amount of
food waste per capita might correlate with household income levels. However, contrary to my
initial thought and the widespread belief that food waste is mostly a problem for wealthy people,
the recent research shows that “household per capita income food waste generation is found to be
broadly similar across country income groups, suggesting that action on food waste is equally
relevant in high, upper-middle, and lower-middle income countries”.
17
UNEP’s Food waste
index report 2021 also supports that the amount of food waste per capita does not correlate with

15
“UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021,” UNEP(UN Environment Programme), n.d.,
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2021.
16
Emiliano Lopez Barrera and Thomas Hertel, “Global Food Waste across the Income Spectrum: Implications for
Food Prices, Production and Resource Use,” Food Policy 98 (2021): p. 101874,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101874.
17
Niall McCarthy, “The Enormous Scale of Global Food Waste [Infographic],” Forbes (Forbes Magazine,
December 10, 2021), https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2021/03/05/the-enormous-scale-of-global-food-
waste-infographic/?sh=2d96664e26ac.

11
household income levels by indicating that household-level food waste in lower-middle income
countries was 91 kilograms per capita annually, while it was 79 kilograms in high-income
countries and 76 kilograms in upper-middle income countries.
18
The results suggest that food
waste is not just rich or developed countries’ problem, but it is everyone’s problem — which
also means that most countries have room to improve this problem.

Fig 4. Total annual household food waste produced in selected countries
Source: UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021

2.3.2 Sector-specific Data
I expanded the research to wasted food generation with a sector-specific data collection
and characterization. In 2017, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed an
enhanced methodology to calculate sector-specific estimates of wasted food generation in order
to provide more granular annual estimates of generation and management of food waste to the

18
Teresa Welsh, “UN Report: Countries at All Income Levels Waste Food,” Devex, March 4, 2021,
https://www.devex.com/news/un-report-countries-at-all-income-levels-waste-food-99323.

12
public
19
. EPA introduced the generation sectors in the enhanced methodology, which are the
industrial sector, residential sector, commercial sector, institutional sector, and food banks. Out
of the sectors, I would like to address the industrial, residential, and commercial sectors for the
thesis.
The industrial sector, which generates the most wasted food (food loss), is comprised of
the food and beverage processors and manufacturers. EPA report estimates that approximately
40 million tonnes of wasted food were generated in the industrial sector, accounting for more
than one-third of wasted food (see fig.5). The causes of food loss for the industrial sectors
include damage by weather, pests, disease, out-grading of misshapen or blemished foods,
spillage caused by equipment malfunction or inefficiencies during harvesting, and leaving some
edible crops unharvested.
20
Sometimes, market conditions off the farm also can lead farmers to
throw out edible food. Although the causes of food waste vary, the contractors usually assume all
losses at the primary level are from food processing. After I examined the data, I decided not to
include the industrial sector as my target area because not only the wasted food generated in this
sector is more likely to be food loss than food waste as it did not reach its final consumption
stage, but also the causes of food loss are not easily solvable in a consumer-level.
According to the EPA report that shows the percentage distribution of wasted food
generation excluding the industrial sector, I discovered that the residential sector generated the
most food waste (see fig.6). The residential sector, which includes single-family and multi-
family dwellings, generated 25 million tonnes of wasted food.
21
Another research also indicates

19
“2018 Wasted Food Report - US EPA” (Environmental Protection Agency, November 2020),
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-11/documents/2018_wasted_food_report.pdf.
20
Jean C. Buzby and Jeffrey Hyman, “Total and per Capita Value of Food Loss in the United States,” Food Policy
37, no. 5 (2012): pp. 561-570, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.06.002.
21
“2018 Wasted Food Report - US EPA” (Environmental Protection Agency, November 2020),
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-11/documents/2018_wasted_food_report.pdf.

13
that approximately 40 to 50 percent of wasted food occurs at the consumer level,
22
implying that
households are responsible for the largest portion of all food waste. In terms of product’s total
mass, perishable food such as meat, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products account for the largest
losses at the consumer level.
23

For the commercial sector, I was able to discover that it includes two different parts, food
retail/wholesale and hospitality. The food retail/wholesale includes supermarkets, food
wholesale, or supercenter, and the hospitality includes restaurants, food services, sports venues
or hotels.
24
Although the report (see fig.6) previously said that the residential sector accounts for
the largest portion of all food waste (excluding the industrial sector), however, with a closer
inspection, I was able to note that the commercial sector was distributed into three different
categories (retail, wholesale, and hospitality) in the graph, indicating that the total amount of
food waste generated in the commercial sector is actually larger than those in the residential
sector. By adding all three parts up, restaurants/food services, supermarkets/supercenter, and
food wholesale, the commercial sector generates about 47 percent of wasted food. This result
shows that the commercial sector takes charge of almost 50 percent of total wasted food. The
sector also had similar issues as the residential sector has, showing that most of the loss in the
retail operations is in perishable goods like meat, seafood, prepared meals or baked food.
25

For my thesis, I would like to define these two sectors, the commercial and residential
sectors, as my target audience not only because these two sectors are responsible for 87 percent

22
Dana Gunders, “Wasted: How America Is Losing up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill,”
NRDC, June 25, 2020, https://www.nrdc.org/resources/wasted-how-america-losing-40-percent-its-food-farm-fork-
landfill.
23
Ibid
24
“2018 Wasted Food Report - US EPA” (Environmental Protection Agency, November 2020),
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-11/documents/2018_wasted_food_report.pdf.
25
Economic Research Service. “Food Security in the U.S.: Key Statistics & Graphics.” USDA, 2017. Retrieved
March 7, 2019, from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-
statistics-graphics.aspx

14
of total food waste, but also because the sectors are considerably more approachable as they are
consumer-level. Throughout the research, I aim to solve the problem at the consumer level,
providing opportunities to consumers to reduce food waste in a more direct and efficient way.

Fig 5. Distribution of Wasted Food Generation, Including the Industrial Sector
Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency, “2018 Wasted Food Report”

Fig 6. Distribution of Wasted Food Generation, Excluding the Industrial Sector
Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency, “2018 Wasted Food Report”

15
2.4 Landfill Dependency
After acknowledging the global food crisis and how it arises in different sectors and
countries, I came to wonder how the substantial amount of wasted food is managed. There are
various management pathways for food waste which are landfill, animal feed, sewer, controlled
combustion, land application, biochemical processing, composting, and donation. According to
the research of EPA,
26
more than half (56 percent) of the wasted food (excluding the industrial
sector) was managed by landfills (see fig.7). It is also noticed that controlled combustion (12
percent) followed the next most-used pathway to disposal of wasted food while donation scored
8 percent.
Even with numerous options for managing wasted food, both sectors highly depend on
landfill. In the commercial sector, one-third (33 percent) of wasted food was landfilled in the
commercial sector, and 66 percent of waste went to the landfill in the residential sector (see
fig.8). Through the research, I realized that finding the alternative solution — other than just
dumping food waste that produces substantial quantities of methane — would be significant.

26
“2018 Wasted Food Report - US EPA” (Environmental Protection Agency, November 2020),
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-11/documents/2018_wasted_food_report.pdf.

16

Fig 7. Distribution of Wasted Food Management, Including the Industrial Sector
Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency, “2018 Wasted Food Report”

Fig 8. Distribution of Wasted Food Management, Excluding the Industrial Sector
Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency, “2018 Wasted Food Report”

17
CHAPTER 3: EXPLORATION
3.1 Visit to Scholl Canyon Landfill
After researching how a vast amount of food waste has been dumped in the landfills, I
visited the Scholl Canyon Landfill on January 19th, 2022 under the supervision of the site
engineer, Wich Choomwiset. When I entered the site, I was completely stunned by its immense
scale. What surprised me even more was seeing all kinds of trash thrown away on the ground and
trucks spilling out the massive amounts of garbage. Scholl Canyon Landfill is divided into
various areas, and each area deals with different types of wastes. I was able to tour the
food/green waste operation area, where food waste collected in separate bins from other trash,
and green waste such as wood, branches, or plants are handled. This area is not a place where
trash is buried, but it is the area for composting. I met Dave Green, a chief operating officer at
Agromin, a company that manufactures soil products and recycles green and food waste.
According to Mr. Green, food waste commingled with other trash is usually dumped in the
landfills. However, the food waste collected in separate green bins (it can be blended food/green
waste) comes to the “food/green waste operating area” where they can be composted or
recycled.
He explained how composting commingled food/green waste process works in this area.
When food/green waste arrives, the workers start dumping the waste on the ground, fan all the
materials out, and then pick the contaminants out. Then, they push the waste into a pile, which
eventually gets ground. After grinding the waste, it is transferred to composting facilities to test
pathogens and produce the soil products. Also, he told me that they grind commingled
food/green waste because food waste can be moist, so mixing with green waste can help make it
solid to grind. Some food waste scraps can be ground with wood waste like the process above,

18
but most of them go to Puente Hills. At Puente Hills Materials Recovery Facility, the food waste
is loaded into specialized equipment that removes contaminants like plastic bags and then blends
the food waste into a slurry
27
.
The food waste collected in separate bins is considered more sustainable because it can
be turned into compost or used to create an energy source. Due to the following reason, SB 1383
was signed in 2016, calling for people to help reduce the amount of organic trash going to
landfills
28
. Starting from January 1st, 2022, businesses and residents are now asked to separate
food waste from the rest of the trash and dispose of it in green waste bins. However, different
from my expectations, I only observed a small amount of food waste at the green/food waste
operation area, indicating that not much food waste was collected separately from the rest of the
trash. Mr. Green also said that the amount of food waste coming in separately from the regular
trash is subtle and small, suggesting that they get less than a tonne a week.
At Scholl Canyon Landfill, I observed that most of the food waste is still buried in the
landfills rather than coming to "the food/green waste operation area”. Even though people are
encouraged to recycle food waste and make a sustainable life with SB 1383, I still felt we need to
raise more attention and awareness. By the end of the tour, I asked Mr. Green about his thoughts
on solving the food waste problem. He answered, “There needs to be much more awareness with
the ‘generators’ of the food waste. We should really think about how to reduce the waste as an
individual and how to take care of our earth in a more sustainable way.”

27
“Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts,” Puente Hills Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) | Los Angeles County
Sanitation Districts, n.d., https://www.lacsd.org/services/solid-waste/facilities/puente-hills-materials-recovery-
facility-mrf.
28
“Bill Text,” Bill Text - SB-1383 Short-lived climate pollutants: methane emissions: dairy and livestock: organic
waste: landfills., n.d., https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1383.

19
Fig 9. Scholl Canyon Landfill

Fig 10. Food/Green Waste Operation Area

20
3.2 Survey
As it became clear that producing less food waste before it reaches the landfill can be one
of the most idealistic solutions, I decided to get more qualitative and quantitative data about
people’s own experiences of wasting food. In order to do so, I have conducted the survey with 61
participants from age 18 to 65 by using google form. The participants were recruited from social
media, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The questions were based on their waste habits,
awareness, and motivation for solving the food waste problem.
3.2.1 Survey Questionnaires
Survey Questionnaires
Q1. Do you think you waste food a lot?
Q2. If yes, why do you think you waste so much food?
Q3. Approximately, how much food do you think is wasted at home (lbs./person)?
Q4. What kinds of food(products) do you throw away the most?
Q5. What kinds of food(products) do you throw away the least?
Q6. Do you think you successfully keep track of the expiration dates of products at
home?
Q7. Do you wish to reduce food waste?
Q8. If yes, why do you wish to reduce food waste?
Q9. Have you ever successfully reduced food waste?
Q10. If yes, how did you reduce food waste?
Q11. What do you think is the best way to reduce food waste?

21
3.2.2 Survey Findings
1. People are aware of the food waste problem and are motivated to solve the problem.
I was able to see that 68.9 percent of the participants from age 18 to 65 feel that they
waste a lot of food products, which implies that people are aware of their waste habits (see
fig.11). Through the question “Do you think you waste food a lot?” I aimed to see how people
reflect on their food waste habits with their subjective evaluation standards. For more objective
data, I asked the participants about the amount of food (lbs/person) being wasted per week, and
almost half (49.2 percent) of the participants reported that they waste in the range of 2.5 to 4 lbs.
This result is similar to the finding done by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)
29
,
reporting that a person generates 3.5 pounds of food waste per week on average - the result from
NRDC is within the range of 2.5 to 4 lbs. Additionally, 73.8 percent of the participants aged 18
to 65 also answered that they wish to reduce food waste. Through the survey, I was able to see
the participants’ high level of awareness on food waste and willingness to alleviate it.

29
“Two-Thirds of Food Wasted at Home in Three Major U.S. Cities Is Edible,” NRDC, October 25, 2017,
https://www.nrdc.org/media/2017/171024-0.

22

Fig 11. Survey Results A

2. People fail to keep track of the expiration dates of food products at home.
According to the result, 70.5 percent of the participants from age 18 to 65 reported that
they do not think they successfully keep track of the expiration dates of food products (see
fig.12). Moreover, 42.1 percent of the participants chose “product has passed the expiration date”
as the biggest reason for wasting so much food. I observed that the expiration dates play a
significant role in people’s food consumption habits. People tend to throw the food away when it
has passed the expiration dates because it is considered unsafe. Hence, the failure to keep track
of expiration dates (“best by” dates) can cause food waste.

3. Purchasing food in large quantities can lead to food waste.
Based on the result, 26.3 percent of the participants from age 18 to 65 answered that
purchasing food in large quantities is their cause of food waste — it was the second highest

23
answer chosen by the participants (see fig.12). Also, when I asked participants, “What would be
the best way to reduce food waste?”, 12 participants out of 61 participants came up with similar
answers: they would like to buy food products in smaller quantities. Considering the increased
rate of single households over the past years, purchasing large quantities can cause food waste,
especially when a consumer does not have a person to share.

4. Many people wish to reduce food waste to save money.
According to the research, 56.9 percent of the participants aged 18 to 65 answered that
they wish to reduce food waste “to save money” (see fig.12). Based on the result, I found out that
many people experience an extensive amount of money wasted due to food waste. It implies that
solving the food waste problem can possibly bring a positive benefit for the economic benefits of
many consumers.

Fig 12. Survey Results B

24
CHAPTER 4: FOODABLE
Considering the potential benefits of solving food waste, I decided to build a sustainable
digital design solution, Foodable. The prior research determines that generating less food waste
in the commercial/individual stage (commercial sector / residential sector) is the key to
addressing the problem. Additionally, donating food can be another solution to minimize food
waste and hunger. EPA food recovery hierarchy also supports the hypothesis by indicating
“Source reduction: Reduce the volume of surplus food generated” as the most preferred solution,
and “Feed People: Donate extra food to food banks, soup kitchen, and shelters” as following
preferred.
30
Therefore, my answers to this problem are to build a digital design system that
reduces generating food waste and brings awareness by emphasizing sustainable minds.
How does it work? Foodable takes two different methodologies to reach the goal.
First, Foodable provides a digital service with practical features that prevent wasting food that
can be consumed and ensure the utmost efficiency of users’ food consuming habits. It also
allows users to manage the date labels of products effectively. Secondly, Foodable wishes to
spread awareness of food waste through design practice, which will be discussed in 4.8. The
project objective is to visualize a sustainable perspective and convey the message through
various design forms. As it is vividly represented, the brand's following design solutions aim to
build sustainable minds, assure financial benefits of consumers, and save products that are
“foodable”.

30
“2018 Wasted Food Report - US EPA” (Environmental Protection Agency, November 2020),
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-11/documents/2018_wasted_food_report.pdf.

25
4.1 User Persona
Before defining the application features, I created user personas to establish realistic and
reliable representations of the target audience segments. In this phase, my goal was to confirm
“what” and “why” the users want and need, drawing insights from collected data. The primary
user group of Foodable is users who wish to reduce food waste through an efficient shopping
experience, sharing methods, and food management systems. By creating personas, I was able to
create empathy and understanding with the end-users. From a user-centered point of view, I
defined the application features that meet users’ needs, goals, and motivations.

Fig 13. User Persona A

26

Fig 14. User Persona B

27
4.2 Application Features
In order to accomplish the product objectives, I have developed three key features for the
mobile application. First is providing a digital service that allows consumers to shop for certain
food products that are close to expiration dates (or sell-by dates) at discounted prices. The users
can purchase the items from local grocery stores, restaurants/bars, farmers' markets, or
convenience stores. The products included on the platform are required to preserve the quality of
food to secure the food safety of users. The most significant benefit of the feature is minimizing
wasted food generation in commercial and residential sectors by providing users with options to
save money with major discounts and allowing retailers/supermarkets to sell-out their surplus.
Another feature is a food expiration date tracking system. When users purchase the items
through a mobile app, the products are automatically added to the system, keeping track of their
expiration dates. If users do not buy through an app, they can manually insert the information or
snap a photo of their shopping receipts. Based on the date label data, the system will alert users
when their food is close to expiring. It also provides general guidelines for food safety and
expiration so that users can learn about the signs of spoiling in different foods. With the feature,
users can keep food fresh and easily manage food products at home. Less unspoiled food can be
thrown away, reducing the amount of food waste entering the waste system.
Foodable also allows users to share any untouched surplus food with neighbors or other
social institutions such as food banks, charitable communities, and local food programs. The
service will ask users to show pictures or write information about products with clear date labels
to ensure the quality and safety of food. This feature helps generate less food waste, recovering
food that can be consumed. Especially when consumers bulk purchase food, they could share

28
untouched and unspoiled items via the feature. By redistributing food into the consumer chain
and giving items a second life, users can possibly feed people, not landfills.

4.3 User Flow
I built the user flow to visualize how users move through the mobile application. Before
diving into creating the design details on the screen, I created user flow to present an overall
picture and build a more seamless user experience. This flow highlights how the system connects
with the user interactions and acts with the number of decision points.

Fig 15. User Flow

29
4.4 Wireframe Sketches
Many UX designers believe that wireframes act as a form of thinking device for the
setting and exploration of a given problem space. Therefore, I sketched wireframes to serve as a
visual guide, representing the skeleton of an application’s user interface. This process helped me
keep the concept user-centered and reassure the application features. I was able to grab the
structure, flow, relationship, and hierarchy of interface contents and remove potential flaws
within the architecture.

4.4.1 Low-Fidelity Testing
With wireframe sketches, I conducted a low fidelity prototype testing for a sample of 8
participants. The process is a quick, tangible representation of a user flow, concept, and design
structure to get feedback and improve the product. I led testing by using low technology
implementation, which was paper prototypes. I printed screen layouts, laid them on the table, and
went through the flow. I have tested the hierarchy of the information architecture, fundamental
interactions of the design, and if the layout and content of the design effectively communicate
with users.
As a result of low fidelity prototype testing, some limitations were found. Because paper
prototypes are usually limited in terms of testing transitions or animations, the participants
sometimes had a hard time thinking and imagining digital screens. One of the participants
mentioned that it seems unrealistic and hard to interpret the design. Also, because the testing
should be done only in person, it was hard to test the prototypes with a broader range of
participants. Despite the limitations, the testing helped to see the bigger picture and user interface
details. Also, due to the unpolished look of the paper prototypes, users became more comfortable

30
in pointing out problems and suggesting changes. It allowed me to detect flaws in the flow at an
earlier stage and quickly replace them ahead of time.

Fig 16. Wireframe Sketches

31
4.5 UI Kit
To produce high-quality design outcomes, I have developed the UI kit for Foodable. For
the UI kit, my primary goal is to convey a feeling of energy, warmness, and playfulness through
the design system. The first step was to create a logo, using an ellipse to represent the notion of
potentiality and cyclic movement. Because Foodable aims to save food waste, starvation, and the
earth, I decided to use ellipse to visualize the sustainable cycle of consuming and sharing food. I
added a shape of a fork on the ellipse, emphasizing food’s “edibleness” instead of being thrown
away.

32

Fig 17. UI Kit

I chose a neo-grotesque sans serif font, Nunito, as my UI typeface. I used a rounded
version of Nunito to bring a sense of warmth. Similar to other sans serif fonts, the use of Nunito
helps to communicate straightforwardness and simplicity. Additionally, for the color system, I
created a color palette consisting of a medium-dark shade of green-cyan and a medium-light
shade of red-orange. While a medium-dark shade of green conveys a concept of nature, balance,
and renewal as a primary color, the different shades of red-orange send a feeling of love and
caring. Through the combination of dark green and red-orange, I aim to build a design system
that shares warmth and joyfulness with users.

33
4.6 Prototypes
1. First Steps
Users will be introduced to the sign-in/ sign-up page, which enables users to register and gain
access to the system independently. Then, the onboarding page will educate users about the
functions and benefits of the app.

Fig 18. First Steps

34
2. Home
The home page allows users to choose a seller category (grocery stores, restaurants/bars,
convenience stores, or neighbor share) and purchase the food product. Users can also look for
popular sellers or sellers with the best deals. By using the filter, users can select delivery/pick up
options, delivery time, distance, rating, and price range. Additionally, they can set up their
location and search for food products or sellers.

Fig 19. Home

35
2.1 Seller Detail
When users select a seller category, they will be provided with different sellers and food
items. Based on the food category, users can easily find where to shop. By using the filter, users
can choose delivery/pick up options, delivery time, distance, rating, and price range.

Fig 20. Seller Detail

36
2.2 Cart
On the Cart page, users can easily view products in their cart and change quantities. Once
they decide to purchase the products, they can manage delivery/pick up address, delivery/pick up
time, and payment method. The payment information can be saved so that users can shop faster
and easier.

Fig 21. Cart

37
3. Orders
On the Orders page, users can see and manage completed/processing orders. For the
processing orders, users can check the purchased products or delivery/pickup information,
change the order, view the receipt, chat with the delivery person, and get help. For the completed
orders, users can get information about purchased products, and further, they can rate the order,
reorder, view receipt, and see the chat history.

Fig 22. Orders

38
4. Myfridge
Myfridge page provides a food tracking system, allowing users to manage food products in
their household, and keep track of their expiration dates. On the Myfridge page, users can clearly
see which items are expiring soon or have expired. When there is an item expiring soon, users
will be notified. Also, when users order food products on the app, the products automatically
sync to the app and save the information on the myfrdge page. If users do not purchase food on
the app and want to save information, they can either scan the receipt/product or add the
information manually. This feature helps users save and manage food product information in a
more convenient and faster way.

Fig 23. MyFridge

39

Fig 24. MyFridge Items Management

40
5. Share
The Share page offers users two options: sharing food items with neighbors or donating food
to the community/organization. If users decide to share with neighbors, they will be asked to fill
in the information about the food products, including food type, quantity, purchased date,
expiration date, deliver/pickup option, location, and photos. This step is significant to keep food
safety, preventing foodborne illness. If users choose to donate food, they will be introduced to
various organizations or communities with their information. They can also see food donation
news and the participation of other users.

Fig 25. Share

41
6. User Account
The User account page allows users to manage basic information, including account information,
address, payment, or setting. Also, they can view chat history, donation records, and notifications
on this page.

Fig 26. User Account

42
4.7 Results
After the design phase, I conducted moderated usability testing, the process of testing the
high-fidelity prototypes with real users to validate design decisions and eliminate user
difficulties. A total of 18 participants, from age twenty-one to thirty-five, were recruited from
social media platforms, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The testing was conducted both
remotely and in person (five participants went through in-person testing, and 13 participants
joined remote testing). My ultimate goal of testing is to test my hypotheses and get real users’
eyes on the product. During the process, I aim to gain insights into the overall design direction of
the product, the user flows, UI components, and graphical elements.

4.7.1 Testing Questionnaire
User Qualifying Questionnaire
Q1. What is your age?
Q2. How do you describe your ethnicity?
Q3. What is your current work status?
Q4. Which industry do you work in?
Q5. What is your income level?
Q6. When was the last time you used the app?
Q7. How often do you use the app?
Q8. How much time do you spend on the app?
Q9. What is the budget for grocery shopping (per week)?

43
User Testing Questionnaire
Q1. How do you describe your overall experience with the app?
Q2. What do you think of the user interface?
Q3. What do you think of UI components (text, color, icons, forms, header, buttons, etc.)?
Q4. How is the language used on this page?
Q5. What is your opinion on the way information and features are laid out?
Q6. What do you think of the explanations on the page?
Q7. What features/parts do you find most valuable? Why?
Q8. What features/parts do you find least valuable? Why?
Q9. What prevents you from completing a task?
Q10. If you could change one thing in this product, what would it be? Why?
Q11. Can you give me some examples of real situations when you would use the app?
Q12. What do you expect to see in our product in the future?

44
4.7.2 Reflection
Through usability testing, I uncovered usability issues and learned an unbiased
examination of the products. Many users have revealed high levels of satisfaction with the design
components of the app. I got positive feedback about the user interfaces on using appropriate
language, labels, elements, and messaging. The consistency and efficiency of UI elements
received favorable evaluations.
Furthermore, the idea of purchasing food products that are close to “sell-by dates” and
our food tracking system, Myfridge, both have earned positive reviews. Many users revealed
their willingness to use the shopping feature, finding it helpful when purchasing ingredients at
discounted prices. Some also mentioned how it would make them feel less guilty by spending
less money on food products and wasting less. The other feature, Myfridge, was considered the
most valuable feature for many users. They have shared their frustrations with keeping track of
expiration dates of the food items at households, identifying the usefulness of the feature.
Especially, they loved how data can automatically sync to the app when they purchase through
the app.
However, there are some negative feedback and concerns about the food sharing feature.
Some users claimed that they are concerned about food safety when sharing food with neighbors.
Although the feature asks users to insert detailed information about the food item, some users
think it is still not valid enough. Especially since the Covid 19 outbreak, people have become
more cautious about food sanitation, arousing a high level of concern toward food sharing
features.
Through the process, I was able to put myself in users’ shoes and understand their goals,
needs, and concerns. I have learned to view from the users’ perspectives throughout design,

45
production, and implementation. In order to create the most up-to-date and practical solutions,
understanding others’ stories and incorporating them into a system is a key to an interactive
design.

Fig 27. User Feedback

46
4.8 Spreading Sustainable Minds
“All waste is not equal, nor is the way we handle our surplus food.”
31
As digital service
suggests practical solutions to rescue and monitor our surplus food, my next step is to promote
sustainable minds. Without our willingness to participate in creating sustainable life, nothing
changes. This step calls people together and builds a movement for the food waste problem
through advocacy posters and package design.
As I have been advocating the importance of sharing food through a digital service
solution, I decided to create a package design that can be used when people share or donate food.
I designed a box, apron, canvas tote bag, and other kitchen accessories so that users can use
products in real life. All the items will be made out of eco-friendly packaging materials. For the
design consistency, I used the same design system (color palette and logo) as used for the mobile
application. I created the illustrations of half-cut food items, representing a tremendous amount
of food that has been thrown away. These illustrated half-cut food products are a symbol of food
waste.

31
Dana Gunders, “Wasted: How America Is Losing up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill,”
NRDC, June 25, 2020, https://www.nrdc.org/resources/wasted-how-america-losing-40-percent-its-food-farm-fork-
landfill.

47

Fig 28. Foodable Box

Fig 29. Foodable Kitchen Products

48

Fig 30. Foodable Bag

Further, I created a series of moving posters called A Green Hand as an extended project
of Foodable. Due to many food storages or management problems, we throw away a copious
amount of perfectly edible food items, destroying our environment. The moving posters depict
the importance of rescuing edible food. In the posters, a green hand not only portrays our
possible solutions to solve food waste, but also symbolizes our sustainable mind. In the first
poster, the green hand ripping out of the garbage bag and saving edible food indicates our current
situation — a vast amount of food that can be consumed is being thrown away. In the second
poster, the green hand shares surplus food with others, advocating the significance of sharing
food. Lastly, the green hand putting broken pieces of the egg together depicts that solving food
waste can help save our planet. Through the series of moving posters, I wish to seek the support
of other people’s green hands.

49

Fig 31. A Green Hand, Edible

Fig 32. A Green Hand, Sharable

50

Fig 33. A Green Hand, Earthable

51
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
From the farms to our plate, there are countless reasons for food waste generation. Yes, it
is somewhat inevitable to generate food waste, but the problem is its extensive amount — we
generate approximately 1.3 tonnes of food waste every year.
32
One-third of the food waste is
from human consumption, clearly implying that we humans play a massive role in wasting food.
If it starts with us, we must end it. Acknowledging the seriousness of the problem, my thesis
proposes possible design solutions to promote sustainability and prevent wasting food. My
direction is to tackle the consumer level by providing practical methods such as unsold food
recovery, a food tracking system, and a digital community for food donation. The key to fighting
food waste is keeping a sustainable mind, making voices and practicing possible solutions with
discipline, courage, and patience. Our voices and sustainable minds, these will be arrows in the
quiver targeting safer and livable planet.

32
“UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021,” UNEP(UN Environment Programme), n.d.,
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2021.

52
BIBLIOGRAPHY

“2018 Wasted Food Report - US EPA.” Environmental Protection Agency, November 2020.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-
11/documents/2018_wasted_food_report.pdf.

“Bill Text.” Bill Text - SB-1383 Short-lived climate pollutants: methane emissions: dairy and
livestock: organic waste: landfills., n.d.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1383.

Buzby, Jean C., and Jeffrey Hyman. “Total and per Capita Value of Food Loss in the United
States.” Food Policy 37, no. 5 (2012): 561–70.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.06.002.

“Consumer Expenditures--2020.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, September 9, 2021. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cesan.nr0.htm.

EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed January 22, 2022.
https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food.

Economic Research Service. “Food Security in the U.S.: Key Statistics & Graphics.” USDA,
2017. Retrieved March 7, 2019, from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-
assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx

“Food Loss and Food Waste.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Accessed January 22, 2022. https://www.fao.org/food-loss-and-food-waste/flw-data).

Gayton, Christina. “Food Waste Economics,” December 29, 2018.
https://christinagayton.medium.com/food-waste-economics-f3176cfaeb1a.

Gunders, Dana. “Wasted: How America Is Losing up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to
Fork to Landfill.” NRDC, June 25, 2020. https://www.nrdc.org/resources/wasted-how-
america-losing-40-percent-its-food-farm-fork-landfill.

Hall, Kevin D., Juen Guo, Michael Dore, and Carson C. Chow. “The Progressive Increase of
Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact.” PLoS ONE 4, no. 11 (2009).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007940.

Lopez Barrera, Emiliano, and Thomas Hertel. “Global Food Waste across the Income Spectrum:
Implications for Food Prices, Production and Resource Use.” Food Policy 98 (2021):
101874. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101874.

“Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.” Puente Hills Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) |
Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, n.d. https://www.lacsd.org/services/solid-
waste/facilities/puente-hills-materials-recovery-facility-mrf.

53
McCarthy, Niall. “The Enormous Scale of Global Food Waste [Infographic].” Forbes. Forbes
Magazine, December 10, 2021.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2021/03/05/the-enormous-scale-of-global-
food-waste-infographic/?sh=2d96664e26ac.

Nixon, Ron. “Food Waste Is Becoming Serious Economic and Environmental Issue, Report
Says.” The New York Times. The New York Times, February 25, 2015.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/us/food-waste-is-becoming-serious-economic-and-
environmental-issue-report-says.html.

Palmer, Sharom. “Why Is Food Waste an Environmental Problem?” Sharon Palmer, The Plant
Powered Dietitian, October 13, 2020. https://sharonpalmer.com/food-waste-a-serious-
problem-for-the-21st-century/.

“Two-Thirds of Food Wasted at Home in Three Major U.S. Cities Is Edible.” NRDC, October
25, 2017. https://www.nrdc.org/media/2017/171024-0.

“UN: 17% of All Food Available at Consumer Levels Is Wasted.” UN Environment, 2022.
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-17-all-food-available-consumer-
levels-wasted.

“UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021.” UNEP(UN Environment Programme), n.d.
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2021.

Welle, Deutsche. “Total Amount of Global Food Waste Remains Unclear, New UN Report
Reveals.” EcoWatch, December 10, 2021. https://www.ecowatch.com/global-food-waste-
un-report-2650921184.html.

Welsh, Teresa. “UN Report: Countries at All Income Levels Waste Food.” Devex, March 4,
2021. https://www.devex.com/news/un-report-countries-at-all-income-levels-waste-food-
99323.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The thesis examines the studies about the actual condition of food waste and explores potential solutions through utilizing the design thinking process. As the food waste problem exacerbates, many organizations are participating in a movement to halve global food waste. Not only is food waste a cause of a social, humanitarian, and ecological problem, but also it significantly affects the environment with its greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, biodiversity loss, and water scarcity. By incorporating analytical/synthetic thinking processes and various methodologies, I have built operable and inclusive design solutions that are accessible to all users who wish to tackle the problem. With a sustainable mind, I aimed to create a design system that provides applicable methods to solve the food waste problem, promoting environmental and social values.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Designing with the moon as inspiration

PDF

Lost and found: escape from the longing past towards the uncertain future of art and design

PDF

Mobile applications as a communication space: playdate application case study

PDF

Existence and response: living in quarantine during a pandemic

PDF

Sustainable fabrication: the development of bio textiles as a call to action

PDF

Bento: space design

PDF

Past imagination, present creation and the reality of tomorrow: explore the impact of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) design

PDF

The strain I am under: the human condition and its effects on my design process

PDF

Digital pollution: social media's carbon footprint

PDF

Designing a personal narrative through collaged mass-market images: traditional collage and digital collage

PDF

Game character design and cultural export

PDF

The application of photography technology in modern graphic design: the beauty of astrophotography

PDF

Object stories for social connectivity: a digital service that improves social interactions through object’s storytelling

PDF

Pushing design limits: expanding boundaries of graphic design

PDF

The daily life of nervous boy "Y": information visualization with multi-sensory design

PDF

Accept yourself, respect yourself, love yourself: a film letter to myself

PDF

Revving up: exploring the intersection of automobile racing and graphic design

PDF

Behind the tea: Chinese history and the culture of tea

PDF

Dark cloud cleaner: virtual reality interactive film production

PDF

Design for the outdoor experience

Asset Metadata

Creator Lee, Soo Ji (author)

Core Title Foodable: a voice to fight food waste with digital design solutions and sustainable minds

School Roski School of Art and Design

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Design

Publication Date 03/10/2022

Defense Date 03/09/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag branding,digital design solution,food donation,food waste,global environmental issue,grocery shopping application,landfill dependency,OAI-PMH Harvest,sustainability,sustainable mind,user experience design

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Wojciak, Ewa (committee chair), Ellenburg, Jason (committee member), Greiman, April (committee member)

Creator Email soojilee@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC110816148

Unique identifier UC110816148

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Lee, Soo Ji

Type texts

Source 20220321-usctheses-batch-916 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu