How will contemporary forces for social justice in food supply influence the kitchen of the future in the United States?
The interest in social justice in food preparation and supply is of growing concern in the United States, and as social awareness of issues related to the ramifications of food consumption inequalities increases, nationwide changes in consumer behavior are beginning to emerge. From an evidence based design perspective, the influence that awareness of the social justice of food preparation and supply will have on interior design is becoming more readily apparent. Let’s start with some evidence.
This spring, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution aired on prime-time network television squarely addressing the issue of obesity and inadequate food preparation standards within the American public school system. The resulting message is the need for citizens to take personal responsibility for their eating choices, which strongly emphasizes selecting fresh produce and avoiding processed foods, and as a result, better manage their health.
Since the 2008 Presidential election, the government’s involvement (and intense public scrutiny) in regulating and managing spiraling health care costs have been front and center, with Congress officially passing a universal health care reform Bill. Under public discussion have been the facts that closely associated with the increasing costs of health care are the rising incidents of frequently nutrition related forms of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer, particularly among the poor.
The International Labor Office of Geneva requested research on how well humans eat during working hours, and the result was the 2005 publication of Food at Work: Workplace Solutions for Malnutrition, Obesity and Chronic Disease. The book’s findings, even in developed nations, are not encouraging. The book makes a clear case for the importance of a proper diet and adequate time and access to nutrition for ensuring productivity health among the labor force. Interesting points that are being monitored by businesses, governments and citizens alike include:
- In 2001, non-communicable diseases contributed to about 46 per cent of the global disease burden and 60 per cent of all deaths worldwide, with cardiovascular disease alone amounting to 30 per cent of deaths (WHO, 2002a, p. 188). The global disease burden from non-communicable diseases is expected to climb to 57 per cent by 2020 (WHO, 2003b, p. 4).
- In the United States, the total cost attributable to obesity calculated for 1995 amounted to US$99.2 billion (Wolf and Colditz, 1998)
- Studies have shown that obese workers are twice as likely as fit workers to miss work (Wolf and Colditz, 1998).
In the James Beard Award winning book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, author Michael Pollan observes that rather than eating food, Americans are consuming food substitutes that offer very little in the way a genuine nutrition. He also recognizes that 40 years ago suggesting people eat fresh produce as opposed to processed food would have been difficult as the means for people to acquire fresh from the farm items was very difficult. Today however is different, and Americans do have choices, are being encouraged by media to pursue these fresh food options, and in fact are, in ever growing numbers.
Celebrities and media personalities are also spreading awareness about the importance of organic eating. Sting and Trudie Styler have invested heavily over the last decade in Lake House Farm, a country retreat that has achieved certified organic farm status by the UK’s Soil Association. They published a cook book that not only offers healthy recipes and cooking advice, but tells the story of the making of the farm and offers instructions for not just certifying an organic fruits and vegetables garden, but also advises on how to organically raise livestock, make cheese and keep bees.
Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart, the two most wide-reaching communicators of influential home and lifestyle trends in America, continually run programming about organic cooking and healthy diet options, and even offer suggestions for environmentally conscious cooking equipment. In Oprah’s case, her interest in the matter included collaboration with Dr. Oz as her featured health expert. In 2009, out of interest and popularity, Dr. Oz was given his own TV show, dedicated to healthy lifestyle and medicine.
At the grassroots level, there is Slow Food USA. Founded in 1986, and now with over 80,000 members in 100 countries, Slow Food USA is a non-profit organization that believes food is a common language and universal right. Slow Food USA envisions a world in which all people can eat food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it and good for the planet. In essence, food that is good, clean and fair. Their appearance in the media and membership is on the rise.
I hope the evidence has you thinking. Let’s get to design. Clearly, as the media, government, private organizations and consumer advocates continue to push for greater access to fresh, clean, and organically produced food items, Americans at all income levels are continuing to change and refine their views toward food and food preparation. Here are some of my opinions on how this renewed interest in fresh produce and healthy cooking practices will influence interior designers and kitchen design over the coming years.
Whether you are working on a new construction project or an existing kitchen renovation, careful planning will be as important as ever, and the skills of talented interior designers will be much in demand. Interviewing clients to help them determine exactly what organic, clean, fresh, at home preparation of food means to them and then interpreting their needs and desires into their ideal kitchen will remain the starting point. For some clients, creating a kitchen that will process fresh produce will mean spending even more time in the kitchen and experiencing the joys of cultural exchange and togetherness. For others, appliances and storage systems that provide for healthy eating without a lot of time spent in the process is the ideal solution as they prefer a kitchen that frees their time for other cultural activities such as sports and travel. Top interior designers will know when and how to achieve results at either end of the kitchen use spectrum.
For the last 15 years there has been a strong trend for open kitchens, center islands and peninsulas that share space with living areas and family rooms (predominantly, U, L, G-shaped or completely open plan designs). However, food preparation is one form of shared interaction and the consumption of food and entertaining is another. As Americans rely on their own cooking skills more and more, then the desire for of a separate or more elaborate space for dining and entertaining is a trend that should be anticipated.
All of the above mentioned plans suggest specific power and water supply locations as well as zones of preparation and action. As healthy eating transcends from what is being consumed to include the entire process of how one prepares food, issues such as process, ergonomics and accessibility will further influence kitchen layout and design. For example, workspaces that include preparation sinks that enable not just cutting, chopping, and rinsing, but immediate waste disposal, which is simultaneously organized for composting, will become more desirable. Other more radical design options include food preparation islands that integrate energy and waste management systems such as the recently developed Ekokook from French design firm Faltazi. With Ekokook, one only needs to locate the device in a room to create a kitchen.
In addition, 24 in deep counters are the industry standard today. However, 27.5 in deep counters that allow for appliances while maintaining workspace will rise in popularity. No doubt as designers, we will be avidly researching and finding innovative ways to incorporate items such as appliances operated at waist level, cushioned flooring, seated work spaces, step stools and low energy lighting into our designs.
Kitchen and appliance manufacturers already offer a myriad of options for us as designers to co-ordinate, and healthy eating will continue to drive complexity of choice. Whether a client is tracking their nutrition and cooking needs by hand, on the computer or through smart appliances that notify when groceries are needed, where, how and for how long these items will need to be stored, will have to be dealt with and space planned effectively. And as mentioned previously, as the ritual of dining becomes more important to people, clients will desire and need to store increasing amounts of tableware that expresses their lifestyle and personality.
For these reasons, I anticipate sophisticated case good systems at the high end of the market, will begin to be offered at mass. These user friendly systems will enable clients to do more in terms of storing food items prior to and post-preparation, handling waste removal and recycling efforts and managing table top and dinnerware storage within smaller amounts of space and on a budget.
An additional benefit of sophisticated case good design is its inherent ability to enable mini-renovations and makeovers over the useful life of kitchen ownership. For instance, cupboard shelves are designed to handle the needs of parents with small children, and then when the children enter their teen years, units can be changed out to handle larger volumes of food and their extra-hands/time in the kitchen. Finally, when the children move out, the cupboards can be retrofitted yet again to suit other interests such as a wine collection. This option for pre-meditated, managed change will undoubtedly be of interest to clients.
Overall, the push for social justice in food supply and preparation is advancing to the point that Americans are asking themselves what can I do differently and what can I do even better to enhance the quality of my and my family’s life while simultaneously improving the planet. The choice of what one eats goes hand and hand with how one eats, and interior designers will continue to play a vital and exciting role in helping to define how at home cooking and dining will happen in the future.
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