Overview
Meet Connected Food - our way of questioning the future of the food system: how populations will adapt, what technologies will support it, and how the system as a whole might continue to function.
We have been exploring all of this through a series of initiatives aimed at provoking the right questions about possible and probable futures for the food system, and working with experts across the sector to add meaningfully to the debate.
These questions form the backdrop to our exploration:
We have been exploring all of this through a series of initiatives aimed at provoking the right questions about possible and probable futures for the food system, and working with experts across the sector to add meaningfully to the debate.
These questions form the backdrop to our exploration:
- Is technology the answer to creating a sustainable and resilient food system?
- Climate change is transforming our planet; the human population is increasing; soil health is diminishing: how can we act now and change things for the better?
- The way we produce, distribute and consume our food needs to change radically - but how?
Offerings
Speculative Design
Research & Insights
Industrial Design
Product Design
Brand Design
Design Technology
"I hope Method's provocations and vision of how to approach the future inspire us all to think and act differently and continue to work towards the goals we have set ourselves as an industry."
Bringing a community together to envision potential Net Zero futures
COMMUNITY
Method had the privilege of running an exclusive event for a renowned agri-tech global innovation hub Agri-TechE, a community for farmers, growers, scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs. Our goal was bold and simple: how might we design a better net-zero carbon future by 2040, and how might it look? The event was both inspirational and practical, helping us not just envision but start to think about how we might collaborate to achieve our net-zero goals.
A key part of the event was inspiring participants to think very differently, partly through the creation of 'artefacts from the future' that brought to life how we might work in this sector in different ways. From gene-edited extinct breed sausages, to shopping receipts containing future carbon and water taxes, to bespoke tailored ag-chem solutions.
A key part of the event was inspiring participants to think very differently, partly through the creation of 'artefacts from the future' that brought to life how we might work in this sector in different ways. From gene-edited extinct breed sausages, to shopping receipts containing future carbon and water taxes, to bespoke tailored ag-chem solutions.
The meeting place of data, AI and sustainable agriculture
TECHNOLOGY
A key moment in our Connected Food initiative was our experiment in building a hobbyist version of a Personal Food Computer (PFC). The Method PFC is an AI-powered, tabletop hydroponic system - our contribution to a growing network of future farmers and ag-hackers. Designed not as a product for market release, it is rather a provocation to help frame discussions around our near future and the the implications of data-driven food production and urban / vertical farming.
It uses open access climate recipes that codify the growing process of a crop to help improve various aspects of food production: from testing the efficacy of a crop for new climatic conditions without having to commit an entire field, to growing food at home tailored to your specific needs.
It uses open access climate recipes that codify the growing process of a crop to help improve various aspects of food production: from testing the efficacy of a crop for new climatic conditions without having to commit an entire field, to growing food at home tailored to your specific needs.
Making is learning
APPROACH
We built the Method Personal Food Computer with a set of core principles: use fewer resources, enable modularity, and make things simple. We used up-cycled and local materials to reduce the amount of new resources needed for the build. We designed modular components for easier adaptation, extending the product lifespan. We also switched to more common components to make it more accessible for hobbyists. We’ve open-sourced the documentation to the mPFC for free public access.
Commercial applications of Speculative Design - a new tool for strategic decision making
ENGAGEMENT
The PFC was showcased at the Barbican Centre’s AI: More Than Human exhibition in Summer 2019 and featured on CNBC.
To engage the general public and promote debate, Method created the Food Assembly – a three-day immersive exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London exploring the future of food and our agricultural system.
Part of the Life Rewired season, the Food Assembly was featured on BBC Click’s Future Food TV programme and Farming Today Radio show, and received an honourable mention from Creative Review for Design, Installations and Exhibitions.
The Food Assembly explored three radical food futures that took the form of three communities housed in their own market stall, each posing a different food production challenge and a corresponding solution.
To engage the general public and promote debate, Method created the Food Assembly – a three-day immersive exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London exploring the future of food and our agricultural system.
Part of the Life Rewired season, the Food Assembly was featured on BBC Click’s Future Food TV programme and Farming Today Radio show, and received an honourable mention from Creative Review for Design, Installations and Exhibitions.
The Food Assembly explored three radical food futures that took the form of three communities housed in their own market stall, each posing a different food production challenge and a corresponding solution.
Food futures
Future 1
Urban Food Support exists in an era of mass urbanisation and the collapse of any reliable food system. The world’s urban citizens look to themselves to produce their food, but lack of expertise and governance has given rise to coercion. Would you rely solely on your neighbors to grow the food you eat?
Future 2
Me&I, a technology-first food supplier that believes in hyper-personalized nutrition, offers subscription-based genetically-engineered meals. Would you relinquish control over what you eat with the promise of longevity?
Future 3
The Fairness Co-op is a local organization seeking solve the resource crisis of our 10 billion-person planet. They believe that a fair and equal lifestyles lies in ensuring we all eat the same thing: MonoMeal™. Would you give up culinary diversity to ensure complete fairness?