Bad Deal Meals
A story written by Boon during the workshop we ran at IxD21
In a world where*
- Data proves its one-dimensionality and superficiality
- Value is defined by outcomes and potential behavior change
- Power increasingly controlled by data owners and service providers
How does an eating experience look like?
I used to look forward to dinner time, preparing foods I grew up with from back home in Malaysia.
I find it repulsive now that my meals have to inform me of the implications, and that it’s becoming a burden.
The smart tracking dinner plates I’m forced by the council to use are tacky and annoying. If not for the tax benefits I’m getting out of this, I wouldn’t have thought about signing up, and now I’m trying to figure out how to get out of it. There must be a better way to do this.
Sandra, on the other hand, seems to think this is all for the better and enjoys knowing where her limits are with each meal. She doesn’t quite have a strong craving as I do for specific foods, and will quite happily chow down on one of those weekly meal kits that get sent to us by Wholesome, the meal service provider.
But at some point, I don’t see this lasting forever. It’s all too limiting and I’m worried about what kind of implications it will have on our lives when these services have more control over what we eat.
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*the characteristics of this world were collaboratively defined by the team during the workshop. In the following article, you can find more details about the workshop activities.
