Abstract
In 2005, the global adult biomass hit around 287 million metric tons, 15 million metric tonnes of which being caused by an overweight global population (a body mass of 25 or greater). As the worlds population continues to soar (the UN estimates the world population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050) there will be considerably more mouths to feed, and energy needed to sustain this rate of development. Paradoxically then, fat is both a waste of resources and a valuable resource in its own right. The Fat Factory is a Critical Design Research project investigating the full, untapped potential of fat. Developing a critical approach to this topic, we investigate whether a research based, analytical design process can lead to truly innovative design solutions. What if we stop thinking of fat as abhorrent or waste? What if we learn to love fat?
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2013.059
Citation
Thompson, M.,and Arets, D.(2013) The Fat Factory: Chewing the fat, in Brandt, E., Ehn, P., Degn Johansson, T., Hellström Reimer, M., Markussen, T., Vallgårda, A. (eds.), Nordes 2013: Experiments in design research, 9 - 13 June, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen and Malmö University, Malmö, Denmark, Sweden. https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2013.059
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
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The Fat Factory: Chewing the fat
In 2005, the global adult biomass hit around 287 million metric tons, 15 million metric tonnes of which being caused by an overweight global population (a body mass of 25 or greater). As the worlds population continues to soar (the UN estimates the world population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050) there will be considerably more mouths to feed, and energy needed to sustain this rate of development. Paradoxically then, fat is both a waste of resources and a valuable resource in its own right. The Fat Factory is a Critical Design Research project investigating the full, untapped potential of fat. Developing a critical approach to this topic, we investigate whether a research based, analytical design process can lead to truly innovative design solutions. What if we stop thinking of fat as abhorrent or waste? What if we learn to love fat?