Congmin Liang

19:01, Apr 30, 2014

"The fact that similar apps are already on the market and that Google Image API already exists makes this App. fairly simple to realise! Also, simply getting one supermarket to fund, support and produce the App would be a real incentive for them to get on board - being the first to market for repeated consumers, PR and CSR credentials must be a real pull. " It also have a similar apps like Wechat, which is belong to the Tencent that to connect food product and consumption by scan the bar code, and the consumers could even sell their own to others.
Also the sell could even do some promotion on their products to attract more consumers to purchase their products and make a great reputation on the internet. Then through more and more people purchasing, it will also bring more customers and also to produce more kind of products to sell online.

Fei Xin

20:38, Apr 26, 2014

I really like this idea. Building 'Transparency' App can let people know the food which factory production? know the food production process and which supermarket will be delivery? Besides, people also can check whether the food is fresh, and it will not be harmful to people's health. In addition, the 'Transparency' app is a very convenient system for people, which can be downloaded at any time in the mobile phone, so people could scan the food to know the food souces and more informations. Nowadays, it is very useful for people. Because more and more people pursue to eat fresh food and have healthy body. So I will looking forward to know more development about that.

DeletedUser

06:23, Aug 04, 2011

Another hurdle I could see is the quality of information about each product. How much and what ranking would be generated by producers? farmers? users?

DeletedUser

06:18, Aug 04, 2011

I'm in love with this concept. I think the evaluation qualities are mostly right (distance traveled, etc.). I'm on board with some of the folks below about not adding yet another layer--like a QR code--to the food labeling process. Is it possible to add a level to the product's barcode or food label (for fruit)? For example, there are apps-like ShopSaavy--that use existing barcodes to add info.

Anne-Laure Fayard

13:44, Jun 03, 2011

Hi Louise,

This is great news re. the allergens apps. I've sent the link to two grad students (in a creativity elective) who did a project last fall which was the idea to develop an application for vegetarians and people with allergy. It's funny because originally I was a bit skeptical about the needs / demands. :-)
I think it's a great way for you to build upon something already existing.
I agree with you that it's better to start with a restricted amount of information and build up rather than getting people overloaded with information.

I also like your idea to collaborate with people who do engaging graphics.

cheers,

al

DeletedUser

08:25, Jun 01, 2011

Hey Louise!

Great idea and i am sure the amount and level of product details can easily be amplified according to needs.

But, i believe that in this modern world filled with high tech. It is not the technological barriers that we should worry about. But, the question is how would you stimulate people to be drawn to the concept?

This concept has done very well to answer that question. Rather than having a tag on the product, which will only be a fad, the idea of having an online service with several add ons is a great idea!

Coming from a developing country like India, I am tempted to think about the benefit of having price history associated with the concept. I am sure people would love to have an idea of the price movements.

Great Concept!

Big Applause!

Cheers!
Srini

Anne-Laure Fayard

18:50, May 25, 2011

Hi Louise,

I was thinking of you the other day while buying some fruits and vegetables. In one case, the tomatoes were from Holland so I did not buy them... but in other cases, I was not sure where the fruits and vegetables were coming from. I used the difference in prices as a proxy... not really anything new but just to show that you're already having an impact. :-)
cheers,
al

Tom Hulme

02:04, May 25, 2011

Hi Louise

Your concept got a great reception with the workshop participants - everyone agreed that it had the potential to bring communities together and to change eating habits for the good.

One of the participants came from http://foodconnect.com.au/ - we discussed ways of setting up the simplest possible trial with him. We wondered if we could generate barcodes or QR codes that link straight to his farmers' pages that consumers could scan initially.

For example, you can see a QR code generated by Bit.ly at the top right here: http://bit.ly/mf9Kfi+

If it's scanned it would take the user straight to the producer's page: http://bit.ly/mf9Kfi

It could be a fun way to run a trial and start taking steps toward your full service... Congrats on a great concept - I love all of the builds that you have included

Cheers
Tom

DeletedUser

07:38, May 19, 2011

Great idea, by the way. I have spent a lot of time thinking about something similar, so I'd like to help you make it work!

The key to this idea, I think is to be able to provide services to every actor in the supply chain (farmers, vendors, distributers, grocery store, and then consumers). This is because without offering everyone a service, they have no business incentive to: release data for your application/carry products that use your application/actually use your application.

For example, a distributer could use a similar system for their own business operations (visualizing their own supply chain, where they sell, expected traveling costs, etc). Similarly, a farmer could plan who they will sell their produce to, what farmers markets they will go to, how they can maximize their profits (so they can continue operating in the future!)

As your concept mentions, this is also true for the grocery store. If they aren't getting any benefit from the app (or the app is a negative incentive for some products), then they won't include it in their store.

OpenIDEO

22:02, May 23, 2011

Great to see all your iterative goodness playing our here, Louise. There was significant interest in your concept during our workshops at the Ideas Festival in Brisbane. You're updating so fast that many of the kinds of things that were being suggested are being also discussed here and added my you and your virtual team. Loading this kind of information for all products in a supermarket is seen as a challenge. Who would govern and handle this process? How would potential data suppliers be incentivised to take part? (We're noting that Arjan starts to talk about potential partners below) Excited to see what might ensue in the remaining few days of refinement – top job on collaborative concepting!

Johan Löfström

06:18, May 24, 2011

Another aspect of the "energy-use for cooking" is that foodies can create challenges and compete with their friends, like : i spent only "X energy-units" for cooking this whole week, because i ate mainly salad and sandwiches.
( kwh could be too complicated to use , perhaps invent a name/title for this "energy-unit" )

Maybe the power and utility companies would not want to sponsor this electricty-saving scheme, but other organisations would be interested in funding it, perhaps Greenpeace or those lobbyorganisations that are against coal and nuclear power?

DeletedUser

11:07, May 24, 2011

You should start by working with summer camps to pressure their suppliers to be transparent and then offer the kids grocery lists of participating grocery stores/producers for when they go home.

Timothy Li

07:52, Apr 06, 2011

Great concept! What about placing these app tags at the sign. This would reduce se tagging costs esp if food comes in lots from the same farms and picked from the same time. Also what about doing some cool augmented reality stuff (like making signs that are invisible, but when you hover your phone camera over appears next to the stand)? Just a thought!

Arjan Tupan

21:03, May 23, 2011

Hi Louise,
About the possible partners for this concept: I think there are two basic angles to look at it. First the data collection. For this app to work, you need to have the right data. Possible partners are the Seafood Watch app you mentioned, but also the GoodGuide and the Australian allergen app. Also, you could consider some governmental organisations or food research institutions.
The second angle would be implementation partners. I would start with a supermarket chain that has a proven track record in sustainability. But maybe producers associations or the Farmers' Markets Association (I believe there is such a thing in Australia) could be good partners for this app.
Hope my 2 cts add something :)

DeletedUser

07:43, May 19, 2011

Another idea: allow consumers to have their own account. This way, they can login to a web site and look at/analyze their past purchases and make personal goals for their future purchases (like Mint.com). Also, it could allow them to social network with other people (e.g., post about a new product they bought that they loved) and even act as a digital grocery list replacement (i.e., plan for things they want to buy based on what they need).

Johan Löfström

06:52, May 24, 2011

I wrote about some of these related points in Kirks Discover-Card-concept, but I had your concept in my focus at the same time ,so here you go :

Incentivising ideas :
if I did just start to use this App, i would be much more inclined to use more frequently if I could see statistics from the "top 10 users in my region" (perhaps remove identification so you cannot see their names but only their shopping patterns and how much they saved this month and in what proportion they choose local-organic-foreign)

If users could form or join an informal and virtual "group" in their area or with a special interest (see Kiva.orgs user groups) the users can probably on facebook or another social forum give advice to each other on bargains and what time of week it is best to shop, to get freshest produce that just got delivered to their closest shop. (based on delivery routes and gps-markers on what area each customer lives in)

Perhaps getting groups to create informal second-hand-markets for coupons/recipes? and helping eachother out to find temporary bargains? (could become a valuable source of collecting fees to pay for the system)
Making groups compete to get higher energy-efficiency in their kitchens and less fossil-fuels spent on their trips from the stores? Make the store-owners pay for awards and price ceremony? (cheap way for them to get publicity)

Perhaps shop-owners will be able to locate and recognize a couple of the App-users that often recommend certain recipes that require some types of in-season crops that generally are not selling so much, if there was functionality to discover the pattern of these groups, what they recommend to each other. (Identifying who is the early-adopter and spreading the good rumours to many?)
Letting shopowners test new products on these early-adopters? Helping shop buy in temporary big batches of some certain products that the App-users promote amongst themselves to create the buzz and clearing the big batch at a quicker turn-over than the shop would normally have!
Letting chain-stores create competitions to spread information about their best products. Letting them send messages in the App to create more awarenes and motivate more people to become "early-adopters" and enhance the average customers eagerness to test new products.
That is very valueable to chain-stores, and they would definitely profit from this functionality!

I hope you can get something out of all of my last-minute-ideas! :D

Johan Löfström

05:37, May 24, 2011

Hi, if you get this system adapted by only one big food chain, it would be possible to piggyback inside their bar code system, so you don't need printing any extra labels or a huge labelling system. And shops have already routines on adding new products and incuding data inside the bar codes.

If you get a couple of food chains involved there will be a reason for them to use same info of bar codes, (maybe this is already existing as a standard across stores?) but i could see an eventual funding opportunity if this system around the App took over some of the administrative side of bar codes, "out-sourcing" this from the shop-managers, would save them lots of time and energy.
---
And possibly you can add High-tech-features that allow the shops to have alternating prices that change gradually daily or hourly depending on current demand and season and what estimated future demand will be the next few days for this batch of produce (using virtuality inside the App-system)
---
(and by the way, you mention in the last few notes : ad-campaign as promoting the system. Let the stores do the promotion in-store, that is more efficiently. And the stores will get incentive to do marketing campaigs for the system if they see the effect and potential it will have)

If you are lucky and one big food chain sees the huge potential, you could even try to get them to pay a big fee to prevent you from selling it to any of their competitors! :)

DeletedUser

18:43, May 19, 2011

Part II: Perhaps a color coded system that references an "Impact Quotient" as @Russell Jelinek mentioned. The larger issues here are whether to use an adopted standard for the quotient or whether to use an existing standard or use and implement a new standard. At the point of this decision, a different color can be coded to symbolize different parameters. This can be represented in as simple a way as a colored sticker on an item. The original idea of Louise can then play in as the different layers that people can access information as needed at different times. An example is a clerk scanning a barcode and the resulting information of all the cumulative consumer's choices being tabulated into a corresponding (colored) bar graph displayed in view of all check-out stands. This way, it is clear how all the consumers of the particular store are buying without alienating any particular brands but leaving behind a general awareness of the impact based on the parameters set forth. The simpler the better. Red= many miles travelled... down to White= grown very close to home. As mentioned, the standard that defines the quotient can be very simple or can grow to accommodate a more complex set of data. This system is very clear to the entire general public. More complex apps that link your purchases to information regarding length of travel down to "impact of nutrient renewal from rural areas" (@Pete C mentioned) can then be added to a database of information from the barcode scanned. The impact comes from repeated visits and better decision making rather than relying on someone to do all of this research in a shopping environment (as mentioned in other comments).

DeletedUser

18:18, May 19, 2011

This is a good idea for using current technology to help capture and distribute information in reference to the topic at hand. This idea pre-supposes that anyone/everyone is going to download and use an app. The basis of the idea alienates a very large and important demographic from the process. It seems like it would serve as more of an "A" on the report card of people who already are interested in the topic. I think a very simplified and clear mode of communication will be most effective.

Anne-Laure Fayard

19:12, May 13, 2011

Hi Louise,

very nice idea. Last fall, I had two Indian students in one of my classes (on creativity) who developed the idea of an apps that will allow you to know the exact ingredients in food. Their original issue was because they were vegetarian, but then they extended their concept to allergies (big in the US). So that links to suggestions you have in terms of other types of information you might include.

Yet, this leads to a limitation or constraints: how much information do you want to provide / can you provide? I'm just thinking of the way I do the food shopping. I would not want to spend hours going through tons of data about the products... and based on my observations of people in local grocery stores or at Trader Joe's, a grocery store based in the US (selling a lot of organic products).

Maybe there's a way to think of a first visually simple, user-friendly "overview" and then for people who want to know more they can explore more.

DeletedUser

08:47, May 13, 2011

Hi Louise - great idea...have you come across the Baa-Code?
http://www.icebreaker.com/site/baacode/index.html

might be some learnings, the thinking's far from woolly (sorry)

Louise Wilson

02:39, May 13, 2011

I am totally overwhelmed by the amazing response I've had to this concept (wish I had put more effort into the original sketch now!) - thank you to everyone for your fantastic comments, help, support, thought joggers and builds! Please watch this space for my refinement but please keep your comments coming.

DeletedUser

10:00, May 13, 2011

Hi Louise,
Teriffic concept and excited to follow it in refinement stages.

I wanted to share "The Footprint Chronicles" with you (in case you haven't already seen them). Patagonia's done an amazing job of telling the story of several of its products from design mode to finished product. You may want to check them out: http://www.patagonia.com/us/patagonia.go?assetid=23429

Another website that hits some of the elements of your concept, and touches directly on produce is here: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/resources/fruitveg/fruitveg.php
Perhaps you'll find it helpful! :)

DeletedUser

03:57, May 13, 2011

Hi Louise. Great simple presentation of this idea - sketch is fine as it is ;-)

if you need any ideas for the "back end" systems to make this work, feel free to pick out / build on any of the ideas in my concept which went into more detail as to how to implement this sort of idea for all suppliers and retailers: http://www.openideo.com/open/localfood/concepting/make-product-information-more-accessible-and-useful/

Good luck!

Anuja Singhal

03:54, May 13, 2011

What I love about this idea is that it opens up so many different possibilities. I agree with you Louise on keeping the picture big and clear right now. I love James' break up of the different ideas thrown around in this space (and yes..I love no.4 too!;).

DeletedUser

02:29, May 13, 2011

Great Idea Louise. But few things I thought could be mentioned as well. Recently I was talking to a farmer and he told me there is a certain % of healthy fertilizer or pesticide basically which doesnot have a negative impact on us. Mentioning this kind of information can be great.

One of the ways this can be implemented is targetting biggers super marts first and slowly seeding it to small local markets etc. This kind of information as you mentioned should not spook someone. And, supermarts always have perfect fruits and vegetables so if one was able to trace back those, the choice to eat good and healthy food can be made better.

These are some of my thoughts for now.

OpenIDEO

02:23, May 13, 2011

Way to go on making the Shortlist on the Local Food Challenge! Selecting 20 concepts out of over 600 was a tough job and we're excited to have you move through to the Refinement Phase. You can get a low-down on how the phase works over on Field Notes: http://bit.ly/refine_lowdown

Basically over the next 10 days we'd like you to further fine-tune your idea. You might explore opportunities and challenges to implementation, visualise further, expand on engagement strategies or connect various dots and details that would assist bringing your concept into fruition.

If you hit the Update This button on the right of your post, you'll see we've added 5 new fields to help you refine: Concept Builds, Actions, Project Partners, Funding Sources and Virtual Team. Check them out and feel free to keep updating your post throughout the phase – based on feedback and collaboration with fellow OpenIDEATORS and your own ideating goodness!

James McBennett

10:30, May 12, 2011

Louise, My "life of" idea was all about transparency, feel free to take anything from it.

http://www.openideo.com/open/localfood/concepting/the-life-of-a-___________/

DeletedUser

07:27, May 06, 2011

Hi Louise! This is all really great including the suggestions and comments. As it stands, however, a missing element is the impact of nutrient removal from rural areas or 'asset stripping' of developing countries for what is predominantly urban area nutrient gain. When considering the link between consumption and food production, one should also consider the fact that cycles are open and the nutrients and energy are falling out one end. While this is not a concern to most people, once soils begin to degrade, it becomes a real problem for the producers. Importantly, most of the nutrients concentrated in urban landscapes (from delivered foods) are not recycled, but lost to landfills and aquatic ecosystems. While this is partially addressed through application of fertilizers in developed countries, less developed countries suffer from a continued decline in soil quality and nutrient capital as removals are not matched by inputs. Even in developed countries, nutrient replenishment is normally limited to NPK while micronutrient losses go un-noticed. This is working okay for now, but P resources are dwindling and trace element losses may prove to be crippling in some locations in the long run. Conversley, over application of nutrients in various parts of world to maximize yields (e.g. China) result in high CO2eq emissions and major impacts to marine ecosystems. It is possible to partially estimate this impact in terms of fertilizer demand and associated C emissions, but that assumes that nutrients are being replenished and does not address the other environmental impacts of overapplication.

So, my question, is it possible to have the app provide the user with a more holistic view of such losses above and beyond C emissions? While you will not be able to assess nutrient redistribution (no one is going to have those numbers and the individual buyer scale would be too small to be impressive) the app could provide user with a notion of whether the origin of the produce is from a country that is expressing net nutirent deprivation, balanced nutrient inputs and outputs, or excess nutrient inputs and associated environmental impact. This sort of fits with Pete C's categorization concept. Just a thought!

DeletedUser

00:50, May 03, 2011

The beef industry has been working on this for a long time and it was helped by the establishment of global standards for data and messaging by Meat and Livestock Australia in collaboration with GS1.

I'm unsure what has happened with the technology from the following release, but the advent of smart phones must be able to build on this in a much more dynamic environment.

http://www.optibrand.com/images/Optibrand%20Partners%20with%20Swift%20to%20Deliver%20U.S.%20Beef%20Traceability%20Information.pdf

Jay Vidyarthi

20:45, May 05, 2011

I think this is a fantastic idea. I love the "narrative" element... I think it can be very powerful to tell a story to people. It would be beautiful to see grocery stores or restaurants communicating the faces and processes of the actual farmers and marketing their real food stories.

I think this idea stretches well beyond the app, into basic media portrayal of food service. Applause!! :)

DeletedUser

10:06, Apr 30, 2011

Consider eliminating the need for barcodes with produce and track the origin simply by taking a picture of the fruit or vegetable! Borrowed from the "trace your apple" comments:

http://www.foodquality.com/details/article/1047987/New_Smartphone_Tool_Tracks_Produce_Provenance.html

http://openideo.com/open/localfood/concepting/trace-your-apple/#c-a1023ee9a0c72e99f6fc2dc109be236a

Produce generally has minimal labeling as it is - NEC's concept would eliminate waste generated by paper bar codes or QR codes. Obviously the technology is still in development, but it sounds promising.

DeletedUser

18:58, Apr 24, 2011

(Continued, Part 2)

On supermarkets revealing costs and miles travelled:

No publicly-traded company has ever, to my knowledge, revealed raw accounting costs or logistics data, apart from what is required by legal regulation, or as premium product advertising. I'm not an economist but I assume this is because it would hand all their hard work of maximising profit margins with deal negation and such like efficiency measures to the competition on a platter.

Secrecy is often key to commercial success – Capitalism would need to fundamentally change. If there is ever a good time to disrupt, it is around a recession. There is hope in the OpenSource, OpenGovernmentData, and OpenCourseWare practices which may in time prove to successfully buck the trend. (Maybe the Co-op Food would be interested, as its shareholders – only customers and employees – have a different agenda?)


On information availability:

Supermarkets are just one distribution node of the global commodity value chain. They only know the journey starting with the importer – there's a whole world of warehouses, ships, and opaque bulk importer's sources or methods that supermarkets don't have data on. Traceability (lead by the organisation GS1) is in it's early stages, and each company is keen to keep it's cards close.

Unless we can get every producer, importer/exporter, and retailer to publish or at least collaborate, a large amount of generalisation and estimation will be necessary using existing, and rather generic, government databases on trade and agriculture. Categorisation is key here – if you know about a similar type of product, or a product produced in the same area, the chances are the journey was the same. There are some great ones used in industry, such as the UN WTO's Harmonized System.

DeletedUser

00:50, May 03, 2011

The beef industry has been working on this for a long time and it was helped by the establishment of global standards for data and messaging by Meat and Livestock Australia in collaboration with GS1.

I'm unsure what has happened with the technology from the following release, but the advent of smart phones must be able to build on this in a much more dynamic environment.

http://www.optibrand.com/images/Optibrand%20Partners%20with%20Swift%20to%20Deliver%20U.S.%20Beef%20Traceability%20Information.pdf

DeletedUser

12:08, May 01, 2011

Here's a great start to this concept!

SourceMap - crowdsourcing knowledge on supply chains
http://www.sourcemap.org/

Check out the trace of a Strawberry Yogurt
http://www.sourcemap.org/trace/Strawberry-Yogurt#

DeletedUser

17:48, Apr 16, 2011

Fantastic idea, Louise. I don't have much to add other than mentioning that some kind of scan mechanism could exist within stores to allow customers without smart phones to access the same information.

Also, not sure if this is kosher, but if you need any help in terms of realizing the app visually, I would love to help as a graphic design (student). This is an idea where simplicity and ease of interaction could really knock it out of the park.

Sarah Fathallah

23:47, Apr 26, 2011

Hi Louise! I must admit that I haven't read all the comments below, but I just wanted to add something that might help, on the technical side of things. Lately at StartInParis, there was a start-up that pitched their app called Prixing: http://www.prixing.fr/
The link is in French, but you can understand from the video how it works basically (you scan the bar code of any product, and you can get information on its price, location, ingredients, including the ones that could be toxic or allergenic, etc.). They focus more on the price side of things, but this shows how easy it is to implement your idea: there is a considerable initial work to be done in terms of data collection and building the database first, but once this step is met (it could also be done on a participatory basis, asking producers to enter their products), the app itself is easy to build. Actually, Prixing's API is open-source, and as of what I understood they were open to collaboration, esp. to spread the app geographically.

Arjan Tupan

04:29, Apr 25, 2011

Pete, great sharing of knowledge! Super cool. And some interesting food for thought.
From the picture you sketch, I think it's important to come with disruptive solutions. In terms of simple labeling: if a producer cannot verify or certify where the ingredients come from (or a third party can't), I'd say: slap a 'red' label on the product.
As for standardisation and existing certifications: I think it is important not to reinvent the wheel. Do you have any thoughts on how information from Fair trade and FSC can be incorporated in such an app?

I would agree with you that buy-in from international supermarket holding companies would be helpful, but sometimes it could be even better to amplify consumer demand.
I'll read the article you included in your first comment later, so some of the things might be in there as well.

DeletedUser

18:59, Apr 24, 2011

(Continued, Part 3)

On standardisation and labelling:

Supply chains are not lacking in standards. They require ruthless levels of internationally-recognised detail in order for everything to work smoothly. (cf. organisation GS1). Neither are certification bodies lacking standardisation. Certification bodies fight hard for mind share of their logos. Only a few, like the FSC, FairTrade, and UK's "traffic light" nutritional GDAs have succeeded. By labelling a product as good/bad (eg. by miles travelled) you are effectively starting a new certification organisation. Every certification scheme represents a specific set of values and verification systems. This is not a new phenomenon! The problem is information over-saturation, lack of sharing, lack of human-centred communication, and lack of personalisation to each consumer's priority of ethics.

DeletedUser

19:00, Apr 24, 2011

(Continued, Part 4)

On usability:

I agree, a clean visual symbology and succinct analysis (like the goodguide numbering system) is essential for engaging the casual user.

On accessibility:

Consumers can access the app from home too. All they'd need is a webcam. Most purchases are repeat, so they can decide whether they should buy it the next time. This also allows you to present more detailed reading material about the value chain, such as video documentaries which are not appropriate for hasty and noisy store environments.

James McBennett

21:16, Apr 24, 2011

Great ideas Louise! A similar concept, you might be able to adapt in some of what had been learnt over here.
http://openideo.com/open/localfood/concepting/interactive-shelving/
I particularly like Meena's allergy mode.

Also check out my comments on Tom's Window to the Farm regarding how multiple barcodes could be scanned quickly, and then the gap in time or button being pushed would compare those items. e.g. Quickly scan over four brands of milk and upon a ten second delay, the four items are compared, Distance/Cost/Energy/Allergies and so on......

DeletedUser

18:57, Apr 24, 2011

Louise,

I'm currently in the middle of building a website (inc. mobile UPC scan) which is prettymuch doing exactly what you so excellently propose, only consumer created.

The guy who commissioned me wrote about his grand vision here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/dec/09/global-dependency-content

So, a few quick notes from someone with several months of research…



On supermarket co-operation:

There are millions of food items from millions of locations, transported via millions of routes. And everything is constantly changing. Most of the food consumed is imported.

Getting the multinational supermarket owners involved would make the scope of this project realistic. (There is little worse than a consumer scanning 20 barcodes and only getting information on one.)



On plausible traceability:

Often food is all mixed together. For example, grain from many sources is poured into bulk carriers (ships with one giant hold), loosing all but the most generic national-level (or worse) traceability.

Louise Wilson

15:33, Apr 24, 2011

Thanks for all your comments - I have updated my concept and would love as many comments as possible on this before the concepting phase is up!

DeletedUser

09:58, Apr 24, 2011

This a great concept. I really appreciate the fact that, as Maricarmen pointed out, this would actively encourage suppliers to source locally. This level of transparency allows consumers to push food suppliers to make more local stocking decisions, and food producers to make efforts towards more ethical production practices.

I'm glad to see people working out these kinds of ideas since it's such a great model for empowering the public to make positive change through their individual purchasing decisions.

DeletedUser

14:15, Apr 21, 2011

I love this idea. As food producers we would love it. I posted another concept that would go well with this.

DeletedUser

04:51, Apr 18, 2011

Great idea, Louise. I just posted a similar idea before I saw this of creating labeling to tell the same stories. (http://openideo.com/open/localfood/concepting/print-the-process-on-the-packaging/?status_message=Successfully+Updated)

I love the idea of apps and technology helping us understand our food and where it comes from better. And I think they can be great pieces of a larger solution that also includes lo-tech options that are accessible to all. That said, it might be easier to set up apps like yours before a whole labeling system could be done, so I think it's a great vein to pursue too.

I see a lot of your comments and concepts all around--keep the great ideas coming!

Miles Stahmann

20:05, Apr 10, 2011

This is right on the money. Transparency will be key in a market where many times the farmer doesn't know what the final price or final product of what he produced is. I look to two companies that I feel have made some progress on this front: Sustainable Harvest with their coffee http://www.sustainableharvest.com/relationship-coffee/ and Taza Chocolates http://www.tazachocolate.com/ where you can enter the batch number on your bar and see how it was made. I agree with Sean that it would work well with product that is already certified since they already have some infrastructure to capture that story.

DeletedUser

20:43, Apr 10, 2011

I love this idea Louise! It not only informs the end consumer, but also obligates the companies to think about their footprint and make that information accountable and accesible to the end user. I wonder who could objectively develop the app for the companies, trying to be as transparent as possible?

DeletedUser

17:13, Apr 11, 2011

Awesome idea Louise! I know from several supermarket chains in Europe that they stating the Name and address of the farmers where the meat is coming from. Your App would just go one step further and could link the meat with useful or interesting information. I think this should especially developed for organic food so that people know why they are paying more.

Louise Wilson

08:05, Apr 06, 2011

Hi Timothy, you are right, it would probably be best if the tag was at the sign.... and I love the idea of the tag not being visible until the camera is placed over it! Great ideas, thanks

Timothy Li

07:52, Apr 06, 2011

Great concept! What about placing these app tags at the sign. This would reduce se tagging costs esp if food comes in lots from the same farms and picked from the same time. Also what about doing some cool augmented reality stuff (like making signs that are invisible, but when you hover your phone camera over appears next to the stand)? Just a thought!

Louise Wilson

00:44, Apr 06, 2011

Thanks Danielle and Sean. I feel a 1.2 version coming on already!

Sean Hewens

12:24, Apr 05, 2011

This is a great concept and might work very well with the "Certification Scheme" concept that I posted a bit earlier along the lines of the organic approval process currently in use. http://openideo.com/open/localfood/concepting/wage-livable-certification-scheme-/

As one of your hurdles, you mentioned the "standardization" of information. It would be helpful to study the USDA organic certification procedure, not so much for the substance of what is being certified, but the process that was used to impose the evaluation criteria.

Additionally, I wonder if at a certain point, customers will not have the time to do the research on every article of food they are placing in their cart. Instead, this information should be available when they want to access it via the app, but more generally the graphics / icons that you envision can be glanced at and impart the bulk of the knowledge at a glance. As an example, an iPhone app user could learn that a particular ear of corn was harvested in Wisconsin on April 4th and traveled to Chicago on April 10th, along with a whole host of other information. However, a simple glance at the simple graphic / icon you mentioned would pass along the knowledge that the corn was grown locally and organically by a farmer receiving fair price for the crop, presumably enough information to make a purchasing decision.

DeletedUser

12:04, Apr 05, 2011

You could also include nutritional information since we don't get to have those handy nutritional labels on things like produce and meat.

Louise Wilson

09:57, Apr 05, 2011

oooh, lovely builds, Johan. I'll have a good think about how best to incorporate your comments. Thanks

Johan Löfström

09:51, Apr 05, 2011

Lovely. And since sometimes the most carbon emissions in food chain can be from the customers own car, you must also give options to people to calculate and show included in the totals depending on if they walked, took their bicycle, car or a bus home from the shop. (see also Carpool2Food)

And sometimes the energy and time needed to cook your food is vital to the final overall costs. If it is deep-frozen meat it takes many times longer to prepare than a tuna-salad-sandwich.
So perhaps it is relatively simple to add recommended cooking method and time, temperature in this bundle of info? ( see also http://www.appropedia.org/Updated_cooking_methods_in_modern_kitchens )

Arjan Tupan

08:47, Apr 05, 2011

Well... I think especially items that combine several ingredients in them could be good targets. How many miles have the ingredients travelled combined to the site of production, and then from the site of production to the store. That would mean that the app would also have a GPS reading in it, so that it can calculate the last miles.
It would be a very good add to the GoodGuide app that already exists as well.
Great thinking, Louise!