Transforming India’s Food systems
Suparna and Her Team at Woodapple collaborated with Government of India body FSSAI as Design Thinking Partners, to help them become a top-visionary for the Rockefeller Food System Vision 2050 from a pool of more than 1,300 applicants across 110 countries.
The ‘Better food for better lives for one sixth of the world population by 2050’ was amongst top 10 finalists. The award winning entries from Canada, China, India, Kenya, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, and the U.S were based on their potential to inspire real, positive and bold transformation of food systems by 2050.
The design head, Joy Banerjee shares “we used design thinking to capture a very large data, numerous opinions and cases to synthesise it into a viable vision. Secondly we designed and visualised parts of the future solutions like credit based economic models, packaging stickers, community-based local food ecosystems, integration of traditional knowledge with new technologies amongst other things” These conversations helped capture public perception on present food system challenges and free flowing new ideas and action plans.
What emerged from the collective brainstorming with Joy, Suparna and Woodapple Team were funnelled as vital inputs into building futuristic scenarios. The exercise culminated in a utopian visioning ‘A day in the life’ concept involving various actors in the food system, interconnecting the diverse themes with futuristic technologies and ancient food system practices.
"Design thinking is essentially a human-centered approach to problem solving. Globally, businesses, not-for-profits and governments are increasingly applying design methodologies to find solutions to modern day problems. Key elements in this thinking process includes empathy, listening and iteration to tune in to the needs of the user.
According to Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation