Mobile Applications for Sustainable Food Consumption
David Kjelkerud, student within the project Persuasive services, presents his thesis “Lost in the Supermarket – Mobile Applications for Sustainable Food Consumption” on November 18, 2009 at KTH.
Abstract
Food production and consumption has a major impact on the environment. In the last years the awareness of this issue has been growing both in the media and among consumers. Research shows that 25% of Swedes’ greenhouse gas emissions comes from food consumption. This thesis is concerned with how mobile technology can help individuals to change to sustainable eating habits, specifically through persuasive applications. The research is focused around two prototypes: Fisk.cc, a seafood buying guide and Green Recipes, a mobile cookbook with sustainable recipes. The applications were developed and tested during the research. The thesis discusses the design of mobile applications for sustainable eating from three aspects: Social interaction design in persuasive applications, motivating users to change behavior and need for environmental data. The report concludes with four questions that serve as guidelines for development.