Eva Ng Design

Overview:

Systemically investigate the food cost and food supply issues during COVID-19 from trade policy, production governance, prep-food sales and distribution to consumption in order to understand problems and system stakeholders.

Project Timeframe:

3 weeks in Sept 2020

Interesting Note:

During this project, I helped explain multiple stakeholder possibilities in complex issues like COVID19. I also explained why we need a matrix to rank stakeholders' various needs in Design Thinking collaboratively for consent while framing and during solution validation.

It is a system issue with layers

Additional facts:

1. ● Before COVID-19, food producers had increased access to international markets due to trade liberalization. (1)“As the volume of food traded increases, there is greater potential for exposing consumers in one country to the problems that can occur in another country.”(Kenny, n.d.) The food system was not ready for a pandemic.


2. ● Meat plants infections happened worldwide. “… a chicken processing site in Anglesey, where more than 150 workers have become infected with Covid-19, and plants in Wrexham and West Yorkshire. There have also been major outbreaks in Germany, France, Spain and the US.”(Reuben, 2020) “In Cleckheaton, northern England, 165 workers tested positive for Covid-19 at the Kober meat factory.”(Stewart, Kottasová, & Khaliq, 2020)


3. ● Meat plants became the perfect place for COVID-19 because (6)“[workers] get infected with coronavirus from droplets, which may be coughed, sneezed or exhaled by an infected person… Factories and, in particular, indoor areas which are cold and damp, are perfect environments for coronavirus to linger and spread. […] Another possible factor in these refrigerated workplaces is noisy machinery, which requires people to talk more loudly or shout, which can increase the spread of infected droplets.”(Reuben, 2020) (8)“Studies have shown the virus can survive for up to three days on plastic and stainless steel surfaces, materials that are common in food processing plants. In aerosol form, it can remain viable and infectious for hours.”(Stewart, Kottasová & Khaliq, 2020)


4. ● The physical space at meat plants also contributed to the virus spreading. An expert said, (6)“it is difficult to keep workers two metres apart when they are working on fast-moving production lines, and the absence of daylight may also help the virus to survive. [On top of that,] some of these factories have on-site or nearby accommodation where there are several people in each dormitory. They may be transported on a bus to the site of work, and they will be indoors together all day, said Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton.”(Reuben, 2020)


5. ● “The survey by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce found that 29 per cent of food service businesses can’t operate with social distancing in effect and 31 percent of food service businesses say they can only operate with social distancing for 90 days. The chamber says that mean that 60 per cent of Canadian restaurants could fail within three months. … 1.2 million Canadians are employed in the restaurant industry with an annual payroll of $30 billion.”(Foran, 2020)


6. ● During COVID-19’s different levels of lock-down, economic are quickly impacted and jobs are quickly being eliminated to cope with cost and uncertainty. The restaurant industry at the lowest spectrum of the food supply chain had one of the biggest hits. Lockdown and the increase of public health practice (social distancing at food processing) also made food costs increase.


7. ● Globally, “while world food stocks and production levels for the most widely consumed staples — rice, wheat and maize — are at or near all-time highs, and lower prices in principle make food more affordable, the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on jobs and incomes has increased the number of hungry people. According to the World Food Programme’s most recent estimates, 270 million people could be acutely food-insecure by the end of 2020, representing an 82 per cent increase from before the pandemic. Producing and storing enough food is not sufficient if it does not reach those in need. By contributing to the availability and affordability of food, trade remains a crucial part of the solution to countries’ food security concerns — particularly at a moment when people’s incomes are under pressure. It is therefore critical to keep trade flows open, and to ensure that food supply chains stay operational.”(WTO, 2020)

Framing the design arena:

Identify the top stakeholders:

1. 1) International regulators and country-wise governors (ex. World Trade Organization (WTO), World Health Organization (WHO), Codex Alimentarius Commission, Canadian Food Inspection Agency”


2. 2) Provincial and federal Food Producers


3. 3) The small food businesses (in prep-food industry)


4. 4) The non-native immigrant workers & general unemployed

The stakeholders' needs:

Three insights and idealating with hints of Business Thinking:

* another complex issues (Homelessness and gender parity) about COVID19 is available: select here