User research to design a more-than-human food commons

Sacks, Justin (2022) User research to design a more-than-human food commons. In: DRS2022 Bilbao: Design Research Society Conference 2022. DRS2022 Bilbao: Design Research Society Conference 2022 . Design Research Society, ESP. ISBN 9781912294572

Abstract

The way humans approach food systems not only affects our survival but also creates or destroys futures for humans and nonhuman species alike. Rooted in a rights-based approach, food as a commons offers an important and robust economic alternative to food as a commodity. The commons literature also struggles with anthropocentrism, however, particularly the recognized analytical frameworks used by scholars that classify nonhuman nature as inputs. How can user research tools support communities to create a more-than-human food commons that treats nonhuman nature as equal actants? This paper responds to this question by adapting two user research tools to support a community to create the building blocks of a food commons with nonhuman nature as equal actants. These user research tools are tested in a workshop with commons scholars to assess how well they support more-than-human thinking against recognized commons analytical frameworks.