Through Forks to Fields: Backcasting Workshops in Japan for Designing Sustainable Local Food Systems

This chapter introduces case studies of the backcasting workshop for designing sustainable local food systems in Japan and describes each stage of the co-design process for participants referring to the theoretical frameworks raised by Paul B. Thompson. Backcasting is a method used by participants to envision a sustainable society, support decision making, and promote action. However, there has not been sufficient analysis of case studies on balancing the enthusiasm to actively intervene in society with the prudence that the activity may have unanticipated adverse consequences. Therefore, this chapter analyzes which processes of backcasting triggered participants to focus on the “wicked problem” nature of the issue of sustainable food systems. With feedback from participants of backcasting workshops, we can find four opportunities in this workshop process to encourage our active intervention in local food systems and to make us aware of our potential imperfections: (1) different picture of the ideal food scenario by people living in the same community, (2) common requisites that will become a foothold for collaboration, (3) needs for specific knowledge and information for intervention situations, and (4) various factors surrounding the ideal food scenario. Participants’ comments suggested that the structured approach of backcasting not only identifies points of intervention in reality but also provides an opportunity to be aware of the tragedy and irony inherent in the story, which is caused by potential human imperfections.