We are very excited to share that our proposal to present at the "Constructing Social Futures - Sustainability, Responsibility and Power" conference at the University of Turku in June 2019 has been approved! Our paper will be presented by myself, Amy Hosotsuji and my friend and peer Samhita Misra. I feel that our topic touches on themes that may not have been extensively researched previously. We are merging our backgrounds in critical theory, social justice, community or collective democratic processes and trauma-informed healing and organizing. 
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The conference invites an inquiry that really excites me because I think futures thinking is profoundly influential in our we shape our societies, communities and lives. 

E. Todd - December 2018

Part I

Roughly 10,500 years ago humans domesticated wild cattle. The genotype of cattle has been modified more than any other species of domestic livestock. These modifications have enabled us to keep them in a wide variety of conditions and environments, most conducive to the mass production of meat and related byproducts. The modern cattle industry produces about 25 billion pounds of meat each year and is valued at 200 billion dollars. Some of the byproducts include leather, china, glue, film, soap, pharmaceuticals, insulin and gelatin.

There is something fascinating about looking at the past’s vision for the future. We’ve all seen the images of what people in 1900 envision for the year 2000. Perhaps it’s because there are pockets of the future within the confines of that era’s technological milieu. There begins a surreal relationship between the promise of the future and the weight of history.

Take the example of the battle car. The automobile was new and ready to change the world, so some people busied themselves with thinking about its other applications. This prediction came true, of course, and evolved into the modern-day war tank. Autonomous cars are undergoing a similar process, with Ikea imagining alternative uses for the interior.

But how do these ideas come to be? One way is through patents.