ABSTRACT
One of the consequences of the 2008-09 economic crisis has been a growing casualization across the labour market through short-time, zero-hour contracts and other flexible working practices. This has resulted in increased pressure on household budgets, such that opportunities to ‘save’ on food spending – particularly at ‘no-frills’ discount supermarkets, through ‘own-brand’ labels and by eating outside the home (with a steep rise in ‘takeaway’ fast-food outlets) – have been welcomed. It is no coincidence that this period has witnessed, particularly in the UK, an explosion in the number of food banks and other charitable food-provisioning arrangements. Yet alongside changes in the labour market and rising levels of poverty, we also witness an enthusiastic celebration in certain quarters for the emergence of a new ‘sharing economy’, with social entrepreneurs spearheading logistical solutions for a more sustainable future. The prevailing narratives are that of celebration and transformation: fixing an inefficient system that wastes one third of all food produced into a ‘win-win’ solution where food surpluses are channelled to the less fortunate and thereby solving the twin burden of food poverty and food waste in the process. Of course, the fundamentally structural unsustainability of the food system remains unchallenged.
