Foodwaste in Denmark. PHOTO: Thor Nielsen/CC BY-NC-SA
Food waste activists are creating a climate-friendly and socially just economic model without the need for large financial capital. They achieve this by treating their activities as a commons for food, according to a new licentiate thesis.
Our current food system generates significant greenhouse gas emissions due to factors like land use requirements, but production also contributes to other types of environmental problems such as eutrophication. The food system also leads to social injustice, where some people do not have access to enough calories or nutrition while others have access to too much.
Food as a Commons
Researchers believe that viewing food as a commons—resources shared by the entire public—could help address the food system’s issues. One way to that food commons are being explored is through food sharing. Food sharing involves activists collecting food waste from stores with the store’s cooperation. They take what they want and can use, and then give the rest to others who need the food. This requires little to no funding. A new licentiate thesis from KTH explores how food sharing can pave the way for an alternative economic model that respects the planet’s boundaries and each individual’s right to food.
Food waste activists in Gothenburg
Naomi Cherie Lipke, the researcher behind the study, has investigated how a group of food waste activists in Gothenburg operate, using methods such as interviews and participant observation in food sharing. The activists collect food waste from a variety of different locations each week and deliver it to roughly the same number of places. The food-sharing organization has both environmental and social goals for its activities. During the case study, several surprising aspects emerged.
– I was surprised by how much food is discarded and how intense the food sharing work can be, especially if you are carrying the food or cycling with it. Another thing I hadn’t considered was how necessary free infrastructure and public spaces are to making it possible,” says Naomi Cherie Lipke.
Alternative organizations can be more deliberately designed
The conclusion is that organizations operating without funding and using simple digital tools can effectively collect and distribute food waste.
– Alternative economies that are more deliberately designed can offer benefits without large financial investments. I believe this could also apply to community gardening initiatives or small organizations working with emergency preparedness,” says Naomi Cherie Lipke.
LICENTIATE THESIS:
Read the whole thesis here.
CONTACT:
Naomi Cherie Lipke
naomilipke@gmail.com
