Abstract
Hong Kong’s urban food system produces 3,600 tonnes of waste a day while 20 per cent of its population face food insecurity. In this article, I argue that waste, as matter out of place, is produced by temporal systems of enclosure—accumulation, either through hoarding, stockpiling or proprietorship, restricts access and circulation leading to decay and waste.
Food rescue, the repurposing of surpluses to be distributed to the society’s vulnerable population, has been hailed as a solution that contributes both to environmental protection and poverty alleviation. However, the temporal and dispersed nature of surplus food make logistics the greatest challenge in food rescue.
In this chapter, I explore the becomings of commercial food, attending to its temporal specificities by approaching the question of food waste as matter out of time. I will also present Breadline, a web application developed as part of my action research, to demonstrate an ICT-enabled solution that tackles the temporal and spatial challenges of food rescue.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Temporalities of Waste |
| Subtitle of host publication | Out of Sight, Out of Time |
| Editors | Fiona Allon, Ruth Barcan, Karma Eddison-Cogan |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Chapter | 1 |
| Pages | 21-35 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Edition | 1st |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781000209075, 9780429317170 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780367321796 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 29 Oct 2020 |
Publication series
| Name | Routledge Environmental Humanities |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Routledge |
Scopus Subject Areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Environmental Science(all)
- Social Sciences(all)
- Engineering(all)
