Household food waste in domestic gatherings – the negotiation between social and moral duties
ISSN: 0007-070X
Article publication date: 10 April 2023
Issue publication date: 29 August 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The paper investigates household food waste at domestic gatherings. It explains how surplus food and food waste are generated, managed and disposed of at gatherings hosted in homes. It reveals how hosts negotiate their social duties to be generous and moral duties to avoid food waste.
Design/methodology/approach
Twenty-eight in-depth interviews were conducted with female, Saudi citizens and analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke's approach. Goffman's theoretical concepts were deployed later in the analysis process to expose the complex nature of hospitality practices.
Findings
It reveals two main insights. First, the hosts' social duties involve staging the dinner table in line with hospitality norms. Such a staging almost always results in large amounts of surplus, but is necessary to manage guests' impressions and avoid criticism. Second, the enactment of moral and religious beliefs helps to divert surplus food away from waste toward charitable giving and, thence, to other forms of consumption. The findings reveal the social and moral purposes that surplus food serves; it enables people to be generous and charitable.
Practical implications
Such insights provide guidance to practitioners by revealing how providing mechanisms for people to enact their existing moral beliefs can keep surplus food away from the waste stream.
Originality/value
It contributes to the limited food waste literature on domestic gatherings and moral and religious beliefs. Also, using Goffman's concepts adds depth to such an under-theorized area and a new lens to look at food waste-related practices as they are embedded within social interactions.
Keywords
Citation
Aleshaiwi, A. (2023), "Household food waste in domestic gatherings – the negotiation between social and moral duties", British Food Journal, Vol. 125 No. 9, pp. 3272-3287. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-02-2022-0166
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited