The taste of waste: reclaiming and sharing rotten food among squatters in London

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes consumption practices and dumpster diving among squatting communities in London. By rejecting the cultural environment which endorses rules of production and distribution of goods, squatters choose to consume food that has already been expelled by the mainstream economic system. Appealing to recent scholarship in this field, the way in which food is transformed and recategorized compels us to rethink Lévi-Strauss’s culinary triangle. Food items, once fallen into the category of rotten, acquire new values and even change their properties from the squatters’ perspective, redefining not only what is good to eat, but also what is considered ethical and acceptable. Drawing upon classical literature engaging with theories of value in anthropology, I will show how political tastes interact and sometimes contradict individual tastes and desires. Moreover, I will analyze how reclaimed food items are reinserted into an exchange network that reflects the political values and objectives of the social actors.