Book chapter: Sharing foodscapes: Messy ethnographies

Published by SHARECITY on the 14th August 2018.

Book chapter in: Plows (ed.) 2018: Messy Ethnographies in Action, Vernon Press: Wilmington, DE. 978-1-62273-329-3. pp 167-175

Abstract

Food sharing practices, including food sharing mediated by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), are evolving across urban foodscapes globally. Using ethnographic case studies of ICT-mediated food sharing, this chapter explores the ways in which food sharing has developed in Singapore and connects with, or diverges from, broader narratives and practices around the smart governance of food in the city-state. This chapter first reflects on the methodological messiness inherent in researching social phenomena, such as food sharing, in different political and socio-cultural contexts. It is then argued that the milieu of food sharing itself is ‘messy’ as it includes a diverse range of practices and participants that ebb and flow over time and space connected through both physical spaces and virtual platforms. The research presented in this chapter highlights community actions related to food sharing that point towards a new understanding of what it might mean to transition towards a smarter and more sustainable city.

Please cite this book chapter as:

Rut, M. and Davies, A.R. (2018) Sharing foodscapes: shaping urban foodscapes through messy processes of food sharing, in Plows (ed.) Messy Ethnographies in Action, Vernon Press: Wilmington, DE. 978-1-62273-329-3. pp 167-175

Available from: https://vernonpress.com/book/385