Practising Thrift at Dinnertime: Mealtime Leftovers, Sacrifice and Family Membership

Abstract

Exploring our relationship with mealtime leftovers tells us a lot about not only our relationships with waste, but with one another, in the home. In our study of British mealtimes we explore how leftovers are transformed and reused as meals. We refer to theories of disposal in exploring the skills involved in transforming leftovers. We also explore the motivations behind these transformations. Drawing on the work of Miller (1998) we examine how the reuse of leftovers involves sacrifice by individual family members for the greater good of the whole family. We also find that reusing and eating up leftovers involves a collective sacrifice by family members which marks out their membership to the family unit.

Consumer-Related Food Waste: Causes and Potential for Action

“…For example, consumers experience the inconvenience connected to avoiding food waste and have the wish to be a "good" food provider for the family (ensuring all member's wishes and tastes are satisfied, potentially on the expense of cooking too much, allowing pickiness or throwing undesired leftovers out; [47]). The latter emerges similarly in terms of the family sacrifice connected to the usage of leftovers: it requires a certain family culture of accepting and being used to being served remains [48]. Furthermore, consumers make trade-offs between different goals, especially anxiety about the safety of food versus concern about food wastage [46,49].…”

Re-Introducing Consumption to the ‘Circular Economy’: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Domestic Food Provisioning

“…Rather waste reduction emerges from and is shaped by the wider food provisioning practices within the home. Many sociological studies of food and eating describe how leftover food is 'revalued and reused' within the home [44,46,61]. In other words, food is given a 'second chance' ( [61], p. 121), in which it moves back into the realm of raw material to be reproduced as something new for further consumption.…”

“…Many sociological studies of food and eating describe how leftover food is 'revalued and reused' within the home [44,46,61]. In other words, food is given a 'second chance' ( [61], p. 121), in which it moves back into the realm of raw material to be reproduced as something new for further consumption. The idea that the contents of one meal have implications for the next, was a common theme amongst interviewees, as explained by Heather, a retired woman in her sixties living alone:…”

“…As Cappellini and Parsons ( [61], p. 129) note, guest meals are deemed more 'extraordinary' events from which leftovers are absent and special purchases, such as an expensive bottle of wine or a specific cut of meat, are present. Thus, food provisioning and decisions regarding who eats what are very much entwined with the specific culture of the home [44].…”

Theorising middle class consumption from the global South: A study of everyday ethics in South Africa’s Western Cape

“…Relatively few participants are willing to pay higher prices regularly for higher quality staple goods and seeking out the cheapest available products and bulk-buying is the main priority. Most are thus content to sacrifice quality of staple goods in the interests of the greater good of the family (Capellini and Parsons 2012). Providing a good quality education for their children by making sacrifices elsewhere is one commonly articulated way in which parents are concerned with acting morally towards family members.…”