Matt Watson's presentation in Prague
Prof. Matt Watson presented a paper on Food Waste at the seminar of the Department of Ecological Anthropology.
Matt Watson (2025) Food Waste as the Fallout of Everyday Practices. Seminar series of the Department of Ecological Anthropology, Institute of Ethnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, June 4, 2025.
Abstract: This lecture argues that the startling national statistics about the amount of food that households waste should be understood as the fallout from the organisation and accomplishment of everyday life. Engaging theories of practice and drawing on ethnographic household fieldwork in the UK enables exploration of the relations, routines and rhythms of home life, and the diverse moralities, values, knowledges and practical exigencies, that converge together in moments in which matter which could be food crosses a culturally contingent and situationally defined line to become waste. The challenge that follows is how to move from that complexity to identify interventions to reduce food waste.
Bio: Matt Watson is a Professor and Director of Research and Innovation in the School of Geography and Planning at the University of Sheffield, UK. His research explores the systemic relations between everyday practices, technologies, spaces and institutions to advance understandings of social change in relation to sustainability. Empirically, this work has encompassed biodiversity, energy, food, waste, and personal mobility.
