Borage water?
An ethnographic exploration of the Spanish Law 1/2025 on the prevention of food losses and food waste
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17398/320-365.3.229Keywords:
Food waste, Legislation, Agri-food chain, Power relations, Lleida (Catalonia, Spain)Abstract
In April 2025, Spain's Official State Gazette (BOE) published Law 1/2025 on the prevention of food losses and food waste. Its aim is to reduce this phenomenon which, according to FAO data, accounts for the loss of a third of global food production. The Law identifies two elements as causes of food waste: technical and logistical shortcomings in the agri-food chain, and a cultural loss of perception of the value of food. This article asks whether the Law is not avoiding other factors that may have a substantial effect on the phenomenon. To this end, it presents the results of an ethnographic research carried out in the province of Lleida (Catalonia, Spain) between 2017 and 2022. This ethnography reveals that the main reason for food waste is to be found in the unequal relationships between the actors in the agri-food chain. The hegemonic role of some of them (exporters and supermarket chains) allows them to increase their profits at the expense of imposing on the rest (farmers, cooperatives) certain conditions that generate food waste. It is concluded that Law 1/2025 does not identify the roots of the problem it seeks to address, as it does not consider the power relations that characterize the agri-food chain, and that this calls into question its effectiveness.
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