Dr Helen Addison-Smith: The right to brunch - food insecurity and pleasure
Food waste is at record levels, with roughly a third of all food produced wasted each year. With so much food to spare, why have 18% of Australians run out of food without knowing where their next meal is coming from?
The answer to this state of food insecurity could seem simple - redistribute food waste to the hungry - but is far more complex and takes us into the territory of deeply held beliefs of worthiness, shame and belonging. Research into and change of these feelings and cultures are at the heart of RMIT’s new Cafelab project.
The Cafelab will work to destigmatise the food that is wasted, while at the same time working on processes to minimise food waste. Waste food will be refigured as a source of creativity and playfulness for chefs and eaters alike. The Cafelab will remember the culinary skills created in lean times - fermenting, preserving, drying, making do - and teach them to next generations of chefs before this knowledge disappears. The space will be lively with interaction - think robots, bees, mushrooms, games, projections, libraries of books and things - all working to give pleasurable education and interaction to the many. It will strive to be a truly inclusive space, giving free access to what is often figured as ‘the finer things in life’ - such as good food, creativity and conviviality - instead refiguring them as civic rights that benefit society as a whole through mental and physical health benefits. This talk will discuss how our team of researchers and chefs will put pleasure back on the plate for all Melburnians.
Dr Helen Addison-Smith is a chef, writer, member of the Digital Ethnography Research Centre at RMIT and co-founder of the Cafelab. She owns and operates Ice-cream Social (Brunswick and Thornbury) and founded Loafer Bread (North Fitzroy). She currently works with not-for-profits such as Free to Feed and Sustain: The Australian Food Network. Helen is also a writer, with special interest in the intersection between food and feelings.