Food and Mutualistic Exchange

This work’s analysis of policy approaches to food waste and food insecurity is conducted using the theoretical framework of Peter Blau, which examines exchange relationships within society. Blau’s social exchange theory posits that social behavior and interactions between people can be better understood by presuming that each respective party, consciously or unconsciously, engages in a cost-benefit analysis in order to determine whether a given course of action is in their own best interest. These costs and benefits are not just economic, but deal with intangible exchanges of resources like status, information, and a sense of belonging. By extending these ideas into the socioeconomic performances of society, we can begin to investigate how policy and market decisions are based on economically rational cost-benefit analyses that may not take into account how communities, local economies, and local ecologies are shaped by these decisions.