Feeding ghosts: Hauntology, survival, hidden hunger and the politics of absence

Food insecurity is often measured through scarcity, while many forms of hunger remain unseen. This commentary applies Jacques Derrida’s concept of hauntology to explore why food insecurity persists despite decades of intervention and policy attention. Not treating hunger as an isolated absence of food, a hauntological lens reveals the unresolved histories, structural conditions and social relations through which insecurity repeatedly returns. By exploring hidden hunger, stigma and unequal recognition across contexts, this commentary argues for responses that combine food provision with dignity and systems change. It concludes by considering how attending to what remains unseen can reshape future food systems.