The global food system, often imagined as an abundant feast, is failing. Despite unprecedented levels of agricultural production, hunger and malnutrition persist, while food waste, environmental degradation, and inequality expose deep fractures in how food is grown, distributed, and consumed. This paradox invites us to reconsider the food system through the lens of feast failure, a concept explored by archaeologist Monica L. Smith. In her study of feasting, Smith argues that feasts, far from being flawless displays of abundance, are prone to logistical and social failures—shortfalls in food, unexpected guests, weather disasters, breaches of etiquette, and power struggles.[1] Applying this lens to the global food system of today reveals a deeply uneven banquet, where the intent, expectations, and offerings of those involved—producers, consumers, governments, corporations, and civil society—fail to align.
The global food system, shaped by the Green Revolution and the rise of industrial agriculture, has succeeded in producing vast quantities of food. Advances in mechanization, synthetic fertilizers, and genetically modified crops have driven up yields, particularly in staple grains like wheat, corn, and rice.[2] As a result, today’s food production exceeds what is needed to feed the world’s population. Yet, hunger remains a global crisis.
The failures of this feast are not simply due to an issue of scarcity but to the ways in which food is allocated, controlled, and consumed. Much of the world’s grain is diverted for animal feed, biofuels, or industrial uses rather than feeding those in need. The global trade system privileges profit over equity, and food is often more accessible to those with purchasing power rather than those with the greatest nutritional needs.[3]
Smith describes how feasts fail when expectations do not match reality—when food is insufficient, when guests go hungry, when excess leads to waste, and when social tensions emerge.[4] The global food system mirrors these dynamics in several key ways:
- Food Shortfalls and Inequities – Just as a feast can be marred by an unexpected shortfall, millions of people experience food insecurity not because of a lack of production but due to systemic barriers to access. Food deserts, price volatility, and land displacement prevent many from obtaining adequate nourishment, particularly in the Global South.
- Overproduction and Waste – Some feasts fail not because of scarcity but due to excess—food is prepared in abundance but not consumed. The same applies to modern agriculture, where food is wasted due to inefficient supply chains and stringent cosmetic standards. In developed countries, consumers discard edible food at alarming rates inadequate storage and transport infrastructure result in losses before food reaches markets.[5]
- Ecological Degradation – Just as feasts require large-scale preparation that strains resources, the global grain–oilseed–livestock complex rests upon a precarious agroecological and biophysical foundation that depletes soil, pollutes water, and drives deforestation.[6] The pursuit of ever-greater yields results in environmental damage, contributing to climate change and making future feasts even more precarious.
- Power and Social Disparities – Feasts, in both ancient and modern contexts, have been used to consolidate authority, highlight social divisions, or create obligations between hosts and guests. Similarly, the global food economy is shaped by what scholar Philip H. Howard calls food systems concentration, in which fewer firms control the majority of the market. As a result, fewer and fewer people wield decision-making power over what is produced, how it is produced, and who has access to food. Agribusiness giants dictate seed patents, control supply chains, and set food prices, often to the detriment of small-scale farmers and local food producers. Meanwhile, trade agreements and agricultural policies tend to favor large corporations over community-based food networks, making it harder for alternative food systems to thrive.[7]
In an online article reflecting on the crises of today, Smith introduces the idea of “right-sizing” in response to feast failure, urging us to rethink food systems beyond single events or crises. In light of the global food system, I imagine right-sizing to mean an attempt at balancing production with sustainable consumption, ensuring equitable access, and reconfiguring food distribution to prioritize people over profit.
In practical terms, this could involve:
- Agroecological approaches that restore biodiversity and prioritize regenerative agriculture over extractive monocultures.[8]
- Policy shifts that prioritize food justice and sovereignty, including redistributive mechanisms to reduce food waste and improve access, while also bringing power to the people in food systems, especially producers and consumers.[9]
- Alternative economies, such as community-supported agriculture and cooperative food networks, that decentralize power and make food a commons rather than a commodity. An example in the Philippines is Good Food Community, a local social enterprise that bridges rural farmers and urban consumers through community-supported agriculture.[10]
If we want to turn failure into feasting, the global food system must be restructured in a way that serves all people—not just those at the head of the table. The global food system, like any grand feast, is fraught with risks, power struggles, and inequalities. But as history shows, even in feast failures, there are opportunities for transformation. Right-sizing the food system means acknowledging these failures and actively working toward a model that prioritizes justice, sustainability, and community resilience. Only then can we move from a feast of failure to one of shared abundance and communal flourishing.
Bibliography
Badion, Justin Joseph G. “Promoting Food Justice in the Catholic Church: The Eucharist, Transhistoricity, and Sustainability.” Social Transformations 7, no. 1 (May 2019): 39–69.
Clapp, Jennifer. Food. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2011.
David, Mabi. “Relocalizing Food Systems in the Age of Pandemic.” Budhi 24, no. 2 (2020): 141–152.
Duncan, Jessica, Michael Carolan, and Johannes S.C. Wiskerke. “Regenerating Food Systems: A Social-Ecological Approach.” In Routledge Handbook of Sustainable and Regenerative Food Systems, edited by Jessica Duncan, Michael Carolan, and Johannes S.C. Wiskerke, 1–11. London: Routledge, 2021.
Gliessman, Stephen R. Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems. Third edition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2015.
Holt Giménez, Eric, and Annie Shattuck. “Food Crises, Food Regimes and Food Movements: Rumblings of Reform or Tides of Transformation?” The Journal of Peasant Studies 38, no. 1 (January 2011): 109–144.
Howard, Philip H. Concentration and Power in the Food System: Who Controls What We Eat? Revised edition. New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2021.
Smith, Monica L. “Feasts and Their Failures.” Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 22, no. 4 (2015): 1215–1237.
Weis, Tony. “The Meat of the Global Food Crisis.” The Journal of Peasant Studies 40, no. 1 (2013): 65–85.
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[1] See Monica L. Smith, “Feasts and Their Failures,” Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 22, no. 4 (2015): 1215–1237.
[2] See Jennifer Clapp, Food (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2011), 12, 50–51.
[3] Stephen R. Gliessman, Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems, Third edition. (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2015), 17.
[4] Smith, “Feasts and Their Failures,” 1232.
[5] Justin Joseph G. Badion, “Promoting Food Justice in the Catholic Church: The Eucharist, Transhistoricity, and Sustainability,” Social Transformations 7, no. 1 (May 2019): 41–45.
[6] Tony Weis, “The Meat of the Global Food Crisis,” The Journal of Peasant Studies 40, no. 1 (2013): 66.
[7] Philip H. Howard, Concentration and Power in the Food System: Who Controls What We Eat?, Revised edition. (New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2021), 1–16.
[8] Jessica Duncan, Michael Carolan, and Johannes S.C. Wiskerke, “Regenerating Food Systems: A Social-Ecological Approach,” in Routledge Handbook of Sustainable and Regenerative Food Systems, ed. Jessica Duncan, Michael Carolan, and Johannes S.C. Wiskerke (London: Routledge, 2021), 1–11.
[9] Eric Holt Giménez and Annie Shattuck, “Food Crises, Food Regimes and Food Movements: Rumblings of Reform or Tides of Transformation?,” The Journal of Peasant Studies 38, no. 1 (January 2011): 109–144.
[10] Mabi David, “Relocalizing Food Systems in the Age of Pandemic,” Budhi 24, no. 2 (2020): 141–152.