Limits to redistribution: Evidence from France's anti-food waste law

Sammanfattning

Food loss and waste (FLW) is an urgent global challenge. France pioneered in implementing a binding legal framework that incentivises supermarkets to donate their surplus to charities. In this thesis, I combine responsibilisation theory and a feminist political ecology lens to investigate previously overshadowed aspects of this law. I demonstrate that the responsibility for food waste (FW) management has shifted from retailers to charitable organisations. Associations face significant logistical costs, strict hygiene norms and low-quality surplus, often acting as “garbage bins” for the retail sector. This system creates an unequal power dynamic where supermarkets profit through tax breaks while relying on the unpaid care work of volunteers to sustain their systems of overproduction. Ultimately, this thesis questions the sustainability of redistribution as a primary solution for FLW, arguing for a transition toward FLW prevention at the source combined with greater structural support for associations.