Social Statistics Seminar - 4pm, 12 January: Should we measure food insecurity (and if so, how)?
| Dates: | 12 January 2021 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 17:00 |
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| What is it: | Webinar |
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| Organiser: | Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research |
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Social Statistics Seminars 2020/21 – January Session
Should we measure food insecurity (and if so, how)? Insights from a novel machine learning approach with the world's largest food sharing network
John Harvey (University of Nottingham)
Join us at 4pm (GMT) on 12 January 2021!
Registration link: http://bit.ly/socstat0121
Abstract
Food insecurity in the UK has captured public attention, but estimates of its prevalence are deeply contentious. On rare occasions when it has been measured it is done using one-off, expensive, cross-sectional survey questions that can be difficult to answer due to feelings of shame, embarrassment or guilt. The lack of statistics on emergency food assistance is made even more ambiguous due to increasing use of peer-to-peer food sharing systems (e.g. OLIO – the world’s largest food sharing network). These initiatives exist as a solution to food waste rather than poverty, but nonetheless carry a hidden food insecurity burden. In this presentation we consider the relationship between food sharing, food insecurity measurement, and deprivation generally. We introduce a novel approach involving machine learning and network behavioural data to develop a predictive model of food insecurity in the UK. Using these results we then visualise food insecurity across the UK using an interactive map demo. Through a series of empirical studies we show that current national statistics do not properly identify the prevalence of food insecurity. We argue for a reformed approach to national modelling of food insecurity outside of existing measures of deprivation. We demonstrate that data from food sharing systems can help quantify food insecurity and show how local authorities could benefit from considering composite measures that include behavioural data.
About the speaker
Dr John Harvey is an Assistant Professor based in the N/LAB and NUBS at University of Nottingham. He holds a PhD in economic anthropology and specialises in the study of consumer behaviour, particularly through the use of social network analysis.
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Registration at: http://bit.ly/socstat0121
