Urban Senegalese eat two staple foods: rice and millet. Drawing on research on everyday eating under pressure in the Dakar suburb of Pikine, this paper examines the local theories and practices of consumption that emerge as Senegalese navigate between high prices and scarcities.
Paper long abstract:
Urban Senegalese eat two staple foods: rice and millet. While millet is increasingly promoted as the nutritionally and ecologically better choice, urban Senegalese tend to think of an ideally balanced diet as incorporating both foods. This paper draws on fieldwork on everyday eating under pressure in the Dakar suburb of Pikine, conducted during a period of intense food insecurity and high food prices. During this period millet played an important role in food coping strategies, as the cost of rice and other imported foods rose sharply. While people sought refuge in eating repertoires based on millet, the cost of millet remained high, because the local staple was scarce. Examining how Senegalese navigate between high global prices and local scarcities, pragmatically blending different kinds of eating, we identify local theories and practices of consumption that can break down entrenched distinctions embedded in food security and sovereignty approaches.