The problem of crimes stemming from hunger
Goan crime being foiled. Thieves broke into the premises of a maker of chouriço, Goa’s spicy pork sausages. Local dogs, probably lusting after the sausages themselves, raised an alarm and the owner trapped the two thieves in the smoking room. Did the thieves eat the sausages as they waited for arrest?
Food theft is one of the oldest crimes. In Christopher J Garcia’s entertaining book Food & Crime, he writes that the oldest legal texts, like the Codes of Ur-Nammu and Hammurabi include food related proscriptions. He also notes it is one of the broadest crimes: “It starts with piddly little pilfering, such as walking off with a pack of gum from the checkout line, then continues through to the highjacking of entire convoys of shellfish.”
Garcia suggests that food theft works on CRAVED principles: “Concealable, Removable, Available, Valuable, Enjoyable and Disposable.” Cheese fits most of these parameters. Garcia notes that “the Centre for Retail Research estimates that four per cent of all cheese produced is stolen”. This is almost a million tonnes of stolen cheese. It is easily melted or cut into different forms and can be worth a lot, especially artisanal European cheeses made with unpasteurised milk, which are banned in the US.
The growing influence of foodies, and food-driven social media trends, has boosted food theft. Thieves target foods in vogue, like New Zealand’s manuka honey, which is claimed to have medicinal benefits. Around the world, this high-value honey is being stolen from gourmet shops, while in
