PLATFORM ECONOMIES AND FOOD DELIVERY GOVERNANCE: LABOUR RIGHTS, CONSUMER PROTECTION, AND DIGITAL FOOD SYSTEMS

Description

Globalization, Food Systems, and Legal Responses:Governance, Justice, and Sustainability in a Changing World
Edited By: Dr. Joydeb Patra, Ms. Saptaparni Raha
E-ISBN: 978-81-685212-2-3

The growth of the platform economy model has brought about changes in the food delivery industry through its use of technology, algorithmic governance, and application-based labor models in conducting business transactions. Delivery applications like Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Door Dash have changed consumer behavior, the urban economy, and labor conditions. Though platforms create ease of service, employment, and markets, their operations create significant legal issues related to labor laws, consumer laws, data privacy, algorithms, and food safety. The issues of governance that come along with the introduction of platform-based food delivery services have been considered in this chapter, specifically in relation to the latest trends in India and the world. The chapter considers the issue of insecurity of work among gig workers due to problems like unstable wages, inadequate social protection, occupational hazards, algorithmic control, and non-recognition of their work by law. It also considers consumer issues related to the use of these platforms. The chapter uses a socio-legal research methodological approach where statutes, judicial precedents, policy documents, academic sources, and new trends in labor related to the gig economy have been analyzed. According to the chapter, there are existing gaps in the current legal regime, which does not sufficiently govern the ever-evolving digital food ecosystem. The chapter calls for a governance approach that seeks to find a balance between innovation and social justice, labor welfare, and consumers' welfare through the promotion of the rule of law.