Off our trolleys: what stockpiling in the coronavirus crisis reveals about us

There is plenty of food to go round, which means there is no need for panic buying. But who said our relationship with food was fully rational? By Bee Wilson

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This is a piece about panic buying in the time of coronavirus, and maybe I should stop right there. None of us needs more panic in our lives right now. If there’s one thing psychologists can agree on, it’s that panicky behaviour is contagious. Every time we read an article telling us not to be selfish and ransack the supermarkets, it triggers the thought that food is running out and we must urgently get to the nearest Tesco and buy five packets of pasta and as many tinned tomatoes and lentils as we can carry.

These are certainly unsettled times in which to feed ourselves. Over the past month, we have been exposed to an uncanny sight that has been almost unknown in Britain for decades: empty supermarket shelves. When you are not used to it, this sight does strange things to your insides.

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