Citizen-Consumer Oriented Practices in Naturalistic Foodways

Abstract

Today's consumers are more apt to enact the “politics of choice” rather than “politics of loyalty” as responsible members of society. This shift from being the consumer with the sole intent of pursuing self-interest to that of the normative “citizen-consumer” who practices consumption with an eye towards the greater good, denotes the overlapping aspect of consumption and citizenship in everyday practices. Through qualitative analysis the authors posit a conceptual framework of citizen-consumer orientation. The framework highlights the way citizen-consumers navigate constraints and tensions posed by the dominant food system (and mainstream lifestyle paradigm) through sustainability oriented, shared practices in naturalistic foodways. Shared practices are advanced as ways in which the individual burden of sustainable practices is reduced.