This book engages with the topic of ethical consumption and applies a critical-realist approach to explore the process of becoming and being an ethical consumer. By integrating Margaret Archer’s theory of identity formation and Christian Coff’s work on food ethics, it develops a theoretical account explicating the generative mechanism that gives rise to ethical consumer practices and identities. The second part of the book presents the findings from a qualitative study with self-perceived ethical food consumers to demonstrate the fit between the proposed theoretical mechanism and the actual experiences of ethically committed consumers. Through integrating agency-focused and socio-centric perspectives on consumer behaviour, the book develops a more comprehensive and balanced approach to conceptualising and studying consumption processes and phenomena.

"Yana Manyukhina's beautifully clear book will be of value to all concerned with the politics of food and consumerism. It analyses not only how people develop as ethical food consumers but also, perhaps more crucially, why they make the life-style changes that are so urgently needed to promote sustainable ways of living."

Priscilla Alderson, Professor Emerita, University College London

Yana Manyukhina gained her PhD in Sociology and Social Policy in 2016 from the University of Leeds, UK.