Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of some key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. This book explores the role of both human agency and social structure in the shaping of consumers' ethical self. It situates the inherently subjective process of identity formation within the contexts of objective reality and brings together the multiple individual and systemic powers in which ethical consumer practices and identities are contained. The book focuses on ethical food consumption and provides questions about the sources and determinants of consumption processes and phenomena more broadly. It demonstrates the benefits of critical realism for developing a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of ethical consumption and consumer behavior. The representation of ethical consumption as a means of creating and expressing individual and social identities presents a lot of opportunities for important sociological explorations.