ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about ethical food consumption within the broad framework of reflexivity and, more specifically, reflexive self-production and reviews this theoretical construct to elucidate the process and mechanism of the formation of ethical consumer identities. It introduces Archer's theory of personal identity and its central concepts and argues the case for reflexivity as a key force behind the development of ethical consumer practices and identities. Archer's theory provides a socially attuned account of the inner psychological process responsible for producing one's distinct personal identity. Viewed through the lens of Archer's theory, the phenomenon of ethical consumption receives a new framework, the one in which the subjective meanings and identity work surrounding ethical consumer pursuits fully come into view. The effects of the natural, practical, and social contexts in which agents are placed is the factor that can make a decisive difference to consumers' ability and preparedness to engage with consumption ethics.
