Endless qualifications, restless consumption: the governance of novel foods in Europe
Journal
Science as Culture
ISSN
0950-5431
ISSN-Digital
1470-1189
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2012-02-21
Author(s)
Abstract
Functional foods and foods derived from genetically modified organisms represent two forms of intervention in the design of foodstuffs that have given rise to distinct political and regulatory dynamics. In Europe, regulatory agencies have tried, unsuccessfully, to affix a definitive legal meaning to these categories of food artificiality. This incomplete process of legal disambiguation has gone hand in hand with the delegation of the responsibility for overseeing new products to consumers, who are asked to continuously consider and assess the qualities of foods when making their choices in the marketplace. In the case of genetically modified foods, we have witnessed strategies of avoidance premised on the consideration of genetic modification as a blemish on the conventional character of foodstuffs. Functional foods, on the other hand, are increasingly mobilized in practices of naturalistic enhancement. What both examples have in common is the open-ended character of their respective regulatory regimes, and the continuous prodding of consumers to involve themselves more intensely in the weighing of their food choices. The result is a particular mode of market activism that we describe as restless consumption.
Language
English
Keywords
Functional foods
GM foods
Distributed governance
Restless consumption
Economy of qualities
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SHSS - Kulturen, Institutionen, Maerkte (KIM)
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Routledge
Publisher place
London [u.a.]
Volume
21
Number
3
Start page
365
End page
391
Pages
27
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
243419
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LezaunandSchneider_EndlessQualificationsRestlessConsumption_SaC.pdf
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323.34 KB
Format
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