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International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

213048

Green food consumption

whose responsibility?

S. Meisch

pp. 160-165

Abstract

Starting from the discussion of the concept of responsibility, the paper asks to what extent the issue of counteracting climate change by different food consumption patterns can be broken down to the level of individuals. As no one is obligated beyond what he or she is able to do ("Ought presupposes Can"), one has to ask for the limits of individual responsibility. Green Food Consumption is not limited to consumers changing their shopping lists in replacing conventional by green products. It rather requires more encompassing lifestyle changes in accordance with the concept of sustainable development. If one agrees that consumers with green shopping lists are to be the solution, then one implicitly agrees that markets are the mechanism to solve the problem. An opposite view calls for the state as problem-solving mechanism. However, there are mechanisms beyond market and state. The paper asks to what extent these other institutional mechanisms alter the assessment of individual responsibility.

Publication details

Published in:

Röcklinsberg Helena, Sandin Per (2013) The ethics of consumption: the citizen, the market and the law. Wageningen, Wageningen Academic Publishers.

Pages: 160-165

DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-784-4_25

Full citation:

Meisch S. (2013) „Green food consumption: whose responsibility?“, In: H. Röcklinsberg & P. Sandin (eds.), The ethics of consumption, Wageningen, Wageningen Academic Publishers, 160–165.