Creating ethical food consumers? Promoting organic foods in urban Southwest China

Klein, Jakob A.

Abstract

The article discusses recent attempts by an environmental NGO to promote the consumption of organic foods among residents in Kunming, Southwest China. Far from being elitist, activists engaged with popular environmental culture and with widespread concerns around health and food safety, and echoed advertisers' messages that associated the 'healthfulness' of organic foods with 'nature'. The article also discusses two private organic food enterprises. Like the NGO, these enterprises attempted to both engage with popular concerns and educate consumers, and it is argued that the study of environmentalism and ethical consumption in urban China should include both NGOs and profit-oriented enterprises.

Citation

Klein, J. A. (2009). Creating ethical food consumers? Promoting organic foods in urban Southwest China. Social Anthropology, 17(1), 74-89. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8676.2008.00058.x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: Feb 19, 2009
• Journal: Social Anthropology
• Print ISSN: 0964-0282
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-8676
• Publisher: Berghahn Journals
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 74-89
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8676.2008.00058.x
• Publisher URL: https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/saas/17/1/j.1469-8676.2008.00058.x.xml
• Additional Information: Copyright Statement : © 2008 European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA)