Green Logo: a study of food labeling as an initiative to govern consumption
(2016) STVK02 20161Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- The great climate impact of the agri-food sector has only recently been brought into light, and become a concern of political actors around the world. Standardizations as an initiative to govern this sector have received increasing attention, but while these initiatives can prove an effective tool for influencing consumer choice, they also hold certain problematic characteristics. Although they are often perceived as objective, standardizations innately aim to govern, albeit indirectly. This type of government differs radically from the one of democratic rule. To this background, this thesis asks how labels, as a type of standardization, govern food consumption. It conducts a study of eight food labels in Swedish grocery stores, and by... (More)
- The great climate impact of the agri-food sector has only recently been brought into light, and become a concern of political actors around the world. Standardizations as an initiative to govern this sector have received increasing attention, but while these initiatives can prove an effective tool for influencing consumer choice, they also hold certain problematic characteristics. Although they are often perceived as objective, standardizations innately aim to govern, albeit indirectly. This type of government differs radically from the one of democratic rule. To this background, this thesis asks how labels, as a type of standardization, govern food consumption. It conducts a study of eight food labels in Swedish grocery stores, and by doing so, highlights principal questions of governance, power and legitimacy. The theoretical base is provided by governmentality and is strengthened with a discursive methodological approach. The empirical analysis shows that the labels constitute a technology of government in themselves, and govern food consumption as they connect rationalities of government to the act of buying the labeled product. Key in the linking of knowledge into action is logic, and three coherent systems of thought; sustainable development, democracy and environmental limits, emerge. Through these, the governing of consumption is enabled. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8873365
- author
- Flodell, Henrietta LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- STVK02 20161
- year
- 2016
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Consumption, standardization, climate, governmentality, agri-food
- language
- English
- id
- 8873365
- date added to LUP
- 2016-06-17 11:36:14
- date last changed
- 2016-06-17 11:36:14
@misc{8873365,
abstract = {{The great climate impact of the agri-food sector has only recently been brought into light, and become a concern of political actors around the world. Standardizations as an initiative to govern this sector have received increasing attention, but while these initiatives can prove an effective tool for influencing consumer choice, they also hold certain problematic characteristics. Although they are often perceived as objective, standardizations innately aim to govern, albeit indirectly. This type of government differs radically from the one of democratic rule. To this background, this thesis asks how labels, as a type of standardization, govern food consumption. It conducts a study of eight food labels in Swedish grocery stores, and by doing so, highlights principal questions of governance, power and legitimacy. The theoretical base is provided by governmentality and is strengthened with a discursive methodological approach. The empirical analysis shows that the labels constitute a technology of government in themselves, and govern food consumption as they connect rationalities of government to the act of buying the labeled product. Key in the linking of knowledge into action is logic, and three coherent systems of thought; sustainable development, democracy and environmental limits, emerge. Through these, the governing of consumption is enabled.}},
author = {{Flodell, Henrietta}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Green Logo: a study of food labeling as an initiative to govern consumption}},
year = {{2016}},
}