The food sustainability challenge beyond consumption: an attempt to construct a new model of" conscious Individuals

Abstract

The article deals with the epistemological issue on the notion of "consumers" in the EU food regulation, offering some proposals for a change of definition and of perspective. The analysis starts from Reg. (EU) 1169/2011 and the dilemma on the information vis-a-vis communication duties towards the consumers. Then, it scrutinises the legal provisions to understand whether there are already seeds for a participatory approach, which can involve the consumers as active players in the food supply chain. The final part is dedicated to possible ways to find a new definition and to frame the new addressees of the legal provisions on food safety into a web of relationships.