How do producers imagine consumers? Connecting farm and fork through a cultural repertoire of consumer sovereignty

The phenomena of meat production and consumption are related but often studied separately, funnelled into silos of agro-food and consumer-focussed research. This article aims to reconnect these spheres by asking: How do meat producers understand the role of consumers in the ethical meatscape? We draw from interviews and site visits with 74 actors engaged with the ethical meat system in Canada. We find that consumers loom large in the cultural imaginary of meat producers and are often framed as key drivers of food system change. We make a two-pronged argument that explains the complex, embedded presence of consumers in meat producers’ cultural imaginary. Conceptually, we argue that producers draw from a cultural repertoire of consumer sovereignty that frames consumer choice as a foundational element of capitalist societies. Empirically, we argue that ethical meat producers’ direct relationships with consumers infuse producers’ work with meaning and emotional significance, and this works to reinforce a normative valuation of consumer sovereignty. This research contributes to scholarship interrogating the implications of consumer-driven models of food system change.