None of us can avoid being interested in food. Our very existence depends on the supply of safe, nutritious foods. It is then hardly surprising that food has become the focus of a wide range of ethical concerns: Is the food we buy safe? Is it produced by means which respect the welfare of animals and sustain the land? Are modern biotechnologies employed in food production immoral? This book addresses such issues by applying ethical principles to many areas of current (...) concern. The contributors provide original and thought-provoking treatments of a number of highly topical issues - from global hunger and its ethical implications to the cultural habits affecting consumption. This interdisciplinary study will prove to be essential reading for all those concerned with food, as professionals, students or consumers. (shrink)

A number of EU institutions and government committees across Europe have expressed interest in developing methods and decision-support tools to facilitate consideration of the ethical dimensions of biotechnology assessment. As part of the work conducted in the EC supported project on ethical tools (Ethical Bio-TA Tools), a number of ethical frameworks with the potential to support the work of public policy decision-makers has been characterized and evaluated. One of these potential tools is the Delphi method. The Delphi method was originally (...) developed to assess variables that are intangible and/or shrouded in uncertainty by drawing on the knowledge and abilities of a diverse group of experts through a form of anonymous and iterative consultation. The method has hitherto been used by a diversity of practitioners to explore issues such as technology assessment, environmental planning, and public health measures. From the original (classical) Delphi, a family of Delphi-related processes has emerged. As a result of the evaluation of the various Delphi processes, it is proposed that the classical method can be further developed and applied as a form of ethical framework to assist policy-makers. Through a series of exercises and trials, an Ethical Delphi has been developed as a potential approach for characterizing ethical issues raised by the use of novel biotechnologies. Advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed. Further work is needed to develop the procedural aspects of the Ethical Delphi method and to test its use in different cultural contexts. However, utilizing an ethical framework of this type combines the advantages of a methodical approach to capture ethical aspects with the democratic virtues of transparency and openness to criticism. Ethical frameworks such as the Ethical Delphi should contribute to better understanding of and decision-making on issues that involve decisive ethical dimensions. (shrink)

None of us can avoid being interested in food. Our very existence depends on the supply of safe, nutritious foods. It is then hardly surprising that food has become the focus of a wide range of ethical concerns: Is the food we buy safe? Is it produced by means which respect the welfare of animals and sustain the land? Are modern biotechnologies employed in food production immoral? This book addresses such issues by applying ethical principles to many areas of current (...) concern. The contributors provide original and thought-provoking treatments of a number of highly topical issues - from global hunger and its ethical implications to the cultural habits affecting consumption. This interdisciplinary study will prove to be essential reading for all those concerned with food, as professionals, students or consumers. (shrink)

None of us can avoid being interested in food. Our very existence depends on the supply of safe, nutritious foods. It is then hardly surprising that food has become the focus of a wide range of ethical concerns: Is the food we buy safe? Is it produced by means which respect the welfare of animals and sustain the land? Are modern biotechnologies employed in food production immoral? This book addresses such issues by applying ethical principles to many areas of current (...) concern. The contributors provide original and thought-provoking treatments of a number of highly topical issues - from global hunger and its ethical implications to the cultural habits affecting consumption. This interdisciplinary study will prove to be essential reading for all those concerned with food, as professionals, students or consumers. (shrink)

If respect for the dignity ofnon-human creatures is to be an element of publicpolicy it needs, as a first step, to be assimilatedinto the common morality. It is suggested that suchrespect may be based on several philosophicalpremises. Limiting the discussion to sentient animals,the paper reviews three of these: the concept ofanimal telos; the application of Rawlsiancontractarianism to the case of non-human animals asmoral patients; and human attitudes to animals in thelight of virtue theory. Consideration is then given tothe extent to (...) which, by accommodating respect for thedignity of animals within the common morality, theseprinciples might find more substantive expression inpublic policy. (shrink)

If respect for the dignity of non-human creatures is to be an element of public policy it needs, as a first step, to be assimilated into the common morality. It is suggested that such respect may be based on several philosophical premises. Limiting the discussion to sentient animals, the paper reviews three of these: the concept of animal telos; the application of Rawlsian contractarianism to the case of non-human animals as moral patients; and human attitudes to animals in the light (...) of virtue theory. Consideration is then given to the extent to which, by accommodating respect for the dignity of animals within the common morality, these principles might find more substantive expression in public policy. (shrink)

The 2001 Foot and Mouth Diseaseoutbreak in the UK has had widespread adverseeffects – on the farming community, thetourist industry, millions of farm animals, theenvironment, and citizens'' quality of life.This report summarizes the course of theepidemic and then questions the ethicalvalidity of the procedure chosen to eradicatethe disease, namely, the slaughter of millionsof animals. It is argued that the utilitarianbasis of the mass slaughter program isunjustified even in its own terms, and thatrespect for certain deontological principlesmerits increased attention in public (...) policy.The long-term interests of UK citizens, theviability of British farming, and theconservation of the countryside all depend onurgent, critical decisions that should beinformed by a broader conception of the role ofethics in agriculture. (shrink)

Until recently, ethics was a highlyabstruse activity, with little reference to everydayaffairs. It dealt largely with what is calledmetaethics, and was in danger of becoming moribund asan intellectual activity. But for some years,ethics has been undergoing a process of rejuvenationand development. We now seem to be experiencing thebirth of this new discipline (or at least in the EU –the US has been engaged in it somewhat longer). The EurSafeCongress held at Wageningen University, March 4–6,1999 exemplifies this rejuvenation, and itstrongly suggests (...) that a new discipline is emerging, that is not only exciting from an intellectualperspective, but also addresses issues of fundamentalsocial and political concern. It can beargued that, in this context, ethicists are in the position of guides.It is not their job to pronounce on what is right andwrong, but having trodden many of the theoreticalpaths through the forest, they are in a position toadvise and facilitate sound ethical decision-making byothers. The need for ethical insight in this field islikely to progressively increase over the comingyears. Ethicists have a duty to respond to this need. (shrink)