Ethics of Food

This essay provides an overview of Plato’s contribution to food ethics. Drawing on various Platonic dialogues, the discussion includes an analysis of the problem of gluttony and the correlate virtue of moderation, the diet of the Republic’s ideal city, and the harmonious order of the tripartite soul.

Ljudi radi svojih interesa godišnje ubiju desetine milijardi životinja, a to znači desetine miliona na dan, milione na sat, desetine hiljada na minut, hiljade svake sekunde. Takvo masovno ubijanje i nanošenje patnje, kao i sama eksploatacija životinja, postalo je na Zapadu od sredine sedamdesetih godina prošlog stoljeća veoma važno etičko pitanje. Budući da se na našim prostorima o tome nije mnogo pisalo, knjiga koja je pred vama je, prije svega, pokušaj da se ta praznina popuni.

I argue that a primary aim of philosophical reflections upon food and food practices should be to affirm their significance to and meaning for human life. The production, consumption, and appreciation of food enjoy a broader significance to human beings that ought not be reflectively disaggregated into separate ethical and aesthetic concerns. This claim is connected with complaints from various gastronomists and philosophers, who allege that certain deleterious contemporary attitudes towards food are partly consequences of our failure to appreciate the significance of food. I conclude that a key desideratum for any philosophy of food is its capacity to inspire and enable reflection upon the significance of food and food practices to human life.

Food justice is commonly understood as the norm that everyone should have access to safe, healthy and culturally-appropriate foods no matter one’s national origin, economic statuses, social identities, cultural membership, or disability. A second dimension of food justice, as commonly understood, is the norm that everyone who works within a food system, from restaurant servers to farm workers, should be paid livable and fair wages and work in safe conditions no matter one’s national origin, economic statuses, social identities, cultural membership, or disability. Another dimension of food justice, which is found in the words and writing of advocates but is perhaps less commonly appreciated, is that food justice should account for the value of food in relation to the self-determination of human groups such as urban communities of color, Indigenous peoples and migrant farmworkers, among many other groups. Reflecting on the claims of food justice advocates, my goal in this essay is to outline a norm of food justice that is based on the value of food in relation to the self-determination of human groups. In the essay, I begin by describing the first two dimensions of food justice; I then discuss the role of food in collective self-determination and introduce the idea of collective food relations, discussing in particular the role of manoomin (wild rice) in the collective self-determination of the Anishinaabek in the Great Lakes region; I then explain how disrupting collective food relations can be a form of food injustice; lastly, I discuss some specific further examples that illustrate these ideas.

Ethical aspects of animal cloning for food supply

In February 2007, following the announcement by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning possible authorisation of food products derived from cloned cattle, pigs and goats on the market, President Barroso asked the European Group on Ethics of science and new technologies (EGE) to issue an Opinion on ethical implications of cloning animals for food supply.

At the same time, the European Food and Safety Agency (EFSA), was asked to produce an Opinion on food safety, animal health, and environmental implications of live cloned animals obtained through somatic cell nuclear transfer technique (SCNT), their offspring and the products obtained from them.

After several months of internal working meetings, expert hearings, a public consultation launched in the Europa web site (800 contributions received) and a round table with representatives from academia, industry, NGOs, civil society, International organisations and industry1, on January 16, 2007, the EGE has adopted its latest Opinion on ethical aspects of animal cloning for food supply. The Group is aware of the EFSA draft Opinion and the FDA Report published the day before the adoption of the Opinion.

Considering the current level of suffering and health problems of surrogate dams and animal clones, the EGE has doubts as to whether cloning animals for food supply is ethically justified. Whether this applies also to progeny is open to further scientific research.

At present, the EGE does not see convincing arguments to justify the production of food from clones and their offspring2. If in the future food products derived from cloned animals were to be introduced to the European market, the EGE recommends that the following requirements are met:

Food safety - The safety of food products for human consumption as a pre-condition for their marketing must be guaranteed and scientific updates and follow up research into progeny should be carried out.

(The conclusion in this paragraph was dissented by K. Marczewski.)

Animal welfare and health - In accordance with the Amsterdam Treaty (animals as sentient beings) and the Lisbon Treaty, additional requirements should be met in intensive animal breeding, with the aim of following the guidance on animal welfare provided by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), e.g. the five freedoms: from hunger, thirst and malnutrition; from fear and distress; from physical and thermal discomfort; from pain, injury and disease; and to express normal patterns of behaviour.

Traceability - Current EU legislation on food regarding traceability of animals and their food products should be enforced. It should be ensured that EU legislation provides for the ability to identify individual animals where necessary.

Global trade - The import of cloned animals, their offspring and materials derived from cloned animals (e.g. semen and food products) should be conditional on proper documentation, in particular with regard to traceability provisions and animal welfare.

In addition the EGE recommends that:

Animal welfare - Further studies and analyses on long-term animal welfare and health implications for clones and their offspring, as well as more comparative analyses with other assisted and traditional reproductive technologies in animal farming, should be carried out for a proper assessment of this issue, in line with EFSA draft opinion. The Commission should take initiatives to prepare a Code of Conduct on responsible farm animal breeding, including animal cloning.

Farm animal biodiversity and sustainability – The Commission should take proper measures to preserve the genetic heritage of farm animal species, for example by funding projects that aim to preserve domesticated breeds in Europe and to promote sustainable agriculture.

Public participation - Public debates should be promoted on the impact of farm animal cloning on agriculture and environment, on societal impact of increasing meat consumption and rearing of bovines, as well as on the fair distribution of food resources. The Commission should take a pro-active role in promoting public discussion on the use of animal cloning, and its potential implications, by financing a number of ad hoc initiatives aimed at promoting public debate on the marketing of food products derived from animal cloning.

Public perception - The Commission should launch a thematic Eurobarometer survey and qualitative studies on animal cloning for food supply, in order to collect indicators on public perception concerning the introduction of such products to the food market as is being done in other countries.

Labelling – The EGE is aware of the technical difficulties of labelling products from offspring, nevertheless it recommends that the Commission takes the initiative to devise targeted procedures prior to the marketing of such food in the EU.

Intellectual property issues – It should be clarified whether the exclusion clauses in Directive 98/44/EC (Art. 6d) on patentability of biological inventions and the EPO rules (23 d) to animal cloning for food apply.

Global trade and consumer's freedom – The EGE is aware that import issues of food products derived from cloned animals, including compliance with World Trade Organisations provisions, may complicate the market situation, however, the EGE recommends that the Commission takes initiatives to ensure consumers' freedom and rights.

Research - Further research is needed, in particular basic research on animal cloning, as well as impact on human health, animal welfare for farmed species other than those covered by EFSA. Similarly, further ethical, legal and social implications of animal cloning for food supply as well as qualitative studies on public perception should be carried out.

Pitanje neumjerenosti u jelu i piću često i olako svo­dimo samo na količinu pojedenih i popijenih namirnica. Ipak, promotrim o li otajstvo hrane i pića malo manje površnim i malo manje uskim pogledom, vi­djet ćemo da su proždrljivost i halapljivost ukorijenjeni u nemaru i dubokom prijeziru vrijednosti hra­ne i pića, ljudi, životinja i biljaka, stvorenja, zemlje i Stvoritelja, koji je sve stvorio za održanje života. U ovom se članku problemu grešne neumjerenosti u jelu i piću pristupa ponajprije iznošenjem pozitivnoga teološkog i praktičnog nauka o hrani i piću, a napo­se o zemlji, kojoj dugujemo hranu i piće. Osvjetljujući životvorni fenomen hranjenja i pijenja svjetlom vjere i teološkim pristupom utemeljenim na biblijskoj teologiji zemlje, čitatelju se pruža mogućnost da barem malo bolje razumije što sve stoji iza čina jedenja i pijenja, iza hrane i pića što se nalazi pred njim na tanjuru. Uzimanje hrane tako je normalan i svakodnevan čin da o njemu rijetko kad ili uopće ne razmišljamo. Du­gotrajno prekomjerno uzimanje hrane i pića, a osobito nepravilna i nekvalitetna prehrana, za posljedicu imaju gubitak ne samo osobnog zdravlja, nego i poremećaje većih razmjera. Poremećaj hranidbenog sustava ljudskog roda utječe na biološku raznolikost svijeta i narušava živote mnogih živih bića, uništava sklad okoliša i dovodi do izumiranja raznih živih bića o kojima ni ne razmišljamo kad prinosimo ustima žlicu ili vilicu s hranom.

The thesis is that concepts used in currently dominant customized nutrition will not match easily with the concepts on food and health of various food styles that roam western societies and with a broader view of the relationship between food, health, and the meaning of life. Many people don’t want to be a health freak. The non-synchronized coevolution of nutrigenomics and of society due to this mismatch of food styles and values is a challenge for nutrition scientists. To synchronize and optimize the realignment of customized nutrition and society, it is proposed that customized nutrition’s research policy changes to a research partnership with society on the basis of fair representation of various food styles, in which health is not the only food value.

Provides an overview of the intersection between food and ethics, highlighting "Food, Oil, Genetics," "The Growth of Organics,"  "Vegetarianism and Veganism," "Place-based Eating," "Food in the City," and "The Social Practice of Agriculture."

The role of Amartya Sen’s early work on famine notwithstanding, food security is generally seen as but one capability among many for scholars writing in development ethics. The early literature on the ethics of hunger is summarized to show how Sen’s Poverty and Famines was written in response to debates of past decades, and a brief discussion of food security as a capability follows. However, Sen’s characterization of smallholder food security also supports the development of agency in both a political and an economic sense. Economic agency is discussed and tied to longstanding literatures on the moral significance of farming within political economy. Finally, while the newly emergent literature on food sovereignty includes many themes, it is shown to be re-articulating arguments that stress smallholder’s economic agency as a development goal. This pattern of argument thus provides a way to reconcile at least some of the claims being advanced under the banner of food sovereignty with the human development approach, while also restoring food ethics to a more central place in the overall discourse of development ethics

Inleiding Een pak rijst, een bloemkool, een kilo aardappelen zien er zo simpel uit: je koopt ze in de winkel, kookt ze enkele minuten en legt ze op je bord. Maar de processen die de rijst, bloemkool of aardappel tot resultaat hebben, daar gaat het ethisch gezien om. De Big Mac, plofkip, aardappel en grapefruit hebben hun landschappen met heel bepaalde dieren, boeren en consumenten, hier en nu, en heel ver weg en straks. Het is inherent onderdeel van de vervreemding tussen westerse mensen en hun voeding dat deze consequenties vaak niet worden meegenomen. Tegelijk menen veel burger-consumenten dat de huidige voedingsproductie onvoldoende rekening houdt met gezondheid, smaak, duurzaamheid, boeren, en fair trade. Vanuit die vervreemding, en de onvrede daarover, zijn er vooral vanuit burgers-consumenten heel veel nieuwe initiatieven opgekomen, die overigens al in ontwikkelingslanden soms heel normaal waren. Geen sprake van nostalgie of romantiek dus. Wat zullen innovaties als kweekvlees, precisielandbouw, boerloze productie, precisielandbouw, stadslandbouw, insecten en peulenburgers voor landschappen krijgen? Bij voedsel en landschap gaat het steeds om producten en processen, kwantiteit en kwaliteit, geld en goed werk, opbrengst en toegang tot voedsel, werk en ontspanning, (an)organische inputs en biodiversiteit, natuur en cultuur, dieren en mensen. Hoe liggen de verhoudingen tussen die polen? Wie beslist daarover? Wat zijn de optimale verhoudingen? Ik wil in dit verhaal eerst heel kort een historisch en cijfermatig overzicht geven van de relatie voeding, landbouw en landschappen in de moderne en laatmoderne tijd en dan aandacht geven aan nieuwe ontwikkelingen zoals stadslandbouw in die relatie. Vervolgens behandel ik de filosofische vragen als welke verbindingen tussen mensen, voeding en landschappen zijn wenselijk en welke zijn mogelijk. Hier ga ik nader in op vijf factoren die in een optimale balans een goed voedsellandschap bepalen. De vijfde factor betreft de filosofische betekenis van de relatie mens landschap. Dan wil ik me concentreren op de realiteit, en nagaan wat er in Nederland moet gebeuren om die wenselijke relatie tot stand te brengen uitgaande van zes verschillende vormen van voedselproductie. Hoe scoren die op de vijf factoren. Uiteindelijk zal ik betogen dat korte, participatieve voedselketens tussen producenten en consumenten van groot voordeel zijn voor de landschappen hier en ver weg, voor mensen, natuur en voor dieren. Moderne en laatmoderne landbouw Bij voeding zijn we vanaf de tweede wereldoorlog er aan gewend geraakt om aan een sector te denken die voedingsmiddelen produceert en aflevert aan consumenten en aan andere sectoren, zoals aan de sector werk, die van gezondheid, van onderwijs en van recreatie. Deze moderne indeling van de maatschappij in sectoren met hun eigen experts en bestuurders is functioneel, efficiënt, en beheersbaar. Dat zijn de uitgangspunten van moderniteit. Werk, onderwijs, recreatie, gezondheid, voeding, en landschap worden als aparte sectoren genomen in een proces dat door sociologen als Max Weber 'rationalisering' is genoemd. Maar zo langzamerhand weten we dat er geen aparte sectoren bestaan, en dat er allerlei dynamieken en grensoverschrijdingen zijn, die de sector benadering niet kan meenemen. Bijvoorbeeld: subsidies voor landbouw gaan voor het merendeel naar suikerrijke en vette levensmiddelen; als gevolg daarvan kampt gezondheid met obesitas, maar de verbindingen tussen de twee

Een belangrijke verandering die zich in de negentiende eeuw voltrekt, wordt in dit essay aangeduid als ‘de geboorte van de consument’. Om de actuele verschuiving en ontwikkelingen inzake de consumptie te begrijpen, is het goed een blik te werpen op het verleden. De huidige situatie is het resultaat van drie revolutionaire veranderingen: 1. ‘de genese van het voedselproduct’ (de impact van de Industriële
Revolutie op de sociaal-economische organisatie van de productie
van voedsel); 2. ‘de geboorte van de consument’ (de veranderingen in de sociaaleconomische organisatie van de consumptie van voedsel); 3. de biotechnologische revolutie, vooral de opkomst van voedingsgenomics.

The rise of responsible innovation of agriculture is a logic inevitable constituted by the addressing of agricultural Grand Challenges, comprehensive governance of agriculture 4.0. and the rectifying of capital logic.. The characteristics of agricultural responsible innovation contain stakeholder engagement, consideration of a range of alternatives, preparedness to respond and so on. Its values include the enhancement of trust and trustworthiness, the construction of competitive advantage, the acceptance and suitability of agricultural innovation and the outcomes, the sustainable development of agriculture and the like. And its approaches contain the three strategies suggested by D. C. Rose and J. Chilvers on the macro level, framework of six domains, value sensitive design and open innovation 2.0 on the meso level and discursive awareness and techno-ethical imagination on the micro level. Responsible Innovation of Agriculture could supply the thought of overall-responsibility for agricultural ethics,  基金项目：国家社科项目"人工智能负责任创新研究"(19CZX016)。 作者简介：刘战雄(1985-)，河北邢台人，南京农业大学副教授，哲学博士，主要研究方向为负责任创新，农业伦理、人工 智能治理。

В статье рассматриваются сырные традиции европейских регионов как часть гастрономической аутентичности и традиции потребления еды, свойственной определенной территории. Алтайская территория исследуется в качестве одной из территорий России, в которой сыр является неотъемлемой частью местной кухни, подобно французской, британской, германской, испанской и швейцарской кухням. Сырный брендинг по отношению к месту и региональному развитию работает на множестве различных уровней, в числе которых обращается внимание на сырные рестораны Лондона, Парижа, Страсбурга, Барнаула. / The article deals with the cheese traditions of European regions as part of the gastronomic authenticity and the tradition of food consumption peculiar to a certain territory. Altai territory is explored as one of the territories of Russia, where cheese is an integral part of the local cuisine, like French, British, German, Spanish and Swiss cuisine. Cheese branding in relation to the place and regional development works on a variety of different levels, including cheese restaurants in London, Paris, Strasbourg, Barnaul.

Dietary guidelines are mostly issued by agrifood departments or agencies of governments, and are the result of power play between interest groups and values. They have considerable influence over food preferences and purchases of consumers. Ethical problems are at stake not only with respect to power strategies and their influence on consumers. In this paper I will consider three different types of guidelines: a nutrient oriented type (like the Dutch or American ones), a process oriented type (Scrinis in Nutritionism: the science and politics of dietary advice, Columbia University Press, New York, 2013) and a meal oriented type (like the Brazilian one). In the nutrient oriented guidelines healthy nutrients and food stuffs are mentioned that excel in containing one or more ‘healthy’ nutrients. Bio- and nutrition scientists and the producers of nutrients, like the sugar, dairy and animal industry, have a lot of influence in this variant. The nutrient oriented framing of food is focussed on individual health. Individuals are implicitly addressed to take responsibility for their own long term health; they have to acquire surveillance and cognitive skills in interpreting their bio data. They don’t need to acquire skills to cook. In the process oriented type, foods and ingredients are categorized according to minimal, refined and  reconstituted production processes. Nutrition scientists have
the last say here. Consumers do need some food skills to handle fresh products. In the meal oriented guidelines, politicians, social scientists and fresh food producers have prominent responsibilities with respect to the formulation of the guidelines and their application. Buying fresh products, preparing and eating together are the main themes. Food is framed in terms of cooking, and eating and sharing meals. Consumers
have to spend time in buying fresh ingredients and cooking; they have to
develop food capabilities. The formulation of dietary guidelines is not a neutral operation, but determined by controversies about framings of food and health, responsibilities and also by integrity and self-confidence of experts. It is striking that biological and nutrition scientists often proclaim to possess the final truth on the healthiness of nutrients, and heap scorn on diet gurus. They don’t care that their
often incoherent recommendations cause a lot of confusion with consumers and sometimes even lack of trust. I discuss these themes in the paper and will also give some arguments why in the current situation the meal oriented type is ethically more acceptable.

Recent publications by Pogge (Global ethics: seminal essays. St. Paul: Paragon House 2008) and by Singer (The life you can save: acting now to end world poverty. New York: Random House 2009) have resuscitated a debate over the justifiability of famine relief between Singer and ecologist Garrett Hardin in the 1970s. Yet that debate concluded with a general recognition that (a) general considerations of development ethics presented more compelling ethical problems than famine relief; and (b) some form of development would be essential to avoiding the problems of growth noted by Hardin. Better than renewing the debate, we should recognize two points. First, food needs do indeed evoke a moral response that is more direct and compelling than the philosophical positions often generated to rationalize a duty to bring aid. As such the argument for feeding hungry people cannot be generalized into a paradigm for development ethics without distortions that undercut the morally valid elements in Singer's original argument. Second, contrary to prevailing assumptions in present day development ethics, food aid and famine relief continue to be important priorities for international agencies, notably the World Food Program. Emergency food assistance, the nominal topic of Singer's original article, thus is an important issue for agricultural as well as development ethics, though one that should indeed be seen as distinct from more complex duties to address the conditions of chronic poverty and underdevelopment.