Abstract
Food Ethics has become an essential part of a globalized world and thus the question “What is Food Ethics?” seems almost superfluous. At the beginning of the twenty-first century about one billion people are starving all over the world, while the industrial nations are locked in debate about the financial crisis or climate change. At the same time there are many interdisciplinary discussions about special problems in the field of applied ethics and in this new and young discipline called Food Ethics. Experts mainly in Western societies discuss everything pertaining to the entire food chain, like obesity, traceability, agro-food biotechnology, transgenic plants, biofuels, and the world trade system. On the other hand, for years non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been lamenting politicians’ lack of interest in creating or using existing ethical tools for solutions geared toward changing this situation. This background motivated us to compile this book and hence give some insights into current discussions and important issues within the field of Food Ethics. The main principles, tools and case studies are presented in this book as well as useful information at national and international levels. Today we are still far from Food Ethics being a regular subject at schools or universities – even though it should be and will be of great interest in the future. However, it is questionable whether Food Ethics should be understood as a homogeneous discipline. Many scientists of diverse disciplines are currently working on Food Ethics, and each of them has chosen a different theoretical or practical approach. Within the scope of Food Ethics the focus of interest is not only on reaching scientific but also economic and/or political goals. In politics or economics ethical matters in particular have to be taken into account. Today, the image of business and management ethics is enhanced when Food Ethics standards are applied.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bacon F (1938) New Atlantis. In: Moore Smith CG (ed). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Baranzke H, Gottwald F-T, Ingensiep HW (2000) Leben Töten Essen. Anthropologische Dimensionen. Hirzel, Stuttgart
Beauchamp TL, Childress JF (2008) Principles of biomedical ethics (6th ed). Oxford University Press, Oxford
Beekman V et al. (ed) (2006) Ethical bio-technology assessment tools for agriculture and food production. Final report Ethical Bio-TA Tools (QLG6-CT-2002-02594). The Hague 2006 http://www.ethicaltools.info/content/ET1%20Final%20Report%20%28Binnenwerk%2059p%29.pdf. Accessed 8 January 2010
Butler S (1979) Erewhon. Erewhon revisited. Reprint (1872/1901). Dent, London
Campanella T (2004) The city of the sun. A poetical dialogue between a grandmaster of the knights hospitallers and a Genoese sea-captain, his guest. http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/c/campanella/tommaso/c18c/. Accessed 10 November 2008
Comstock GL (ed) (2002) Life science ethics. Iowa State Press, Ames, IA
Eder K (1993) The new politics of class. Social movements and cultural dynamics in advanced societies. Sage, London
Ekardt F (2004) Zukunft in Freiheit: Eine Theorie der Gerechtigkeit, der Grundrechte und der politischen Steuerung. CH Beck, München
Hesiod (1914) Works and days. (transl: Evelyn-White HG) http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hesiod/works.htm. Accessed 12 October 2008
Kropotkin P (1970) The conquest of bread. University Press, New York
Kropotkin P (1902) Mutual aid: A factor of evolution. William Heinemann, London
Meadows D, Randers J, Meadows D (2004) Limits to growth. The 30-year update. Earthscan, London
Meadows DS, Meadows DH, Zahn E (1972) Die Grenzen des Wachstums. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart
Mepham B (ed) (1996) Food ethics. Routledge, London
Mepham B (2005) Bioethics. An introduction for the biosciences. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Rousseau J-J (2004) A discourse upon the origin and the foundation of the inequality among mankind. http://www.gutenberg.net. Accessed 11 November 2008
Sachs W (1992) The developmental dictionary. A guide to knowledge as power. Zed Books, London
Schumacher EF (1999) Small is beautiful. Economics as if people mattered. 25 years later… with commentaries. Hartley & Marks, Vancouver
Schumacher EF (1973) Small is beautiful. Economics as if people mattered. HarperCollins, London
Skorupinski B, Baranzke H, Ingensiep HW, Meinhardt M (2006) Consensus conferences – A case study: PubliForum in Switzerland with special respect to the role of lay persons and ethics. J Agric Environ Ethics 20:37–52. doi 10.1007/s10806-006-9016-7
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ingensiep, H.W., Meinhardt, M. (2010). Introduction: Food Ethics in a Globalized World – Reality and Utopia. In: Gottwald, FT., Ingensiep, H., Meinhardt, M. (eds) Food Ethics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5765-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5765-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5764-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5765-8
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPhilosophy and Religion (R0)