Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Ethical Matrix as a Tool in Policy Interventions: The Obesity Crisis

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Food Ethics

Abstract

The chapter addresses the issue of how governments of democratic states might seek to assist their citizens to reverse the serious trend towards overweight and obesity. Recent reports have stressed the contributory role of the obesogenic environment that characterises contemporary UK society, and suggested that to be effective policy interventions need to be implemented on several fronts. The chapter explores the multidimensional capabilities of the ethical matrix as both a procedural and a substantive tool in such programmes, focusing on food production, marketing and consumption.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Obesity is generally assessed on the basis of the body mass index (BMI), defined as body weight (kg) divided by height (m).2 The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines “normal weight” as a BMI of 18.5–24.9, “overweight” as a BMI of 25.0–29.9, and “obese” as a BMI of over 30.0.

  2. 2.

    The author’s submission to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics public consultation exercise may be viewed at: http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/fileLibrary/pdf/Professor_Ben_Mepham001.pdf

References

  • Beauchamp TL, Childress JF (2001) Principles of biomedical ethics (5th edn). Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Chadwick R, Henson S, Moseley B, Koenen G, Liakopoulos M, Midden C, Palou A, Rechkemmer G, Schröder D, von Wright A (2003) Functional foods. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawford M, Ghebremeskel K (1996) The equation between food production, nutrition and health. In: Mepham, B (ed) Food ethics. Routledge, London, pp. 64–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (2007) Foresight, tackling obesities: Future choices-project report. Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health (2008) Healthy weight, healthy lives: A cross-governmental strategy for England. Department of Health, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Food Ethics Council (2008) http://www.foodethicscouncil.org

  • Follesdal A, Pogge T (eds) (2005) Real world justice. Springer, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsberg E-M (2004) Ethical assessment of marketing GM roundup ready rape seed GT73. In: de Tavernier J, Aerts S (eds) Science, ethics and society, preprints of 5th EURSAFE congress. EURSAFE, Leuven, Belgium, pp. 177–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsberg E-M (2007) A deliberative ethical matrix method – Justification of moral advice on genetic engineering in food production [Dr Art dissertation], University of Oslo

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser (2001) What is the moral of the GM food story? J Agric Environ Ethics 14:147–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galbraith, JK (1984) The anatomy of power. Corgi, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillon R (1998) Bioethics: Overview. In: Chadwick R (ed) Encyclopedia of applied ethics, vol. 1. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 305–317

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser M, Forsberg E-M (2001) Assessing fisheries – Using an ethical matrix in a participatory process. J Agric Environ Ethics 14:191–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B (1996) Ethical analysis of food biotechnologies: An evaluative framework. In: Mepham B (ed) Food ethics. Routledge, London, pp. 101–119. Reproduced in: Chadwick R, Schroeder D (eds) (2002) Applied ethics: Critical concepts in philosophy. Routledge, London, pp. 343–359

    Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B (2000a) The role of food ethics in food policy. Proc Nutr Soc 59:609–618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B (2000b) A framework for the ethical analysis of novel foods: The ethical matrix. J Agric Environ Ethics 12:165–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B (2001) Novel foods. In: Chadwick RF (ed) The encyclopedia of ethics of new technologies. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 299–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B (2004) A decade of the ethical matrix: A response to criticisms. In: de Tavernier J, Aerts S (eds) Science, ethics and society, preprints of 5th EURSAFE congress. EURSAFE, Leuven, Belgium, pp. 271–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B (2005a) The ethical matrix as a decision-making tool, with specific reference to animal sentience. In: Turner J, D’Silva J (eds) Animals, ethics and trade: The challenge of animal sentience. Earthscan, London, pp. 134–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B (2005b) Food ethics. In: Gunning J, Holm, S (eds) Ethics, law and society, vol. 1. Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot, pp. 141–151

    Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B (2005c) The ethical matrix: A framework for teaching ethics to bioscience students. In: Marie M, Edwards S, Gandini G, Reiss M, von Borell E (eds) Animal bioethics: Principles and teaching methods. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, pp. 313–327

    Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B (2008) Bioethics: An introduction for the biosciences (2nd edn). Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B, Millar KM (2001) The ethical matrix in practice: Application to the case of bovine somatotrophin. In: Pasquali M (ed) Food safety, food quality, food ethics, preprints of 3rd EURSAFE congress. A&Q, University of Milan, Florence, pp. 317–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Mepham B, Tomkins SM (2003) Ethics and animal farming (web exercise). Compassion in World Farming Trust, Petersfield. http://www.ethicalmatrix.net

  • Mepham B, Kaiser M, Thorstensen E, Tomkins S, Millar K (2006) Ethical matrix: Manual. http://www.ethical.tools.info/content/ET2%20Manual%20EM%20(Binnenwerk%2045p)pdf

  • Nuffield Council on Bioethics (2007) Public health: Ethical issues. Nuffield Council on Bioethics, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls J (1993) Political liberalism. Columbia University Press, New York and Chichester, Sussex

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls J (2002) Justice as fairness: A restatement. In: Kelly E (ed). Belknap Press, Cambridge, Mass and London, England, pp. 3–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder D, Palmer C (2003) Technology assessment and the ‘ethical matrix’. Poiesis Prax 1:295–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugarman SD, Sandman N (2007) Fighting childhood obesity through performance-based regulation of the food industry. Duke Law J 56:1403–1490

    Google Scholar 

  • Sustainable Development Commission (2008) Green, healthy and fair. Sustainable Development Commission, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Tong R (2004) Taking on ‘big fat’: The relative risks and benefits of the war against obesity. In: Boylan M (ed) Public health policy and ethics. Kluwer, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Applied Bioethics, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Ben Mepham

Authors
  1. Ben Mepham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ben Mepham .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Schweisfurth Foundation, Suedliches Schlossrondrell 1, München, 80638, Germany

    Franz-Theo Gottwald

  2. FB 1 Philosophie, Geschichts-,, Religions- u. Sozialwissensch., Universität Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 12, Essen, 45117, Germany

    Hans Werner Ingensiep

  3. Janssenstr. 26, Essen, 45147, Germany

    Marc Meinhardt

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Mepham, B. (2010). The Ethical Matrix as a Tool in Policy Interventions: The Obesity Crisis. In: Gottwald, FT., Ingensiep, H., Meinhardt, M. (eds) Food Ethics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5765-8_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation