Food; A Question of Ethics - 5 principles of ethical eating

See Food, a Question of Ethics, Published in Kindred, issue 22

By Peter Singer and Jim Mason

These principles do not encompass everything that is morally relevant to our food, but they can help us to decide all but the most contentious ethical issues.

1. Transparency: We have a right to know how our food is produced.

If slaughterhouses had glass walls, it’s often said, we’d all be vegetarian. That’s probably not quite true — some people can get used to almost anything. But transparency is increasingly recognised as an important ethical principle and a safeguard against bad practice.

Consumers should be able to get accurate and unbiased information about what they are buying and how it was produced.

2. Fairness: Producing food should not impose costs on others.

The price of food should reflect the full costs of its production. Then consumers can choose whether they want to pay that price. If no one does, the market will ensure that the item ceases to be produced. Meanwhile, if the method of producing food imposes significant costs on others without their consent — for example, by emitting odours that make it impossible for neighbours to enjoy living in their homes — then the market has not been operating efficiently and the outcome is unfair to those who are disadvantaged. The food will only be cheap because others are paying part of the cost — unwillingly. Any form of food production that is not environmentally sustainable will be unfair in this respect, since it will make future generations worse off.
 
3. Humanity: Inflicting significant suffering on animals for minor reasons is wrong.

Most people, even those opposed to more radical ideas of ‘animal liberation’ or ‘animal rights’, agree that we should try to avoid causing pain or other forms of distress to animals. Kindness and compassion towards all, humans and animals, is clearly better than indifference to the suffering of another sentient being.

4. Social Responsibility: Workers should have decent wages and working conditions.

Minimally decent treatment for employees and suppliers precludes child labour, forced labour and sexual harassment. Workplaces should be safe, and workers should have the right to form associations and engage in collective bargaining, if they so choose. There must be no discrimination on the basis of race, sex or disabilities irrelevant to the job. Workers should receive a wage sufficient to cover their basic needs and those of dependent children.

5. Needs: Preserving life and health justifies more than other desires.

A genuine need for food, to survive and nourish ourselves adequately overrides less pressing considerations and justifies many things that might otherwise be wrong. In contrast, if we choose a particular food out of habit, or because we like the way it tastes, when we could have nourished ourselves equally well by making a different choice, then that choice has to meet stricter ethical standards.