Practical Ethics for Food Professionals: Ethics in Research, Education and the Workplace

Ethical considerations are involved in every aspect of a foodprofessional s education and career, but the subject israrely taught explicitly. Unfortunate examples of ethical lapsesabound in news reports and many issues of strategy have ethicalcomponents, but guiding principles are sometimes difficult toarticulate. Some business and engineering colleges have adopted anemphasis on values and ethics, but these also need to becommunicated to food professionals who have the opportunity toapply them in a practical sense.

Practical Ethics for Food Professionals offers apractical guide to the most pressing ethical issues faced by thoseworking in food manufacturing and associated industries. Earlychapters look at the fundamentals of ethical thinking and how thelessons of medical ethics might be applied to the food industry.The book then addresses some issues specifically relevant to thefood industry including the treatment of animals; ethics inpublishing; worker exploitation; health claims andsustainability.

Several further chapters present case studies which show howethical thinking can be applied in real life examples.

This volume is directed at food scientists, technologists andother professionals working in food manufacturing companies andfood research institutions. It will also provide valuable readingfor educators and students of food and agriculture–relatedsubjects.

Contributors ix

Preface xi

PART I PRINCIPLES

1 Fundamentals of ethics: the use of virtues 3
Edmund G. Seebauer

2 Lessons from medical ethics 21
Thomas A. Nairn

3 Ethical principles and the ethical matrix 39
Ben Mepham

4 An East Asian perspective on food ethics: implications forchildhood obesity in mainland China 57
Vinh Sum Chau

PART II ISSUES IN FOOD INDUSTRY ETHICS

5 Ethics in business 77
Timothy F. Bednarz

6 Ethics in publishing/reporting food science and technologyresearch 93
Daryl Lund

7 Humane treatment of livestock 101
Temple Grandin

8 Sustainable food production and consumption 117
Jeanette Longfield

9 Good or bad foods? Responsible health and nutrition claims inEurope 135
Sue Davies

10 Worker exploitation in food production and service 153
Charlie Clutterbuck

PART III EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDIES

11 Ethical practices in the workplace 173
J. Peter Clark

12 Ethical thinking and practice 189
Louis B. Clark

13 The fair trade movement 203
Richard Norman

14 A serious case: the Peanut Corporation of America 221
Mark F. Clark

15 Ethical aspects of nanotechnology in the area of food andfood manufacturing 239
Herbert J. Buckenhuskes

16 Food commodity speculation an ethical perspective247
Chris Sutton

PART IV CONCLUSION

17 Reflections on food ethics 265
Christopher Ritson

Index 277

Dr J. Peter Clark
is Consultant to the Process Industries and Contributing Editor: Food Technology magazine (IFT), Oak Park, Illinois, USA

Christopher Ritson
is Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Marketing at the Centre for Rural Economy, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, UK

Ethical practices, once a traditional component of basiceducation and daily living, appear to have too often slipped fromour culture. The authors provide a practical guide for applyingethical principles to the global food production and processingindustry while anchoring doing the right or ethically best thing to the foundations of Westernphilosophy. The volume leads the reader to conclude thatapplication of practical ethics to each link of the commercial foodchain would greatly benefit all, from the producer to theconsumer.   ( Journal of Aquatic Food ProductTechnology , 22 April 2014) I highly recommend the groundbreaking and veryapproachable book PracticalEthics for Food Professionals: Ethics in Research, Education andthe Workplace edited by J. Peter Clark and Christopher Ritson,to any academics, teachers, and students in any food related andagricultural program, business leaders in the food industry,primary agricultural producers, public policy makers, and activistsseeking a clear and practical series of essays that offer acomplete overview of values and ethics in the food industry. Thisbook should be a must read for anyone making decisions within anypart of the food industry.   ( Blog BusinessWorld , 27 July 2013)