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THE ETHICS OF FOOD

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Many of us rarely ponder the ethical components of our food choices, yet our grocery-buying habits have far-reaching social and environmental consequences. Everything we eat, at some point or another, made a long and almost certainly frightening trip between farm and plate. Just like consumer goods, food products pass through complex stages called “commodity chains” to get from their point of original extraction from somewhere in the world to their final point of consumption. All along these stages there are people, local environments, and animals that are harmed by an unsustainable, inhumane and destructive global food and agriculture system.

For example, there are over 15,000 reported child slaves working on cocoa farms in Cote d'Ivoire, a country that exports 43% of the cocoa beans used to make the world's chocolate. Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, reports that in a single fast food hamburger patty there could be upwards of 1,000 different cows. Greenpeace Brazil reports that cattle ranching is the primary driver of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, with 79.5 per cent of deforested land used for cattle pasture. The IDRC has reported that Potato farmers in Ecuador suffer from decreased mental capacity caused by high exposure to chemical insecticides and pesticides. Multinational corporations and agribusinesses have monopoly control over seeds and pesticides, leading to the disappearance of small farms and traditional methods of farming, exacerbating poverty and fostering relationships of perpetual dependence.

So what can we do? Well, here are just a few things:

Get informed. Check out some of the resources below to find out more information about the ethics of food and begin to examine the impact of your food choices;

Buy free-range or organic. The chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require mass amounts of energy for production. Free range will also support higher welfare for animals;

Buy Australian products. There are a series of standards set in place for Australian food production, through a combination of government legislation and national food assurance schemes, which at least cover minimum welfare standards for animals. It is not as easy to regulate production methods for imported food, so adequate welfare for animals produced outside Australia is much more difficult to assess;

Buy locally produced food. Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store. This is good for the environment, the local economy and, where animals are concerned, this can mean they have not had to travel long distances in production or to slaughter;

Take a look at ingredients on the food you buy. All products should be labelled with their method of production, i.e. free-range or eggs from hens kept in battery cages. Some ready-made meals, including some vegetarian ranges, use battery eggs. If the packaging does not detail the production method of the ingredients, you could ask your supermarket or write to the manufacturer to find out;

Buy minimally packaged food products. Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%. Save 550 kg of carbon dioxide and $1,300 per year;

Buy fair-trade food products. Fair Trade empowers developing country producers and promotes sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods;

Compost your food waste. Compost is fantastic for improving the quality and moisture holding ability of your soil and it also reduces unnecessary food waste.

 

Books:

"The Ethics of Food" Gregory Pence - Amazon
"The Ethics of What We Eat" - Peter Singer - Amazon
"Fast Food Nation" Eric Schlosser - Amazon
"Bottomfeeder" Taras Grescoe - Amazon
"Stuffed and Starved" Raj Patel - Amazon
"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" Barbara Kingsolver - Amazon
"The End of Food" Paul Roberts - Amazon

Films:

Fast Food Nation: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/fastfoodnation/
Food Inc.: http://www.takepart.com/foodinc/

Audio:

"Deconstructing Dinner" - Author of Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser, debates the vice-president of corporate social responsibility for McDonald's Corporation, Bob Langert: http://thetyee.ca/Life/2008/08/09/FoodEthics/

Links:

Fair Trade Association of Aust & NZ: http://www.fta.org.au/
Food Ethics Council: http://www.foodethicscouncil.org/
Australian Community Foods: http://www.communityfoods.org.au/
Marine Stewardship Council: http://www.msc.org/
Slow Food: http://www.slowfood.com/
Australian Organic Food Directory: http://www.organicfooddirectory.com.au/
Australian Certified Organic: http://www.australianorganic.com.au/
The Organic Directory: http://www.theorganicsdirectory.com.au/
True Food Network: http://www.truefood.org.au/
True Food Guide: TrueFoodGuide.pdf
Ethical.org.au: http://www.ethical.org.au/index.php
Sustainable Living Foundation: http://www.slf.org.au/