The ethics of eating: what the freegan is this?
Everyone
is talking about food. Chefs and food critics are celebrities.
"Locavore" and "freegan" have earned spots in the
dictionary. Popular books and films about food production and consumption are
exposing the unintended consequences of the standard American diet. Questions
about the principles and values that ought to guide decisions about dinner have
become urgent for moral, ecological, and health-related reasons. So, as we
begin a New Year and perhaps the inevitable resolution of ‘new diet new me’, which
ethical corner will you be in at the dinner table?
In
Philosophy Comes to Dinner,
twelve philosophers—some leading voices, some inspiring new ones—join the
conversation, and consider issues from the sustainability of modern
agriculture, to consumer complicity in animal exploitation, as well as the pros
and cons of alternative diets.
The
last few years have seen much written that should psychologically (and perhaps
physically) unsettle those who eat the typical American diet, but this book ups
the ante. Not only does it contain important new arguments, it is packed with
provocative new questions.
Concerned
consumers have been discussing food reform for decades. An entire social
movement has even formed around the issue. But—somewhat astonishingly—we have
yet to think systematically about the ethical implications of our proposals. Philosophy Comes to Dinner
changes that.
In
a culinary world marked by simplistic and polarized extremes—organic versus
conventional, free trade versus fair trade, local versus global food, vegan
versus "conscientious carnivore," and so on— it asks us to exchange
ideology for reflection and thoroughly explore why we’re making the food choices we are
making. Philosophy Comes to Dinner represents the fact that
philosophy is, figuratively, just one guest around a very crowded table,
alongside agriculture, business, government, nonprofit, and religion, who can
play a pivotal role in transforming our food system.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home