Food and the ethics of eating

BY JULIE SEAMER
MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2007

Immersed in our busy lives, we often don't have time to regard eating as a matter of ethics. In many traditional religions, such as Judaism, Hindi or Islam, discussions of what should and shouldn't be eaten are an intrinsic part of morality. However, do "average" Australians pay less attention to what we eat? Encouragingly, the answer appears to be no.

Over the past few decades, there is mounting awareness that what we eat has a far reaching impact beyond our dinner plates and waist lines. Organic foods are the fastest growing section of the food industry. We are increasingly choosing organic products for improved taste and health reasons such as chemical-free nutrition. Also, concern for the environment plays a big part: in comparison to non-organic agriculture, organic farming avoids exploitation of natural resources by employing sustainable practises.

If we are what we eat, then ethical eating means making informed food choices. Suggested principles to guide us include:

Transparency

Where does our food come from? As consumers we should have access to accurate unbiased information about what we are buying and how it was produced.

Fairness

Do the methods of food production disadvantage others, such as a factory producing toxic outfall on neighbouring communities? Does the market operate efficiently and is it sustainable?

Humanity

We don't need to be radical liberationists to have compassion for our fellow humans and other beings. Avoiding the pain and suffering of animals by supporting 'free range' foods is a small but not insignificant start.

Social Responsibility

It's not entirely easy to know what kind of workplaces food companies provide for their staff. Yet, everybody deserves to work in a safe environment with decent wages, free from discrimination. What kind of companies are we supporting with our dollar, each time we walk through the supermarket aisles? Have we even thought about this?

Eating ethically isn't about feeling guilty. As individuals, we certainly don't need to add stress to our list of ingredients when choosing what to have for dinner. It is simply healthy to remember that if we hope to make a difference, we should be mindful of our 'purchasing power'. By supporting fair traders, or local farmer's markets, food can certainly make us feel good, in more ways than one.