Shivani Sharma

It is no secret that there have been radical changes in the way we produce and consume food ever since the introduction of industrial methods of production to food. Such changes have raised several ethical concerns about loss of biodiversity, ethical treatment of animals, nutritional quality of industrial food, safety of genetically modified food, and adequate working conditions of people in agricultural sector among many others. Food ethics has recently started to respond to some such concerns. However, a food ethics that is based on individualistic theories and principles such as well-being, and liberty is part of the problem. The shortcoming is that it identifies individuals only in an isolated way without considering their social contexts and relationships. We are tied by our location, cultural values, race, gender, familial traditions, societal norms, and human institutions, along with relationships to environments and animals. In order to highlight the narrow focus of individualistic principles in addressing food debates I have utilized an ethical tool called the ‘ethical matrix’ that analysis food issues with respect to the principles of well-being, autonomy and justice. In this paper, I present the case for a communitarian model of food ethics that can help address the ethical concerns raised by industrial food production and also suggest a possible way to assist in making ethical decisions.

The world that we live in today is now dominated by strict national identities, where this national allegiance is given paramount importance. This holds true today as it did during the time Rabindranath Tagore expressed his dissent over such strong patriotic feelings. The main issue that emerges with such a rigid sense of belonging is putting a limit around the scope of individual freedom. How creative or independent can an individual be in an environment whose fate is getting sealed by a mechanical organization called ‘nation’?