- "Environmental ethics is an established field of practical philosophy... Ethics exerts influence on a large range of disciplines including environmental law, environmental sociology, ecotheology, ecological economics, ecology and environmental geography."
This subfield explores the ethical implications of food production on the environment and includes issues such as sustainable farming practices, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting biodiversity.
Ecology: The study of interactions between living organisms and their environment. This includes food chains, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem functions.
Agriculture: The practice of growing crops, raising animals, and other activities related to food production. Agricultural practices are an important consideration in food ethics, as they can have significant impacts on the environment and animal welfare.
Animal welfare: The ethical treatment of animals, both in terms of their well-being while alive and the way they are killed for food production.
Environmental justice: The fair distribution of environmental benefits and harms, including access to healthy food and protection from environmental hazards.
Food waste: The amount of food that is discarded or otherwise wasted throughout the food production and consumption process. Food waste is an important consideration in food ethics, as it has significant environmental and social implications.
Genetic modification: The process of altering the genetic makeup of an organism in order to achieve desired traits. Genetically modified crops and animals are an important topic in food ethics, as they can have both positive and negative impacts on the environment and human health.
Sustainability: The ability of ecosystems and human society to continue functioning over time without depleting resources or causing harm to the environment. Sustainable food production and consumption are a key consideration in food ethics.
Climate change: The long-term alteration of global weather patterns and other environmental conditions, largely caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases. Climate change has significant implications for food production and consumption, as well as for environmental and social justice.
Land use: The allocation and management of land for various purposes, including agriculture, urban development, and conservation. Land use is an important consideration in food ethics, as it can have significant impacts on the environment and social justice.
Consumer behavior: The attitudes and actions of individuals regarding food production and consumption. Consumer behavior is an important consideration in food ethics, as it can have significant impacts on the environment and social justice.
Anthropocentrism: This type of environmental ethics places human interests at the center of our decisions and actions concerning food.
Biocentrism: This ethical philosophy puts equal weight on all living things, including non-human animals and plants.
Ecocentrism: This approach considers the environment as a whole, rather than focusing on individual organisms, and aims to maintain the natural balance of ecosystems.
Environmental pragmatism: This ethical system argues that practical considerations, such as the need for food, should guide our environmental decisions.
Deep ecology: This environmental philosophy emphasizes the interconnectedness of all living things and argues that humans must respect the inherent value of nature.
Ecofeminism: This ethical system combines concerns about the environment with feminist insights, and emphasizes the interconnectedness of nature and society.
Social ecology: This approach emphasizes the social and economic factors that contribute to environmental problems and advocates for systemic change to solve these problems.
Green conservatism: This type of environmental ethics seeks to balance environmental protection with conservative values, such as a commitment to maintaining traditional ways of life and preserving cultural heritage.
Animal rights: This perspective argues that animals have the same moral status as humans and that it is wrong to treat them as mere objects for human use.
Environmental justice: This ethical system aims to ensure that all people, regardless of race or socio-economic status, have equal access to healthy, sustainable food and environments.
- "The main competing paradigms are anthropocentrism, physiocentrism (called ecocentrism as well), and theocentrism."
- "These decisions raise numerous questions."
- "Should humans continue to clear cut forests for the sake of human consumption?"
- "Why should humans continue to propagate its species, and life itself?"
- "Should humans continue to make gasoline-powered vehicles?"
- "What environmental obligations do humans need to keep for future generations?"
- "Is it right for humans to knowingly cause the extinction of a species for the convenience of humanity?"
- "How should humans best use and conserve the space environment to secure and expand life?"
- "What role can Planetary Boundaries play in reshaping the human-earth relationship?"
- "The academic field of environmental ethics grew up in response to the works of Rachel Carson and Murray Bookchin and events such as the first Earth Day in 1970..."
- "Two papers published in Science had a crucial impact: Lynn White's 'The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis'... and Garrett Hardin's 'The Tragedy of the Commons'..."
- "An essay by Aldo Leopold in his A Sand County Almanac, called 'The Land Ethic,' in which Leopold explicitly claimed that the roots of the ecological crisis were philosophical."
- "The first international academic journals in this field emerged from North America in the late 1970s and early 1980s..."
- "The US-based journal Environmental Ethics in 1979..."
- "The Canadian-based journal The Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy in 1983."
- "The first British-based journal of this kind, Environmental Values, was launched in 1992."