The Ethcis of Eating and Peter Singer.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Animal well-being; production standards; fair trade; environmental impacts, including of local production; and genetically modified foods are among the considerations of the applied ethical calculus. Readers are warned that we cannot know exactly how far the concepts of "free range" or "humanely slaughtered" might be stretched, and that even humanely raised animals take up space that might be better used to grow crops or provide habitat for wild species.

In a Slate interview, Singer suggests that to improve the conditions under which animals are raised, either consumers must be ethically motivated to pay more for their food or else unfair competition must be eliminated with regulations. In a Mother Jones interview, he comments that the market is probably the best tool for producing change in the U.S. whereas the political system may be a more effective tool in Europe. Mason and Singer recommend that consumers ideally follow a vegan diet and buy organic and fair trade items. If, however, one merely avoids products produced by intensive animal agriculture, Singer says you will have already achieved 80% of what the book suggests we should strive to accomplish. The immorality of obesity is also discussed. The book will also be reviewed in the next New York Times Sunday Book Review.