Food Ethics

We face decisions about what to eat several times a day. In this class, we will cover the following questions. How should facts about animal life and death inform our food decisions? Does the suffering involved in meat, egg, and dairy production make the practices immoral? How do our choices affect local and non-local economies, the environment, and other people? Is government intervention in the form of food policies justifiable? Given the connections between eating practices and various ethnic, religious, and class identities, how can we formulate reasonable food policies and practices? What are the ethical dimensions of obesity, body positivity, and eating disorders? While prior experience with philosophy or ethics is helpful, it is not a pre-requisite for this class. This course is suitable for those who want to expose themselves to the topics above, and investigate them in a philosophically rigorous manner.