Hello, World!

Now, when I first say “ethics,” what do you think of? Usually it’s Big, World-Changing, Life-Or-Death, People-Dying-by-the-Thousands types of problems. But on closer examination, it seems as if ethics has wormed its way into our everyday life choices, and that sometimes those are even harder to face than the Big ones.

In this blog, I want to explore the nature of food and how it is related to ethics. Food you say? How can eating food even be considered close to a moral decision making process? My answer: you might be surprised when you take a closer examination of what goes into your food, the processes that make it, and the impact it has on the global community, whether that be socially, politically, environmentally, medically, or otherwise.

Some social ramifications are easy to see – such as the growing number of fast food chains and the growing number of people who eat fast food on a regular basis relating to the growing waistlines of people not only in the US, but around the world, and the associated diseases and health issues that are related to this “obesity epidemic.” Some of the more obvious, such as diabetes and heart disease, are causing ever increasing strain on our nation’s healthcare system, and in turn that puts pressure on politicians. One might think that all the pressure would force the government to put limits on consumption or other “big brother” tactics. But as we can see from history, those with money usually get to do whatever they want…and with more Americans every day investing in and eating fast food, corporations like McDonalds have more power to do whatever they want, when they want.


Getting started: Web Information (sources and articles that influence):

Wikipedia is often my first go-to when I want to explore any such topic, but although they show many of the view points, I believe there is yet so much more to discuss in detail about the aspects that relate to our diet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics_of_eating_meat

Food Inc. is a film trying to tackle some of the big issues of ethics in food – including factory farming, use of pesticides, impact environmentally and in local communities, and in politics.
http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Fast Food Nation – The dirty little secrets of the fast-food industry, exposed! How the permeation of fast-food into American (and global) culture is taking its toll on health and ethics.
http://books.google.com/books?id=yNFN1OpnkBkC&dq=fast+food+nation+book&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=lxxUS6qeM4X-sQPL6tz7Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=fast%20food%20nation%20book&f=false

Super-Size Me is a movie exploring some of the health ramifications of eating fast food as a staple in one’s diet. It follows one mans journey to eat nothing but fast food for an entire month, and the physical results could serve as a cautionary tale to many…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me and
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0390521/

Recently, the USDA has come under fire for inadequate inspection of meat and other animal and plant products, especially in regards to E. Coli. This is somewhat ironic, for when you look at the rules and regulations page of the USDA inspection (in this case, beef) the rules are ridiculously complicated and intense. Is this because we need harsher regulations? Or is someone slacking on the job?
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/Federal_Meat_Inspection_Act/index.asp