Toward a Food Ethic

Abstract

First paragraphs: Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic is credited with defining a new relationship between people and nature and setting the stage for the modern conservation movement (Aldo Leopold Foundation, n.d.). Most simply stated: A thing is right when tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when tends otherwise (Partridge, 1993, Land Ethic, para. 10). Again, in the words of Leopold, The ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land (Aldo Leopold Foundation, n.d., para. 1). I believe we need a similar Food Ethic to guide the modern sustainable agriculture movement. Some may question the need for a new ethic. There is already an interdisciplinary field of study called ethics that provides ethical analysis and guidance for human conduct in the production, distribution, preparation and consumption of food (Peeler, 2015, para. 2). Catholic Rural Life program has long reminded us that Eating is a Moral Act, noting that, We say this simply because sustains life. But the world of agriculture is extremely complex and there are many moral dimensions to it (Catholic Rural Life, 2012, para. 1). idea of a ethic also is a common sentiment among Native Peoples. Ethical eating certainly is not new idea....