Good food: ethics and politics of food
Bachelor's degree
In Maynard (USA)
Description
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Type
Bachelor's degree
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Location
Maynard (USA)
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Start date
Different dates available
This course explores the values (aesthetic, moral, cultural, religious, prudential, political) expressed in the choices of food people eat. Analyzes the decisions individuals make about what to eat, how society should manage food production and consumption collectively, and how reflection on food choices might help resolve conflicts between different values.
Facilities
Location
Start date
Start date
Reviews
Subjects
- Production
- Moral
- Ethics
- Politics
Course programme
Lecture: 2 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
Recitation: 3 sessions / course, 1 hour / session
None
Our choices about what to eat are expressive of different sorts of value. Some choices are expressive of our aesthetic values: they concern which foods are or are not tasty, appealing, delicious, revolting, etc. Some choices are expressive of our moral values: which foods we are morally permitted to eat; which kinds of food production are permissible, or not, due to forms of labor required, and the environmental impact, or health implications. Some food choices are expressive of our cultural or religious values: which foods are culturally or religiously required or forbidden, which are high- or low-status, etc. All of these sorts of values are tremendously important to the ways we live our lives.
In considering our food choices, we will discuss several specific moral issues:
We'll look at questions both about individual food choices and about food policy — at questions both about what we should, as individuals, decide to eat, and what actions we, as a society, ought to take in order to influence how our food is grown, processed, marketed, sold and consumed.
The course is designed to improve students' ability to
Reading, discussing, and writing about the assigned readings are the central activities of this class. There is a reading assignment for each lecture. Some are quite difficult and demand careful study. You should complete the assigned readings before each lecture, as the lecture will often resuppose familiarity with the material in the texts.
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Good food: ethics and politics of food