Glass, Sara (author), Fanzo, Jessica (author), and Berman Institute of Bioethics, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
Berman Institute of Bioethics, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, 1809 Ashland Avenue, Deering Hall, Baltimore, MD, United States
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2017-04
Published:
USA: Elsevier
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 162 Document Number: D08099
12 pages, via Online Journal, Climate change compels us to rethink the ethics of our dietary choices and has become an interesting issue for ethicists concerned about diets, including animal ethicists. The defenders of veganism have found that climate change provides a new reason to support their cause because many animal-based foods have high greenhouse gas emissions. The new style of argumentation, the ‘climatic argument(s) for veganism’, may benefit animals by persuading even those who are not concerned about animals themselves but worry about climate change. The arguments about the high emissions of animal-based food, and a resulting moral obligation to abstain from eating such products, are an addition to the prior forms of argument for principled veganism grounded on the moral standing of, and concern for, nonhuman animals. In this paper, we examine whether the climatic argument for veganism is convincing. We propose a formulation for the amended version of the argument and discuss its implications and differences compared to the moral obligations of principled veganism. We also reflect upon the implications of our findings on agricultural and food ethics more generally.
25 pages., Online via UI e-subscription., Researchers investigated consumer attitudes toward vegetarianism, using two studies involving interviews with vegetarians and meat eaters. Text analysis revealed that "emotionally calibrated consumers were 'moral vegetarians' who find meat repulsive and make ethical food choices." Cognitively calibrated consumers were found to be 'health vegetarians' who "scanned the nutrition information, avoided meat due to health restrictions, and embraced vegetarianism for healthy life." Findings prompted suggestions for promoting vegetarianism.
