Ethical Principles in Food Production and Processing

Abstract

Food production raises various ethical issues related to maintaining the health and safety of consumers, fair treatment of employees and the meeting of requirements of their social rights, economic sustainability and use of natural resources, animal welfare, fair trade, food, climate change, etc. Some issues are specific to each phase of the chain, while other issues are universal and apply to the entire food/nutrition chain. After the introduction, referring to the principles of ethics and bioethics as specific science, the authors analyzed a number of papers related to the activities in the process of production, processing and distribution of food. The overview gives various examples of ethical dilemmas in the context of food availability and sustainable development,food safety and quality, consumer concerns about their health, and addressing these requirements. At the end of the chapter, activities and procedures for reducing cases of violation of ethical principles are analyzed, through the application of a code of ethics, adherence to the precautionary principle, more effective verification of compliance with regulations and standards in an ethical manner, etc.