- Chris MacDonald is a Toronto-based ethicist, professor, speaker and consultant.
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Author Archives: Chris MacDonald
Fast Food Beef: What Matters?
According to emoneydaily.com, McDonald’s is raising prices to reflect increases in the cost of beef: McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Chief Financial Officer Pete Bensen said, “As commodity and other cost pressures become more pronounced as we move throughout the year, we will … Continue reading
Global Food Crisis
While many of us in the wealthier parts of the world are busy arguing about just which sub-type of organic lettuce we’re using in our salads, or whether we ought to take an “animal rights” approach versus an “animal welfare” … Continue reading
Posted in agriculture, international, public policy
3 Comments
The Farmed Salmon Feed Controversy & Consumer Responsibility
Here’s an interesting video & writeup about the controversy over the production of fishmeal for the feeding of farmed salmon. From The Ecologist: farmed salmon feed controversy. The video & accompanying text focus on Peru, and in particularly on the … Continue reading
Posted in choice, consumerism, ethics, fisheries, regulation, values
2 Comments
Horse Meat (again)
Two days ago I blogged about Horse Meat Ethics. I discussed the fact that eating horse is considered taboo (in many places), and that slaughtering horses is illegal in the U.S., despite the fact that a) horse is widely eaten … Continue reading
Posted in activism, agriculture, animal rights, animal welfare, ethics, meat, values
1 Comment
Horse Meat Ethics
In case you didn’t know, slaughtering horses for human consumption is legal in Canada (where I live), but illegal in the U.S. That’s not to say that eating horses is common in Canada. Far from it. But it is apparently … Continue reading
Posted in agriculture, animal rights, animal welfare, ethics, law, meat
9 Comments
Seafood Certification for Iceland
Fisheries are undeniably an important part of the global food supply. Whether they are, 20 years from now, a smaller or larger part of that supply depends chiefly on whether they are managed in a sustainable way. Doing so isn’t … Continue reading
Posted in certifiction, fisheries, international
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Wildlife Farming in Vietnam
This is an interesting bit about value conflict. In particular, it’s about the dangers of focusing on “natural” foods, when those “natural” foods are either endangered or en route to being so. Here’s the story, by Rachel Nuwer, for Science: … Continue reading
Posted in agriculture, ethics, health claims, marketing, meat, organic, public policy, values, wildlife
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PETA and Fur in Canada
This one isn’t strictly about food, but the relevance is pretty clear. The question: in a nation (i.e., Canada) built, once upon a time, on the fur trade, can a politician wrap his family in fur and win a public … Continue reading
Posted in activism, animal rights, animal welfare, ethics
1 Comment
Children, Food, and Indoctrination
A few weeks back, this video of a precocious kid talking about the ethics of food made the rounds. I wasn’t sure what to say about it. I guess it’s finally time. I don’t like to pick on kids, but … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, agriculture, children, consumerism, ethics, factory farms, farmers, genetic modification, health claims, industrial, kids, local, marketing, meat, organic, values
4 Comments
Cloning and “Proportionate” Regulatory Response to Risk
Regulation, it perhaps goes without saying, is a tricky business. It necessarily involves a small number of politicians, bureaucrats, and technical advisors devising and implementing rules on a staggering range of activities and products and services. The number of issues … Continue reading
Posted in agriculture, cloning, ethics, health, meat, nanotechnology, public policy, regulation
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