Category Archives: ecosystems

Monsanto Wins on Sugar Beets

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Chris MacDonald

By Karen Gullo, for Bloomberg: Monsanto Wins Reversal of Order to Destroy Sugar Beet Plants Monsanto Co. and the U.S. Agriculture Department won reversal of a judge’s order to destroy genetically modified sugar beet seedlings planted last year, a federal … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, biotechnology, ecosystems, ethics, genetic modification, GMO, law, USDA | Comments Off on Monsanto Wins on Sugar Beets

Ethical Ranking for Tuna

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Chris MacDonald

Tuna. It’s the type of fish most likely to be in the average pantry at any given moment. And it is perhaps the one fish that has most clearly been turned into something very like a true commodity. On your … Continue reading →

Posted in activism, aquaculture, ecosystems, endangered species, ethics, fisheries, sustainability | 1 Comment

Waste Not, Want Not: Nutria as Ethical Fur (and Meat?)

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

This story isn’t about food, really, but it could have been. It’s about the use of fur from the toothy beast known as the nutria (a.k.a. swamp rat) in the world of fashion, and the attempt to market its pelt … Continue reading →

Posted in animal rights, ecosystems, ethics, meat, vegetarianism | 4 Comments

Portable Food Factories

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

Can the word “factory” ever be used in a food-related context in a way that doesn’t sound like a criticism? Can an chemical company ever produce something that could be welcomed by fans of local, organic agriculture? How about a … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecosystems, factory farms, industrial, labour, organic, values | Comments Off on Portable Food Factories

What’s the Point of Urban Farming?

Posted on October 9, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

Some people’s enthusiasm for urban farming is downright infectious. See, for example, this article: Will Allen and The Urban Farming Revolution, by Ethan Zuckerman. Will Allen is redefining farming. His farm is a set of greenhouses in a corner of … Continue reading →

Posted in activism, agriculture, aquaculture, ecosystems, environment, farmers, kids, labour, values | 2 Comments

Meat Production and Utopian Fantasies

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

Meat production is perhaps the big ethical issue in the realm of food. Not that long ago, vegetarianism and veganism were the domain of hippies and university undergraduates, but not any longer. Now that the ecological impact of meat production … Continue reading →

Posted in consumerism, ecosystems, environment, farmers, meat, public policy, vegan, vegetarianism | 5 Comments

GM Salmon: Ethics, Regulation, and Labelling

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

We are getting closer and closer to seeing genetically-modified salmon on the dinner table. When that happens (yes, “when”, not “if”) then GM salmon will be the first genetically-modified food animal to be consumed by humans. Here’s the story, Sarah … Continue reading →

Posted in aquaculture, biotechnology, ecosystems, ethics, fisheries, genetic modification, labeling, science | 3 Comments

GMO Vigilantes

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

The world of GM foods is apparently reinventing the spaghetti western. In Italy these days, the debate over GM has turned into a wild-west-style battle between vigilantes. Here’s the story, from Elisabeth Rosenthal, writing in the NYT: In the Fields … Continue reading →

Posted in activism, agriculture, biotechnology, ecosystems, environment, farmers, genetic modification, international, regulation | 10 Comments

Should Companies Label Genetically Modified Foods?

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

Since this blog is relatively new, readers may not have seen my postings (on my Business Ethics Blog) about the labelling of GM foods. (See here and here.) This is a topic I’ve given considerable thought, and have published on … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, biotechnology, ecosystems, ethics, genetic modification, labeling, marketing, regulation, science | 63 Comments

Safety of Louisiana Fish & Shrimp

Posted on July 31, 2010 by Chris MacDonald

In the wake of the BP oil disaster, the fisheries off the Gulf Coast are doubly important. They’re a big source of jobs for folks in the Gulf states, and the health of the shrimp and fish there is an … Continue reading →

Posted in ecosystems, environment, ethics, fisheries, regulation, safety | Comments Off on Safety of Louisiana Fish & Shrimp