- Chris MacDonald is a Toronto-based ethicist, professor, speaker and consultant.
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Category Archives: marketing
Ethics of Small Choices
Yesterday, on my Business Ethics Blog, I published a short blog entry about an ethical dilemma faced by a coffee shop. The dilemma — and disagreement between co-owners — was whether to offer the standard range of sweeteners and whiteners … Continue reading
Posted in choice, ethics, health, marketing, natural, nutrition, restaurants, values
5 Comments
The Ethics of the Cost of Ethical Food
It’s bad if high prices get in the way of eating a) well or b) ethically, and there are plenty of myths about both. And today alone I’ve read two interesting pieces on the price of food. First, the NYT’s … Continue reading
Posted in consumerism, ethics, farmers markets, local, marketing, organic, prices, values
3 Comments
Price of a Cocktail
Of all the ethical issues involved in producing, transporting, marketing, and selling food, pricing is one of the least-well explored. Issues of pricing are essentially absent from the academic literature on business ethics, for example, presumably because for “standard” products, … Continue reading
Posted in alcohol, marketing, prices, restaurants
1 Comment
Store Does End-Run Around Egg Safety
Here’s a chuckle, and a caution: Store sells cartons, gives away eggs A health food store in eastern P.E.I. is looking for a way around health regulations after provincial officials told them to stop selling eggs they buy from local … Continue reading
Posted in certifiction, ethics, health, law, marketing, safety
3 Comments
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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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
US Government Contradicts Itself in Promoting Cheese
[Addendum (Dec. 14 2010) — it seems the NYT article cited below may have been misleading. See this blog entry here. Thanks to reader Anastasia for notifying me.] I love cheese. Probably too much. If I ate as much of … Continue reading
Posted in health, junk food, marketing, public policy, USDA
2 Comments
Beer as Taxidermy
I guess if you’re going to push your luck in terms of social objections to your product, you might as well push hard. In particular, if you’re going to produce a beer (typically a low-alcohol beverage) with 55% alcohol, you … Continue reading
Posted in alcohol, animal rights, ethics, marketing
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Energy Drinks Again — This Time, With Alcohol
I recently blogged about controversy over energy drinks, and particularly over marketing them to young people. Well, energy drinks are back in the news. And this time, they’ve got added booze. See: Caffeine and Alcohol Drink Is Potent Mix for … Continue reading
Eat Your Veggies!
I love vegetables. In fact, I never met a vegetable I didn’t like (except ones that are poorly prepared), and veggies make up most of my diet. Alas, the same cannot be said for everyone. See this story, by Kim … Continue reading
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