The Ethics of What We Eat

Meet three different families with three different lifestyles. The Hillard-Nierstheimer family exemplifies the standard meat-and-potatoes diet: they shop at the local supermarket, occasionally eat fast food, and enjoy their meat, Coke and beer. The Masarech-Motavalli family is concerned about its health and generally buys fresh, locally grown vegetables. They call themselves ‘caring carnivores'—they’ll only eat meat from animals raised to humane standards. The Farb family is vegan: nothing they eat comes from an animal, and wherever possible they buy organic. Peter Singer and Jim Mason take a standard meal enjoyed by each family and trace its ingredients back through the production process to see what ethical issues arise. From turkeys specially bred to have massive breasts so they can no longer stand up, to chickens dropped alive into boiling water; from revelations of child and forced labour on coffee plantations, to the lack of policing of the term ‘organic'—the authors raise questions about people’s everyday food choices and challenge us to think before we buy. After all, we must eat. On what should conscientious consumers dine? And what is all this stuff doing to our health? What Singer and Mason discover about food choices and their links to human health, animal suffering and environmental degradation will shock and challenge you. Containing essential information on ethical but practical shopping and dining, The Ethics of What We Eat will forever change the way you look at food.