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1.
Kate Millar Erik Thorstensen Sandy Tomkins Ben Mepham Matthias Kaiser 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2007,20(1):53-63
A number of EU institutions and government committees across Europe have expressed interest in developing methods and decision-support
tools to facilitate consideration of the ethical dimensions of biotechnology assessment. As part of the work conducted in
the EC supported project on ethical tools (Ethical Bio-TA Tools), a number of ethical frameworks with the potential to support
the work of public policy decision-makers has been characterized and evaluated. One of these potential tools is the Delphi
method. The Delphi method was originally developed to assess variables that are intangible and/or shrouded in uncertainty
by drawing on the knowledge and abilities of a diverse group of experts through a form of anonymous and iterative consultation.
The method has hitherto been used by a diversity of practitioners to explore issues such as technology assessment, environmental
planning, and public health measures. From the original (classical) Delphi, a family of Delphi-related processes has emerged.
As a result of the evaluation of the various Delphi processes, it is proposed that the classical method can be further developed
and applied as a form of ethical framework to assist policy-makers. Through a series of exercises and trials, an Ethical Delphi
has been developed as a potential approach for characterizing ethical issues raised by the use of novel biotechnologies. Advantages
and disadvantages of the method are discussed. Further work is needed to develop the procedural aspects of the Ethical Delphi
method and to test its use in different cultural contexts. However, utilizing an ethical framework of this type combines the
advantages of a methodical approach to capture ethical aspects with the democratic virtues of transparency and openness to
criticism. Ethical frameworks such as the Ethical Delphi should contribute to better understanding of and decision-making
on issues that involve decisive ethical dimensions. 相似文献
2.
This special issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics presents so-called ethical tools that are developed to support systematic public deliberations about the ethical aspects
of agricultural biotechnologies. This paper firstly clarifies the intended connotations of the term “ethical tools” and argues
that such tools can support liberal democracies to cope with the issues that are raised by the application of genetic modification
and other modern biotechnologies in agriculture and food production. The paper secondly characterizes the societal discussion
on agricultural biotechnology and defends the thesis that normative perspectives fuel this discussion, so one cannot come
to grips with this discussion if one neglects these perspectives. The paper thirdly agrues that no such thing exists as “one”
societal debate in which these issues should be discussed. There are several interwined debates, and different actors participate
in different discourses. Some practical instruments are necessary in order to include the right issues in these debates. These
instruments will be coined as “ethical tools,” since they are practical instruments that can be used (tools) in order to support
debates and deliberative structures for a systematic engagement with ethical issues (hence, ethical tools). Finally, the
paper clarifies the ethics of these ethical tools and presents the tools as discussed in the remainder of this special issue:
1) tools to include ethical issues in public consulation and involvement; 2) tools to support systematic reflection upon ethical
issues in decision-making; and 3) tools to support explicit communication about values in the food chain. 相似文献
3.
Ben Mepham 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2000,12(2):165-176
The paper addresses the issue of how indemocratic societies a procedure might be formulatedto facilitate ethical judgements on modernbiotechnologies used in food production. A frameworkfor rational ethical analysis, the Ethical Matrix, isproposed. The Matrix adapts the principles describedby Beauchamp and Childress for application to medicalissues, to interest groups (e.g., producers,consumers, and the biotic environment) affected bythese technologies. The use of the Matrix isillustrated by applying it to an example of a ``novelfood,' viz., a form of genetically modified maize. 相似文献
4.
Kriton Grigorakis 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2010,23(4):345-370
The ethical issues raised by aquaculture were analyzed. A modification of the Ethical Matrix of the Food Ethics Council for
the evaluation of novel foods was used; the Ethical Matrix was changed in order to include the various aquaculture production
stages separately. The following stages were distinguished: the breeding stage, the growth/feeding stage, the “other-handling”
stage (that includes disease and treatment, transportation of organisms, killing procedure, and DNA vaccinations), and the
commercialization stage. The ethical issues concerning the producers, the consumers, the environment, and the aquacultured
organisms, are discussed. This scheme was fitted to the intensive cage-culture of carnivorous fish. The differences with other
forms of aquaculture are discussed, and how the scheme extrapolates to them. The ethical evaluation of aquaculture, in practice,
will be rather a utilitarian balancing of cost and benefits of the respective actions. The desired characteristics of an ethical
evaluation have been also outlined. Ethical evaluation should not be limited to a purely scientific analysis; it should be
holistic, comparable to available alternatives, and should have the flexibility to incorporate new data generated in the fast
growing/continuous changing aquaculture sector. 相似文献
5.
Johannes M. M. Engels Hannes Dempewolf Victoria Henson-Apollonio 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2011,24(2):107-126
Humans have always played a crucial role in the evolutionary dynamics of agricultural biodiversity and thus there is a strong
relationship between these resources and human cultures. These agricultural resources have long been treated as a global public
good, and constitute the livelihoods of millions of predominantly poor people. At the same time, agricultural biodiversity
is under serious threat in many parts of the world despite extensive conservation efforts. Ethical considerations regarding
the collecting, research, and use of agricultural biodiversity are currently topics of great concern. For example, easy access
to genetic resources for breeding purposes is important, but international agreements and legal frameworks are necessary to
ensure adequate recognition of the contributions of local communities and traditional farmers in creating and nurturing these
resources. Here, we assess ethical principles in the context of existing codes of conduct that are relevant for agro-biodiversity
researchers. We aim to create awareness among scientists and policy makers who are concerned with agro-biodiversity research
and its potential impact on local communities. We encourage a serious assessment of the ethical principles presented here
and hope to facilitate an integration of these principles into the reader’s personal ethical framework. Key ethical principles
considered here include the importance of obtaining prior informed consent, equity, and the inalienability of rights of local
communities and farmers. 相似文献
6.
Ellen-Marie Forsberg 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2007,20(5):455-468
The ethical matrix approach was developed by Prof Ben Mepham and his colleagues at the University of Nottingham in the early
1990s. Since then the approach has received increasing attention and has been used by several researchers in different projects
related to assessing ethical impacts of different food production technologies and other policy options of societal concern.
The ethical matrix is sometimes understood simply as a checklist of ethical concerns, but might also be seen as a guide to
coming to conclusions on moral questions. The problem I discuss in this paper relates to how using the ethical matrix method
as a decision guide can be combined with respecting pluralism. The aim of the paper is to suggest a framework making it possible
to – at the same time – enhance public justification of judgments and respect pluralism. I argue that pluralism is fundamental
to the ethical matrix approach; I distinguish between intuitionist principled pluralism and societal value pluralism; and I show how both kinds of pluralism imply restrictions on how conclusions can be made. No substantive moral decision
principles can be allowed. Still, I argue, decision principles of a more epistemological or procedural character can be acceptable
even within pluralism. The pragmatist principle of inquiry is defended as an account of moral problem solving compatible with
both principled pluralism and value pluralism. When an ethical matrix is used within such a participatory inquiry process
substantive conclusions can be drawn. 相似文献
7.
Zahra Meghani 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2009,22(2):125-139
The process of risk assessment of biotechnologies, such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), has normative dimensions.
However, the US’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seems committed to the idea that such evaluations are objective. This
essay makes the case that the agency’s regulatory approach should be changed such that the public is involved in deciding
any ethical or social questions that might arise during risk assessment of GMOs. It is argued that, in the US, neither aggregative
nor deliberative (representative) democracy ought to be used to make such determinations. Instead, participatory (deliberative)
democracy should be the means by which members of the polity decide which normative concerns ought to underlie FDA’s assessment
of GMOs. This paper uses a hypothetical case involving a new GM seed to make that argument. 相似文献
8.
Improvements in production methods over the last two decades have resulted in aquaculture becoming a significant contributor
to food production in many countries. Increased efficiency and production levels are off-setting unsustainable capture fishing
practices and contributing to food security, particularly in a number of developing countries. The challenge for the rapidly
growing aquaculture industry is to develop and apply technologies that ensure sustainable production methods that will reduce
environmental damage, increase productivity across the sector, and respect the diverse social and cultural dimensions of fish
farming that are observed globally. The aquaculture industry currently faces a number of technology trajectories, which include
the option to commercially produce genetically modified (GM) fish. The use of genetic modification in aquaculture has the
potential to contribute to increased food security and is claimed to be the next logical step for the industry. However, the
potential use of these technologies raises a number of important ethical questions. Using an ethical framework, the Ethical
Matrix, this paper explores a number of the ethical issues potentially raised by the use of GM technologies in aquaculture.
Several key issues have been identified. These include aspects of distributive justice for producers; use of a precautionary
approach in the management of environmental risk and food safety; and impacts on the welfare and intrinsic value of the fish.
There is a need to conduct a comparative analysis of the full economic cycle of the use of GM fish in aquaculture production
for developing countries. There is also a need to initiate an informed dialogue between stakeholders and strenuous efforts
should be made to ensure the participation of producers and their representatives from developing nations. An additional concern
is that any national licensing of the first generation of GM fish, i.e., in the USA, may initiate and frame an assessment
cycle, mediated by the WTO, which could dominate the conditions under which the technology will be applied and regulated globally.
Therefore, an integrated analysis of the technology development trajectories, in terms of international policy, IPR, and operational
implications, as well as an analysis of a broader range of ethical concerns, is needed. 相似文献
9.
Ethical reflection deals not only with the moral standing and handling of animals, it should also include a critical analysis
of the underlying relationship. Anthropological, psychological, and sociological aspects of the human–animal-relationship
should be taken into account. Two conditions, asymmetry and ambivalence, are taken as the historical and empirical basis for
reflections on the human–animal-relationship in late modern societies. These conditions explain the variety of moral practice,
apart from paradoxes, and provide a framework to systematize animal ethical problems in a broader field. This allows the development
of ideal relationships as moral orientation across anthropocentric or sentientistic ethical theories. These ideal relationships
are called the patronage-model, the friendship-model and the partnership-model. The ethical problem of creating transgenic
animals is discussed in the light of these ideal relationships. 相似文献
10.
Elisabeth Graffy 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2012,25(4):503-528
If tacit ethical ideals shape policy and practice, even when practitioners are not fully aware of underlying philosophical assumptions, then philosophical frameworks that support diagnostic, evaluative, and adaptive capacity in the sphere of action are critical to sustainability. Thompson’s agrarian-influenced sustainability framework substantially advances beyond the prevailing triple bottom line approach, as experimental evaluation of biofuels sustainability illustrates. By suggesting that governance of complex social-natural systems lies at the core of contemporary sustainability challenges, Thompson illuminates the critical importance of social capacity for deliberation and choice—a powerful and somewhat unexpected theme requiring more development by philosophers and practitioners alike going forward. 相似文献
11.
Marvin Waterstone 《Environmental management》1993,17(2):141-152
The issue of greenhouse warming has received a great deal of attention in recent years. It has become the object of much scientific scrutiny, media coverage, and political rhetoric. What is our current state of knowledge regarding this phenomenon? What are the possible options for preventing or slowing its advance, or for living with its consequences? What obstructs our taking actions to deal with this issue? These are the questions addressed here. Beginning with a brief overview of our current knowledge, I then examine potential policy options, and finally assess the likelihood of constructive actions. The conclusion reached is that we will probably not deal with this issue, not because we lack a sufficient understanding of the phenomenon, its consequences and workable solutions, but because we lack the philosophical, ethical, and political will to do so. As a result we are likely to continue to drift across a sea of platitudes. 相似文献
12.
Clemens Driessen 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2012,25(2):163-179
A plethora of ethical issues in livestock agriculture has emerged to public attention in recent decades, of which environmental
and animal welfare concerns are but two, albeit prominent, themes. For livestock agriculture to be considered sustainable,
somehow these interconnected themes need to be addressed. Ethical debate on these issues has been extensive, but mostly started
from and focused on single issues. The views of farmers in these debates have been largely absent, or merely figured as interests,
instead of being considered morally worthwhile themselves. In this paper the relevance for ethical debates of the ways farmers
discuss and engage with moral concerns is explored. The variety of norms that figure in contemporary farming practices is
sketched in its multifarious complexity, illustrated by ethnographic fieldwork, and systematized in terms of “orders of worth.”
Reviewing the practical arguments and commitments of farmers within this framework reveals that farming practices are subject
to mixed motives, in which an amalgam of types of concerns play a role. Recognition of the peculiarly entangled nature of
the ethics of farming practices could counter the tendency in policy making, technological innovation, and ethical thought
to compartmentalize our moral landscape. Understanding farming practice as the integration of a mosaic of concerns in the
light of a variety of moral experiences would foster public appreciation of positions of farmers in debates on improving the
sustainability and societal acceptability of livestock agriculture. 相似文献
13.
What is the relationship between biotechnology employees’ beliefs about the moral outcomes of a controversial transgenic research project and their attitudes of acceptance towards the project? To answer this question, employees (n=466) of a New Zealand company, AgResearch Ltd., were surveyed regarding a project to create transgenic cattle containing a synthetic copy of the human myelin basic protein gene (hMBP). Although diversity existed amongst employees’ attitudes of acceptance, they were generally: in favor of the project, believed that it should be allowed to proceed to completion, and that it is acceptable to use transgenic cattle to produce medicines for humans. These three items were aggregated to form a project acceptance score. Scales were developed to measure respondents’ beliefs about the moral outcomes of the project for identified stakeholders in terms of the four principles of common morality (benefit, non-harm, justice, and autonomy). These data were statistically aggregated into an Ethical Valence Matrix for the project. The respondents’ project Ethical Valence Scores correlated significantly with their project acceptance scores (r=0.64, p<0.001), accounting for 41% of the variance in respondents’ acceptance attitudes. Of the four principles, non-harm had the strongest correlation with attitude to the project (r=0.59), followed by benefit and justice (both r=0.54), then autonomy (r=0.44). These results indicate that beliefs about the moral outcomes of a research project, in terms of the four principles approach, are strongly related to, and may be significant determinants of, attitudes to the research project. This suggests that, for employees of a biotechnology organization, ethical reasoning could be a central mechanism for the evaluation of the acceptability of a project. We propose that the Ethical Valence Matrix may be used as a tool to measure ethical attitudes towards controversial issues, providing a metric for comparison of perceived ethical consequences for multiple stakeholder groups and for the evaluation and comparison of the ethical consequences of competing alternative issues or projects. The tool could be used to measure both public and special interest groups’ ethical attitudes and results used for the development of socially responsible policy or by science organizations as a democratizing decision aid to selection amongst projects competing for scarce research funds. 相似文献
14.
Reza Banai‐Kashani 《Journal of Environmental Planning and Management》1990,33(2):85-90
If the search for values lies at the kernel of the philosophical ethical inquiry, then Lynch's monumental work, A Theory of Good City Form must be regarded as shaping the contours of an environmental design and planning ethic. The explicit connection between human values and settlement form in Lynch's theory reaches far in the realm of environmental design and planning, with ethical, legal, and procedural implications. Furthermore, the universal (performance) dimensions of the theory offer an accountability of the contingency of the particular (historical) conditions specific to place and society. A close scrutiny of the key theoretical dimensions suggests the possibility of bridging the procedure vs. substance, object vs. subject and means vs. ends chasms. Thus, certain ethical, legal, and procedural dilemmas encountered in competing theoretical perspectives are reconciled. 相似文献
15.
Karsten Klint Jensen Jan Tind Sørensen 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》1998,11(2):85-100
This paper presents the idea of a decision-support system for a livestock farm, called “ethical accounting”, to be used as
an extension of traditional cost accounting. “Ethical accounting” seeks to make available to the farmer information about
how his decisions affect the interests of farm animals, consumers and future generations. Furthermore, “ethical accounting”
involves value-based planning. Thus, the farmer should base his choice of production plan on reflections as to his fundamental
objectives, and he should make his final decision only after having seriously considered the various consequences for the
affected parties.
This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
16.
Liberal societies are characterized by respect for a fundamental value pluralism; i.e., respect for individuals’ rights to
live by their own conception of the good. Still, the state must make decisions that privilege some values at the cost of others.
When public ethics committees give substantial ethical advice on policy related issues, it is therefore important that this
advice is well justified. The use of explicit tools for ethical assessment can contribute to justifying advice. In this article,
I will discuss one approach to ethical assessment, the ethical matrix method. This method is a variant of intuitionist balancing.
Intuitionism is characterized by stressing the existence of several (at least two) fundamental prima facie moral principles, between which there is no given rank order. For some intuitionist approaches, coherentism has been proposed
as a model of justification. This article will discuss justification of ethical advice and evaluate the appropriateness of
coherentism as a justificatory approach to intuitionist tools. 相似文献
17.
In order to achieve improved sustainability, local authorities need to use tools that adequately describe and synthesize environmental information. This article illustrates a methodological approach that organizes a wide suite of environmental indicators into few aggregated indices, making use of correlation, principal component analysis, and fuzzy sets. Furthermore, a weighting system, which includes stakeholders’ priorities and ambitions, is applied. As a case study, the described methodology is applied to the Reggio Emilia Province in Italy, by considering environmental information from 45 municipalities. Principal component analysis is used to condense an initial set of 19 indicators into 6 fundamental dimensions that highlight patterns of environmental conditions at the provincial scale. These dimensions are further aggregated in two indices of environmental performance through fuzzy sets. The simple form of these indices makes them particularly suitable for public communication, as they condensate a wide set of heterogeneous indicators. The main outcomes of the analysis and the potential applications of the method are discussed. 相似文献
18.
In this article, we critically reflect on the concept of biomimicry. On the basis of an analysis of the concept of biomimicry in the literature and its philosophical origin, we distinguish between a strong and a weaker concept of biomimicry. The strength of the strong concept of biomimicry is that nature is seen as a measure by which to judge the ethical rightness of our technological innovations, but its weakness is found in questionable presuppositions. These presuppositions are addressed by the weaker concept of biomimicry, but at the price that it is no longer possible to distinguish between exploitative and ecological types of technological innovations. We compare both concepts of biomimicry by critically reflecting on four dimensions of the concept of biomimicry: mimesis, technology, nature, and ethics. 相似文献
19.
Daryl H. Hepting JoAnn Jaffe Timothy Maciag 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2014,27(3):453-469
There is a large gap between attitude and action when it comes to consumer purchases of ethical food. Amongst the various aspects of this gap, this paper focuses on the difficulty in knowing enough about the various dimensions of food production, distribution and consumption to make an ethical food purchasing decision. There is neither one universal definition of ethical food. We suggest that it is possible to support consumers in operationalizing their own ethics of food with the use of appropriate information and communication technology. We consider eggs as an example because locally produced options are available to many people on every continent. We consider the dimensions upon which food ethics may be constructed, then discuss the information required to assess it and the tools that can support it. We then present an overview of opportunities for design of a new software tool. Finally, we offer some points for discussion and future work. 相似文献
20.
Ethical Rooms for Maneuver and Their Prospects
Vis-à-vis the Current Ethical Food Policies in Europe
Michiel Korthals 《Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics》2008,21(3):249-273
In this paper I want to show that consumer concerns can be implemented in food chains by organizing ethical discussions of
conflicting values that include them as participators. First, it is argued that there are several types of consumer concerns
about food and agriculture that are multi-interpretable and often contradict each other or are at least difficult to reconcile
without considerable loss. Second, these consumer concerns are inherently dynamic because they respond to difficult and complex
societal and technological situations and developments. For example, because of the rising concern with global warming, carbon
dioxide absorption of crops is now attracting public attention, which means that new requirements are being proposed for the
environmentally friendly production of crops. Third, there are different types of consumers, and their choices between conflicting
values differ accordingly. Consumers use different weighing models and various types of information in making their food choices.
Changing food chains more in accordance with consumer concerns should at least take into account the multi-interpretable,
dynamic, and pluralist features of consumer concerns, for example, in traceability schemes. In discussing usual approaches
such as codes, stakeholder analysis, and assurance schemes, I conclude that these traditional approaches can be helpful. However,
in cases of dynamic, pluralistic, and uncertain developments, maintaining some pre-existing evaluating scheme or some clear
cut normative hierarchy, such as codes or assurance schemes, can be disastrous in undermining new ethical desirable initiatives.
Instead of considering ethical standards and targets as fixed, which is done with codes and schemes, it is more fruitful to
emphasize the structure of the processes in which ethical weighing of relevant consumer concerns get shaped. The concept of
“Ethical Room for Maneuver” (ERM) is constructed to specify the ethical desirable conditions under which identification and
weighing of paramount values and their dilemmas can be processed. The main aims of the ERM are making room in all the links
of the food chain for regulating and implementing the relevant consumer concerns by (1) balancing and negotiating, (2) supporting
information systems that are relevant and communicative for various consumer groups and (3) organizing consumer involvement
in the links of the food chain. The social and political context of agriculture and food production, particularly in Europe,
gives ample opportunity for implementing several types of Ethical Rooms for Maneuver. Finally, I discuss several types of
Ethical Rooms for Manoeuvre in the food chains that can be communicated by means of specific traceability schemes to less
involved stakeholders with the potential consequence that the stakeholders will be motivated to be more involved. 相似文献