Before Dinner: Philosophy and Ethics of Food (The International Library of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Ethics, 5)

This book is an extensive, original and systematic treatment of many important philosophical and ethical aspects of food (consumption and production). May we eat just anything? Can we do everything with animals, even genetic modification? If not, how can we regulate those processes so that they lead to optimum animal welfare while at the same time producing optimum taste? The production of food also causes environmental pollution – does the fight against hunger have priority over the care of the environment? The care of the environment, animal welfare, and the quality of food should be in a certain harmony, but that is far from granted and hardly easy to achieve. These factors are often in conflict with each other, and a balance will thus need to be searched for. Other factors to take into consideration are the issue of global famine, the care for a farming class that is able to keep its head above water in a decent way, and a fair trade system that does not throw up unnecessary barriers for newcomers or small market participants and that promotes good nutrition. Famine continues to be a widespread phenomenon that violates human rights, causing nearly a billion people to suffer from hunger or malnutrition. At the same time, deliberate hunger,В abundance, and obesityВ are prevalent in the Western world. Both issues refer to the social and cultural aspects of food. Scientific and technological developments like genetic modification and functional food also play an increasingly important role; almost every bite that we take is determined by scientific developments. An extra difficulty is that scientific information is often contradictory, or that it relies on statistical probabilities that are difficult to translate into everyday certitudes. All of these factors deserve attention, but it is the mix that is most important. In the land of food, ‘either orвЂTM does not exist, only ‘both andвЂTM. The adequate measure of ‘both andвЂTM serves as the starting point for this philosophical reflection. В __Before Dinner__ is a must-read for all people interested in contemporary ethical issues of food, such as university students and researchers of food, agricultural and life sciences, as well asВ policymakers in these fields, such as members of professional organisations focusing on food and agriculture (f.e., EURSAFE (European Society for Agriculture and Food Ethics), the Agriculture, FoodВ and Human Values Society (USA), and European Federation of Biotechnology).

science Cultivating Practice Is An Institutional History Of Agricultural Science In The Netherlands And Its Overseas Territories. The Focus Of This Study Is The Variety Of Views About A Proper Relationship Between Science And (agricultural) Practice. Such Views And Plans Materialised In The Overall Organisation Of Research And Education. Moreover, The Book Provides Case Studies Of Genetics And Plant Breeding In The Netherlands, Colonial Rice Breeding, And Agricultural Statistics. Ideas Affected The Organisation As Much As The Other Way Round. The Net Result Was An Institutional Development In Which The Values Of Academic Science Were Rated Higher Than The Values Of Practice.
This Book Is A Distinctive Piece Of Work As It Treats The Dynamics Of Science In A European As Well As In A Colonial Context. These Different Ecological And Social Environments Lead To Other Forms Of Knowledge And Experimentation As Well As Other Ways Of Organising Science.

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this Text Represents The Published Version Of Maat's (wageningen U., The Netherlands) Doctoral Thesis, Exploring The Development Of Agricultural Science In The Netherlands And Its Colonies Between The 1860s And 1980s, And The Consequences Of This Development For The Connection Between Science And Practice. Coverage Includes An Overview Of Science And Agriculture In The Nineteenth Century; The Organization Of Agricultural Research; The Development Of Scientific Agricultural Education Between The 1870s And 1980s; The Development Of Genetics And Plant Breeding Of Wheat In The Netherlands; Rice Breeding In The Dutch Colonies; Numerical Abstraction In Agricultural Science, And How Quantification Affects The Perception Of Agricultural Scientists Regarding Practice And Science; And Recent Developments And Projections For The Future. Annotation C. Book News, Inc., Portland, Or (booknews.com)

Machine generated contents note: 1 Introduction 1. The Central Issues 2. Inspiring Theoretical Notions 3. Objectives and Methodology 4. Layout of the Book 2 Science and Agriculture in the Nineteenth Century 1. Introduction 2. Science and Agriculture in the Netherlands 3. Science and Agriculture in the Dutch East Indies 4. Conclusion 3 The Organisation of Agricultural Research 1. Introduction 2. Agricultural Research in the Netherlands, 1870s-1920s 3. Agricultural Research on Java, 1870s- 1940s 4. Agricultural Research in the Netherlands 1930s-1980s 5. Conclusion 4 Scientific Education for Agriculture 1. Introduction 2. Educating Scientific Farmers 3. Higher Agricultural Education 4. Disciplinary Differentiation 5. Conclusion 5 Genetics and Plant Breeding: Wheat in the Netherlands 1. Introduction 2. Plant Breeding and Science 3. Science and Plant Breeding 4. Institutional Differentiation 5. Conclusion 6 Rice Breeding in the Dutch Colonies 1. Introduction 2. Rice Breeding on Java 3. Mechanised Rice Cultivation in Surinam 4. Conclusion 7 Numerical Abstraction in Agricultural Science 1. Introduction 2. Agricultural-Economic Statistics 3. Mathematical Statistics 4. Mathematical Modelling 5. Conclusion 8 Conclusion and Postscript 1. Conclusion 2. Postscript: Some Current Developments References 1. Archives 2. Serials 3. Interviews 4. Bibliography Index.