Traceability – the ability to track a product from farm to plate – is now widely used in the food sector for a range of purposes: it allows companies to improve efficiency, facilitates product recall, and helps producers flag the specific characteristics of their goods. But traceability systems are mainly designed and used by the people directly involved in the food chain. The people at the end of the food chain – food consumers – have little say in which attributes are traced, and can rarely access the information stored in traceability systems.
This book draws on philosophical discourses (like ethics, political philosophy and philosophy of law) around food ethics and empirical research in three important food chains (UK bread, Danish bacon and Greek olive oil) to argue that ethical traceability systems could be used to communicate food information to consumers, allowing them not only to make food choices consistent with their own values, but also to play a more informed role in the way food is produced and distributed. It will appeal to academics, students and policy makers with an interest in traceability, food ethics and food policy.
Author(s): Christian Coff, David Barling, Michiel Korthals, Thorkild Nielsen
Series: The International Library of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Ethics
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 329
Contents......Page 9
Foreword......Page 6
Editors' Preface......Page 8
List of Abbreviations......Page 14
List of Tables......Page 17
List of Figures......Page 19
Contributors......Page 21
Introduction......Page 25
The Emergence of Traceability in the Food Chain......Page 26
Traceability in Contemporary Food Chains......Page 28
Ethics, Traceability and Food......Page 32
Consumers' Ethical Concerns......Page 34
Informed Food Choice......Page 35
The Plan of the Book......Page 38
Part I: Regulation, Governance and Narrative Strategies of Food Traceability......Page 43
2. The European Union and the Regulation of Food Traceability: From Risk Management to Informed Choice?......Page 46
EU Governance and Its Review......Page 47
EU Regulation of Traceability......Page 50
The Reform of Food Safety Regulation and Food Law in the EU: Risk Management and Traceability as Control......Page 54
Conclusion......Page 63
Introduction......Page 66
From Governing to Governance......Page 67
Agri-Food Governance: The Interaction of Public and Private Forms......Page 68
Multilevel Governance of Food and Agriculture......Page 75
The International Governance of Agri-Food Traceability......Page 76
Conclusion: The Governance Contexts for Realizing Ethical Traceability......Page 81
Four Possible Narrative Strategies of Food Advertising......Page 86
Empirical Research into Narrative Strategies used in Italian and Spanish Journals......Page 89
Narratives and Advertising Strategies......Page 98
Implications of Advertising Strategies for Ethical Traceability......Page 100
Conclusion......Page 101
Part II: Ethical Traceability in Three Food Supply Chains: Case Studies of Danish Bacon, UK Wheat-Bread and Greek Olive Oil......Page 102
Introduction......Page 105
The Danish Pork Chain......Page 106
Strategy of Differentiation......Page 109
Danish Bacon......Page 112
Ethical Concerns in the Pork Sector......Page 115
Traceability and Ethical Traceability in the Chain......Page 119
Stakeholders' and Consumers' Response to Ethical Concerns......Page 122
Communication in the Chain......Page 137
Discussion of Findings......Page 140
Introduction......Page 146
Wheat into Bread: Overview of a Mature, Complex Supply Chain......Page 148
Traceability in the Chain, and its Ethical Dimensions......Page 159
Perspectives on Ethical Concerns along the Chain......Page 166
Information and Communication along the Chain......Page 174
Some Conclusions for Ethical Traceability......Page 179
The Olive Tree and Olive Oil......Page 187
The Greek Olive Oil Chain......Page 190
Traceability and Ethical Traceability in the Olive Oil Chain......Page 195
Storage and Bottling......Page 197
Ethical Concerns Along the Olive Oil Chain......Page 200
Human Health......Page 201
Methods of Production and Processing and their Impacts......Page 202
Working Conditions......Page 203
Origin and Place......Page 204
Voice and Participation......Page 205
Traceability and Information Flows in the Olive Oil Chain......Page 206
Conclusions on Traceability and on Ethical Traceability in the Olive Oil Chain......Page 208
Part III: Ethical Traceability and its Philosophical Implications for Civil Society, Market, State and Democracy......Page 212
Introduction: The Challenge of Ethical Traceability......Page 214
Informed Food Choice......Page 216
Seven Approaches to Public, Private and Civil Society......Page 219
Seven Responses to Ethical Traceability......Page 225
Situating Informed Food Choice Between Public and Private Spheres......Page 228
Conclusion......Page 231
Concerns About Animal Welfare......Page 235
Right and Good......Page 238
Animal Ethics from Comprehensive Liberal Perspectives......Page 244
Animal Ethics from a Political Liberal Perspective: Towards an Overlapping Consensus on How to Treat Animals......Page 247
Conclusion......Page 249
Introduction......Page 252
Some Basic Liberal Distinctions......Page 253
Overlapping and Non-Overlapping......Page 256
Traceability of Food Safety......Page 257
Reasonable and Non-Superficial Food Values......Page 258
Concerns about Impacts of Genetic Modification......Page 260
Naturalness......Page 261
Overlapping and Non-Overlapping Food Values......Page 262
A Cynical and Constructive Response to Empowerment......Page 263
Conclusion......Page 264
Introduction: The Increase and Dynamics of Consumer Concerns......Page 267
Three Types of Consumer Concerns......Page 268
Multi-Interpretable, Conflicting ('Dilemmatic') and Dynamic Character of Consumer Concerns......Page 269
Ethical Room for Manoeuvre......Page 273
ERM and Ethical Traceability......Page 275
Three Types of Traceability......Page 276
Types of Ethical Room for Manoeuvre......Page 278
Conclusion......Page 279
'The Trace', 'To Trace' and 'Traceability'......Page 282
Interpreting Traceability......Page 284
Conclusion......Page 287
Part IV: Conclusions and Outlook......Page 290
Introduction......Page 292
Background: Arguments for Communication......Page 293
One-Way Information Strategies......Page 294
Participatory Strategies......Page 296
Implications for Communicating Ethical Traceability......Page 299
Conclusion......Page 303
Annex 1: Enabling Consumer Involvement Through Information and Communication Technologies......Page 304
14. Conclusions and Policy Options......Page 307
Findings from the Food Supply Chain Case Studies......Page 308
Risks of Implementing Ethical Traceability......Page 311
Recommendations and Policy Options for Ethical Traceability......Page 312
Ethical Traceability as a Communication Tool......Page 314
Annex: Two Political Speeches: Consumers' Informed Choice and Ethical Traceability......Page 316
Food Labelling......Page 317
Food Claims......Page 318
Animal Welfare......Page 319
Food Quality......Page 321
European Union's Common Agricultural Policy......Page 322
Organic Farming and Food Production......Page 323
Geographical Indications......Page 324
E......Page 326
O......Page 327
V......Page 328
W......Page 329
