Should I be eating that? eating, drinking and environmental ethics.

Abstract

What each individual eats and drinks can, and does, have a varying degree of impact on the environment in which they live. This impact can be on a local, regional or global scale and can range from affecting the viability of species’ populations, to contributing to global warming. This thesis sets out to explore what moral implications might exist with regard to the choices that individuals make within the context of environmental ethics. This paper discusses environmental considerations (as opposed to animal welfare or social implications for instance) and utilises various examples to illustrate different types of impacts and what this might mean. Conclusions indicating that moral obligations do exist are presented and argued for, but it is clear that there is certainly a complex matrix of factors that would (and should) affect the choices that each individual makes with regards to the food that they consume.