Agriculture's ethical horizon

Front cover......Page 1
Title page......Page 4
Copyright page......Page 5
Table of contents......Page 8
Foreword......Page 12
Preface......Page 20
Acknowledgments......Page 30
1: The Horizon of Agricultural Ethics......Page 32
SCIENTIFIC TRUTH AND MYTH......Page 35
LITERATURE CITED......Page 43
2: The Conduct of Agricultural Science......Page 46
WHAT RESEARCH OUGHT TO BE DONE?......Page 53
LITERATURE CITED......Page 57
3: When Things Go Wrong—Balancing Technology’s Safety and Risk......Page 58
THE DEVELOPMENT OF HERBICIDES......Page 59
PROGRESS OF WEED SCIENCE......Page 62
CHALLENGES......Page 66
THE CONTINUING DEBATE......Page 71
LITERATURE CITED......Page 75
4: An Introduction to Ethics......Page 78
SCIENCE AND EMOTION......Page 80
UNIVERSAL VALUES......Page 81
ETHICS IN AGRICULTURE......Page 84
CONTEMPORARY NORMATIVE ETHICS......Page 85
Ethical Egoism......Page 88
Social Contract Theory......Page 90
Virtue Ethics......Page 91
Deontological or Kantian Ethics......Page 93
Utilitarianism......Page 94
APPLYING ETHICS IN AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE......Page 97
LITERATURE CITED......Page 100
5: Moral Confidence in Agriculture......Page 104
THE BENEFITS AND COSTS OF MODERN AGRICULTURE......Page 105
Social Goals for Agriculture......Page 112
Environmental Goals for Agriculture......Page 114
The Utilitarian Standard......Page 117
The Relevance of the Western Agricultural Model......Page 118
Bottom Line Thinking......Page 119
Sustainability......Page 120
CONCLUSION......Page 121
LITERATURE CITED......Page 124
6: The Relevance of Ethics to Agriculture and Weed Science......Page 128
LITERATURE CITED......Page 137
7: Agricultural Sustainability......Page 140
THE PRESENT AGRICULTURAL SITUATION: THE EXAMPLE OF WEED MANAGEMENT......Page 142
THE MORAL CASE FOR SUSTAINABILITY......Page 150
WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?......Page 154
WHY MUST SUSTAINABILITY BE ACHIEVED?......Page 157
A CONCLUDING COMMENT ON SUSTAINABLE WEED SCIENCE......Page 162
LITERATURE CITED......Page 164
8: Biotechnology......Page 168
THE DEBATE......Page 169
TECHNOLOGICAL PROBLEMS......Page 171
REGULATION......Page 172
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY......Page 175
ARGUMENTS OPPOSED TO AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY......Page 181
Feeding the World......Page 182
Harm to Human Health......Page 185
Harm to the Environment......Page 188
Transgenic Technology and Sustainable Agricultural Systems......Page 191
THE MORAL ARGUMENTS......Page 194
Labeling and Biotechnology in the U.S. and the EU......Page 195
Affects on Family Farms......Page 197
Academic-Industry Relationships......Page 199
The Precautionary Principle......Page 201
LITERATURE CITED......Page 202
9: How to Proceed......Page 210
WATER LOGGING AND SALINIZATION......Page 214
SOIL EROSION......Page 217
LOSS OF FARMERS......Page 218
POPULATION GROWTH......Page 221
DOMINANT SCIENTIFIC MYTHS......Page 224
PRODUCTION AND ETHICS......Page 227
THE IMPERATIVE OF RESPONSIBILITY......Page 228
FINDING PARTNERS......Page 232
MISSION STATEMENTS......Page 233
THE ROLE OF THE UNIVERSITY......Page 238
SUSTAINABILITY AS A GOAL......Page 241
CONCLUSION......Page 248
LITERATURE CITED......Page 257
Index......Page 262