ETHICS IN FOOD SECURITY

AND WORKER SECURITY

T.YATHURSHAN
2016/BST/108
1. Ethics in food security and worker security

According to the FAO's official definition, food security has four elements
 availability (of food),
 access (to food),
 utilisation (the quality and safety),
 stability (of supply)
By the very definition food security should also be sustainable.this is
implicit in the definition words ‘at all times’. Food security is often linked
with food sovereignty or 'the right of peoples to define their own food
and agriculture; to protect and regulate domestic agricultural production
and trade in order to achieve sustainable development objectives; to
determine the extent to which they want to be self reliant. A widespread
view that has been adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) is that a combination of food availability, economic and physical
access to food, food utilization (nutrition and uptake), and stability of
these three dimensions over time all need to be in play in order to ensure
food security

Food insecurity
Distribution is an important facet of food security because there may be
enough food for these starving populations elsewhere in the region or
world, but they do not have access to it in their community. This concern
does not address the economic element of food availability. If people
cannot afford to purchase food on a regular basis, or food markets have
been disrupted, then they still would be unlikely to attain access to food
even if it were redistributed. Additionally, while nutrients are a concern
that falls under food utilization, it too does not capture the full picture.
People must be able to prepare available food to retain nutrients and be
willing to eat it, which is as much a social and cultural issue as it is about
food nutrient content.
Ethical consideration in food security
1. present vs posterity
When approaching food security, either as a whole or through a
narrower subtopic, one is inevitably forced to take some sort of
stand on whether food security is to be conceived in the short term
or in the long term. One element that defines food security is the
notion that access and availability are not merely for the current
days or season ahead, but that it is dependable and reliable over
time. Much like trying to establish a clear definition for "food
security", there is a vagueness to the concept of long-term, as it
could simply be characterized as over the next couple of years or
over decades to come. Long-term food security could also be framed
over the span of an average person's life span, or it could reach many
generations or even infinitely into the future. Common usage
suggests an implicit assumption that we are considering a person's
life span. There may be difficulty in ensuring, or even
conceptualizing, how to prepare for food production, availability,
accessibility and adequate nutrition beyond this time-frame as social,
physical, economic, and demographic shifts could drastically change
even if food security for posterity is valued.

The importance of long-term food security considerations, which can

be framed in terms of food security for posterity, are explored in
Garrett Hardin's essay "Carrying Capacity as an Ethical
Concept". Hardin points out that foreign aid to malnourished nations
may be beneficent in the short term, but unintentionally maleficent
in the long term, due to the fact that such aid leads to a large aid-
reliant population. This is a rather extreme case of conflict between
present vs. posterity food security, but the importance of the
consideration is nevertheless generalizable.

2. Food security and sustainability

Due to the emphasis on long-term availability of food inherent in the
concept of food security, it is no surprise that there is a direct
connection to Sustainability. A narrow perspective may focus solely
on food system sustainability including soil, water, stability of
climate, and genetic and material availability of viable stock. It may
also be extended by taking into account the impact that the
transportation and waste from production and packaging has on the
environment. A concern about increasing exports and imports is the
assumed ancillary costs due to pollution created by burning fossil
fuels for transportation, as well as the storage costs incurred and the
regulation of trade. Though some amount of imports and exports will
make the food security situation more stable, completely relying on
open markets may also open up more resource-related problems.
While the ecological impact of regulation, storage and transportation
may seem obvious, production of various food products seems to
cause greater amounts of global warming causing gases than
transport. While this conceptualization of food security may appear
fairly holistic in what it encompasses, it is aimed primarily or entirely
at providing reliable food production for humans. It does not extend
to animals, environments, or human dimensions that do not directly
impact food production.

A broader understanding of how sustainability and food security

interact may also include: social justice considerations, promoting
agrarian community integrity, human values that are indirectly
relevant to agriculture, impacts on or from wildlife, beneficial and
problematic microorganisms, balancing agricultural land and
practices with other land uses, value and protection for biodiversity
across all species, interest and investment in wild varieties of
domesticated crops and agricultural animals, as well as a deeper
concern for water protection to meet non-agriculture and non-
anthropocentric needs such as ecosystem maintenence and the right
kind of aquatic environments for fish, amphibians, birds, etc.
Agricultural planning and practices should directly address many of
 the concerns raised in the second group if it is to fully integrate food
security with sustainability and have "Functional integrity". In other
words, agriculture and environmental concerns would be addressed
simultaneously. Although challenges of priorities may arise, they
would not be positioned in opposition with each other when they do

3.Right and Responsibilities

What is any given individual's or society's responsibility in the quest

for international food security? It is important to consider the
following questions for ethics in food security

1. Is there a moral responsibility to design or prepare food

production and markets for the least well-off?
2. Is there a human right to adequate nutrition and/or food
security? What does/would such a right entail? Who hold the
corresponding responsibility?
3. Is there a corresponding responsibility to maintain or improve
land and/or water, to limit one's ecological footprint, or
control family size?
4. Are future generations justified in holding their ancestors
accountable for their food security and environmental
sustainability difficulties? If so, under what circumstances? Is
there any meaningful recourse?
5. Are highly intensive food crops and meat a dietary
requirement? If so, under what circumstances? Is there a valid
social justice and/or ecological argument to be made on behalf
of vegetarianism/veganism?

Important consideration of bio ethics in food security

  Hunger eradication is necessary for accelerating
development and reducing poverty
 Direct improvement in agricultural technology are critical
for hunger eradication
 Political stability, care and provision are non for reduction
of hunger, malnutrition and poverty
 Focusing on food production is insufficient for reducing
hunger and ensuring food security
 Public investment is essential for agricultural growth

CODE OF ETHICS FOR WORKERS SECURITY

Large or small, even the best-managed companies can be sued. Business
executives never intend to put themselves at risk but they often are not
aware or fully understand the implications of their actions. Consider the
following as a code of ethics example for your employees:
 To accept the responsibilities and obligations of my role as a
licensed security officer. To endeavor to shield persons or property
from those who would cause harm and to do so with attentive
observation and reporting to law enforcement while on duty.
 To conduct myself with honesty and integrity and to adhere to
the highest moral principles in the performance of my duties as a
licensed security officer.
 To be faithful, diligent and dependable in discharging my duties
and to uphold at all times the laws, policies and procedures that
protect the rights of others.
 To observe the precepts of truth, accuracy, and prudence,
without allowing personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or
friendships to influence my judgment.
 To report to my superiors, without hesitation, any violation of
the law or of my employer's or client's regulations.
 To respect and endeavor to protect the confidential and
privileged information of my employer or client beyond the term of
my employment.
 To cooperate with all recognized and responsible law
enforcement and government agencies in matters within their
jurisdiction.
 To accept no compensation, commission, gratuity, or other
advantage without the knowledge and consent of my employer.
 To conduct myself professionally and to perform my duties in a
manner that reflects credit.

Reference:-
https://www.umt.edu/ethics/debating
%20science
%20program/odc/Biotechnology/Goals/foodsecurity.p
hp
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S22
11912415300158
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Teea_Kortetma
eki/publication/283449607_Food_security_and_ethics
_The_first_world_hunger/links/56442fc308aef646e6ca
6fa8/Food-security-and-ethics-The-first-world-
hunger.pdf?origin=publication_detail