Implementation of ethical standards in a cattle improvement company

M. De Weerd; F.L.B. Meijboom; J.S. Merton

Implementation of ethical standards in a cattle improvement company

In: Climate change and sustainable development

Authors:

M. De Weerd

M. De Weerd ¹CRV, P.O. Box 454, 6800 AL Arnhem, the Netherlands

Search for other papers by M. De Weerd in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

F.L.B. Meijboom

F.L.B. Meijboom ²Utrecht University, Ethics Institute & Faculty of veterinary medicine, Janskerkhof 13a, 3512 BL Utrecht, the Netherlands; marieke.de.weerd@crv4all.com

Search for other papers by F.L.B. Meijboom in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

, and

J.S. Merton

J.S. Merton ¹CRV, P.O. Box 454, 6800 AL Arnhem, the Netherlands

Search for other papers by J.S. Merton in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 436–438

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.3920/9789086867530_0068

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

€42.00€35.00 excl. VAT

Add to Cart

Redeem Access Token

Cattle breeding demands a wide range of skills and competencies. Traditionally, companies have addressed breeding as a technical challenge. However, it equally raises a variety of fundamental, moral questions. This is further complicated as cattle breeding is currently a global activity. Consequently, local ethics are confronted with global issues and vice versa. CRV, as one of the main players in cattle improvement, recognised this and started a process of implementing ethical reflection into its organisation. This implementation is part of a process that is a direct result of two developments. Firstly, the rapid international expansion of CRV resulted in a growing need for clarity concerning CRV’s ethical standards and moral values, as all parts of the organisation operate under the CRV-brand, but with ethical standards that differ locally. Secondly, as CRV’s main focus is animal breeding and due to its involvement in research into and the application of biotechnology, internal and external stakeholders desire clarity and transparency concerning the company’s ethical standards. To clarify its own values, CRV started a process of defining ethical standards and values. As one of the first steps CRV joined EFFAB (European Forum of Farms Animal Breeders), which resulted -together with scientists, the industry, animal welfare organisations, ethicists and economists – in the CODE-EFABAR. Secondly, CRV established an Ethics Committee as an advisory board to CRV’s Executive Board. This Committee advises on ethical issues pertaining to CRV’s activities and assists in shaping CRV’s social responsibility. Thirdly, using input from the Ethics Committee, CODE-EFABAR, managers and employees, a new ethical conduct code was developed. This code of ethics was implemented by issuing an ‘ethics passport’ to each employee in a number of sessions which presented and discussed the organisation’s core values. The ‘ethics passport’ not only presents CRV’s corporate ethical standards and values, but explicitly attempts to translate these values into the daily activities of its employees. This translation and emphasis on daily activities aims to make individuals aware of their role in the company’s ethical behaviour. This short paper elaborates on the company’s process of dealing with the ethical dimensions of cattle breeding in a global market and presents some of the challenges and dilemmas CRV faced while explicating and implementing its core values and principles.

Citation Info

Save
Cite
Email this content

Share link with colleague or librarian

You can email a link to this page to a colleague or librarian:
Email this content
or copy the link directly:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9789086867530/BP000068.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Collapse
Expand

Climate change and sustainable development

Ethical perspectives on land use and food production

E-Book ISBN:: 9789086867530

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 15 Nov 2012

Subjects
- Life Sciences

Metrics

	All Time	Past 365 days	Past 30 Days
Abstract Views	56	24	8
Full Text Views	1	0	0
PDF Views & Downloads	1	0	0

African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

Subjects

Authors

Open Access

Product Information

Company

Contact

Implementation of ethical standards in a cattle improvement company

Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

Climate change and sustainable development

Ethical perspectives on land use and food production

Table of Contents

Metrics

Metrics