Animal welfare, consumer behaviour, and public policy

J.L. Harfeld

Animal welfare, consumer behaviour, and public policy

In: The ethics of consumption

Author:

J.L. Harfeld

J.L. Harfeld Centre for Applied Philosophy, Aalborg University, Sohngaardsholmsvej 2, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark; jlh@learning.aau.dk

Search for other papers by J.L. Harfeld in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 263–267

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.3920/9789086867844_044

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

€42.00€35.00 excl. VAT

Add to Cart

Redeem Access Token

This paper investigates the normative aspects of animal food production and retailing and takes as a presumption that food consumers deliberately choosing animal-welfare products act normatively (on a moral basis) and thereby include values that either supervene or supplement the values of product price, taste, nutrition, etc. The animal welfare aspect of a given product is a ‘credence attribute’ and can as such not be directly experienced via the product. Thus, information external to the product becomes the only conditions from which to evaluate the product and motivate possible behaviours. There is, however, a well-documented attitudinal ambivalence in food product shopping where we experience inconsistencies between what could be defined as general citizen attitudes or values on the one hand and consumer behaviour patterns on the other. In other words, in anonymous studies people will generally claim a higher level of concern for animal welfare than is subsequently obvious from the sales records of grocery stores. There is, however, also a measurable connection between costumers’ willingness to pay (extra) and moral imperatives derived from values about animal welfare. The paper will focus on analysing the relation between the animal welfare related ethical values of consumers and some of the extents and limits of consumers’ ethical actions. It will, furthermore, normatively evaluate the concrete social systems of urban life – economic, political and cultural – which constitute the environmental extents and the limits of individual consumers’ abilities for ethical deliberation. Thus the main question becomes: What is the connection between the consumers’ ability for ethical deliberation (what we with Aristotle could call phronesis) in food choices and the cultural, economic and political framing of consumer deliberation? This question leads to a normative and constructive sub-question which asks what kind of systems of public policy a society needs in order to positively enable the individual consumer to deliberate phronetically. In other words: how do we create a society with genuine possibilities for ethical consumerism?

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/9789086867844/BP000044.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Collapse
Expand

The ethics of consumption

The citizen, the market, and the law

E-Book ISBN:: 9789086867844

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 01 Nov 2013

Subjects
- Life Sciences

Metrics

	All Time	Past 365 days	Past 30 Days
Abstract Views	166	80	16
Full Text Views	3	0	0
PDF Views & Downloads	4	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

Animal welfare, consumer behaviour, and public policy

Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

The ethics of consumption

The citizen, the market, and the law

Table of Contents

Metrics

Metrics