AG 401 Week 1 Esmeralda Franco - Esmeralda Franco...

Esmeralda Franco
Agriculture Ethics
Maarten J. Chrispeels & Dina F. Mandoli
April 2, 2017

Content Notes for Article #1
 The world of agriculture is engaging to producers, scientists, administrators, politicians,
educators and almost every other field outside of agriculture itself.
 The article was based on the theory of Utilitarian ethics and tried to convey that the field
of agriculture is or should be heavily based on this theory for the greater good.
 Utilitarian ethics supported the start of production agriculture where the end goal is to
produce as much food as possible at the lowest cost because everyone would benefit from
this.
 Natural ecosystems are being ignored because farmers are siding with technology and
synthetic fertilizers and pest control products that contaminate the surround ecosystems.
 Increase in biodiversity loss and increased carbon dioxide release thanks to crop fields
and tree farms that have been created locally and in developing countries.
 The question as to whether it is ok to harm a local community where production is heavy
if the food that is being produced will help an even greater amount of people. Hence
causing more good than the total amount of harm.
 As for subsidies, only developed countries see the benefits of subsidies because
developing countries do not have the resources to publicly pay their local farmers.
 The rate at which technology is evolving is making it much more difficult to understand
intellectual property because when new technology reaches farmers then it is widespread
and produced at a rate to supply the demand.
Q & A for Article# 1