Traceability for producers and consumers

Michiel.korthals@wur.nl

Literature

• Korthals, M., 2004, Before Dinner: Philosophy and Ethics of Food, Springer

• Korthals, M. and R. Bogers (Eds.), 2004, Professional Ethics for Life Sciences, Springer

• Coff, Barling, D., Korthals, M., (2009), Ethical Traceability in Communicating Food, Dordrecht: Springer

• Korthals, M. (Ed.), 2010, Genomics, Obesity and the Struggle over Responsibilities, Springer

Applied ethics

• Traditional ethics: Traffic light: allowed or prohibited

• Process oriented: ends in view– Ethics of (mobile) automatic milking robot– Nutrigenomics: nutritional life sciences for

pleasure and social food (not for personalised health)

– Including not excluding Intellectual Property Rights (open Source)

content

• Dynamic factors changing food chains• Traceability• Traceability: tools• Problems of Management tool• Risk and context• Consumer Concerns• Consume Traceability• Concerns and Dutch Reality: Cocreation

Dynamic factors changing food chains

• Technologies: controversial• Macro: global, regional (geopolitical)

developments & conflicts• National, local: governance • Mass media make hypes, shaming & blaming• NGOs• Companies: large, small, incoherent• Retailers, farmers: large, small• Consumers, different groups

Traceability

• What to trace?• Risk prevention• Link to link?• Risks and context• Ethical decisions in the chains

Traceability: tools

1. Management tool• Purpose: Supply chain management and internal management of

resources in• co-operations.2. Government tool• Purpose: Political and administrative government of the food

chain, anti-fraud• measures and verification of product attributes and liability.3. Communication tool• ‘Value-capture’ of food qualities (such as animal welfare) for the

purpose of• informing consumers.

Problems of Management tool

• No influence consumers, trends, hypes, massmedia

• No predictability of consumer concerns for companies

• Making decisions for consumers without consumers

• What to trace?

Risks and context

• Food risks: value laden – Chemical, and / or biological etc– Levels of acceptance (never 100% risk free)– Context: human health (views on human healht)– Context: risks to biodiversity– Context: Risks to climate– Context: Risks to humans, societies, animals

Consumer concerns

1. Animal welfare2. Human health3. Methods of production and processing and their impact: e.g. environmental impact, landscape4. Terms of trade: short chains, fair price etc.5. Working conditions6. Quality: taste, composition, etc.7. Origin and place8. Trust9. Voice (participation)10. Transparency

Consumer Traceability

• Tracing consumer concerns in the chains• What type of information are consumers interested in?

What is relevant for them?• Communication to consumers:

– Labelling, certification (top-down)– Consu-labelling (from below)

• Good for producers: know what to do; CSR• Different groups of consumers• Apps: for I-pad /I phone

– Information from producers, ngo’s– Information by and for consumers

Concerns & Dutch Reality: Cocreation

• Pig production: pollution, confinement etc– Cocreation NGOs-companies: better life standards

• Cows in the meadows: – Cocreation: farmers-municipalities

• Meat: alternatives– Cocreation NGOs, technologies, industry

• Chickens: battery, breeding, eggs– Cocreation farmers, technologists

• International food companies• Role of farmers

– Cocreation farmers citizens: Farmers markets, urban gardening

Conclusion

• What to trace?• Producer Traceability• Producer - Consumer Traceability• Traceability top down / from below