Food and Ethics

Food and Ethics - Our Mission

Our goal is to develop a global network which exchanges constructive proposals for solving today's food crises under consideration of our shared global ethics and values. In detail, this means: How can we change the rules of the game to identify a fair and healthy diet for all, produced and distributed in an ethical manner?

"Eat your soup, in Africa the children are starving," my grandmother always admonished me. As a ten-year-old I had my doubts whether by eating up I would help a child in Africa. Apparently we have all successfully avoided acknowledging that there is a connection between our lifestyle and hunger elsewhere around the globe.

Meanwhile we know that each of our actions have a global effect. The aerosol spray we use can burn a hole in the air’s ozone layer at the opposite side of the planet, our foot on the accelerator and our airline ticket to the beach for vacation can trigger a hurricane and kill people, and our penchant for meat patties can be linked to people drowning in a flood in Bangladesh. The globe has become too small. Not too small for the needs of all, but much too small for the excessive demands of some consumers.

In the production of meat, for example, an equivalent of about five to ten grain-based calories are required to produce only one calorie in meat. A third of all grain available worldwide is currently being fed to animals, in the United States this figure has even reached two-thirds. Therefore, industrial meat production also means food and energy destruction on a huge scale. And yet global meat consumption has quintupled since the 1950s, and the trend continues to rise.

However, consumption of animal-based foods can also make sense. Many centuries ago, humans raised cattle, goats and sheep because these animals converted inedible grass into valuable foods such as milk and meat. As long as cows in the pasture graze on grass and are not fed a diet of soybeans and grain, livestock can be useful. If we eat meat, this should be the product of organic farming. However, the quantity of meat consumed today cannot be produced in this manner – the available space is much too small.

Rules for an eco-friendly and responsible lifestyle:

- Eat less meat and animal-based foods, buy local, organic products in season, do not waste.

- Fly as little as possible.

- Drive less, share your vehicle, slow down.

- Live sensibly in a small, well-insulated home, be accessible via public transport.

Anyone who has understood the scarcity of resources and the need for global fairness will accept the challenges of the 21st century. Food is the easiest part -
a diet of mainly plant-based food can promote fitness and health. Food from organic farming protects nature and the climate. Making these choices contributes to diminishing global hunger and equally contributes to greater global justice.