An Introduction to the Philosophy of Food

Ethical convictions can shape our diets.* Would you eat a cat or a horse? Why or why not?* Your reasons are likely rooted in ethical principles, such as feeling outraged that someone can do such a thing.

Vegetarians conform to a particular diet to prevent unjustified violence being done to animals.

Food as art has spurred heated debates. Some argue that food is a minor art at best for three reasons:

• Foods are short-lived in comparison to, for instance, long-lasting art carved out of marble.
• Food is intrinsically linked to a practical purpose - nourishment.
• Food depends on its material constitution that is different from music, painting, or sculpture.

At best, cooks can be very good artisans and can be paired with fancy hairdressers or skilled gardeners.

Americans highly esteem the role of food experts while the French and Italians do not. It's possibly because of different ways to regard the evaluation of a food.

Is there a truth when it comes to judgments about food? On the one hand, my tasting experience is different from yours and completely subjective. On the other, an expert can challenge a reviewer's opinions about a wine or a restaurant.

Most foods at the supermarket carry on their labels "nutritional facts." We use it to guide how we eat.

But what do those numbers have to do with what we put in our stomachs? We don't really know the rules regarding metabolism or understand the implications of the funding of studies on nutritional facts.

Some concerns for political philosophy include:

• The challenges that food consumption poses to the environment. For example, factory farming produces more pollution than airfare travel.
• Food trades, such as coffee, tea, and chocolate, raise issues of fairness and equity in the global market.
• Food production, distribution, and retail is an opportunity to talk about the condition of workers across the globe.

A refusal to consider eating habits in a meaningful manner is similar to a lack of self-understanding or authenticity.

Since self-understanding and authenticity are some of the chief aims of philosophical inquiry, food is a key to philosophical insight. The philosophy of food is then the pursuit of an authentic diet.