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Is nutritional advocacy morally indigestible? A critical analysis of the scientific and ethical implications of 'healthy' food choice discourse in liberal societies
journal contribution
posted on 2014-07-01, 00:00 authored by Christopher MayesChristopher Mayes, D B ThompsonMedical and non-medical experts increasingly argue that individuals, whether they are diagnosed with a specific chronic disease or condition or not (and whether they are judged at minimal risk of these consequences or not), have an obligation to make 'healthy' food choices. We argue that this obligation is neither scientifically nor ethically justified at the level of the individual. Our intent in the article is not simply to argue against moralization of the value of prudential uses of food for nutritional health, but to situate nutritional advocacy in the context of Western liberal democracy that values free choice. We have two objectives: (i) to untangle and examine the substance of discourses on 'healthy' food choice that simplify nutrition science and place a moral obligation on individuals and (ii) to establish a more comprehensive view of the relationship among food, ethics and health. Although critical of certain features of the liberal political and moral tradition, we argue that John Stuart Mill's notion of experiments in living provides fertile ground for an improved ethical understanding of individual obligation and of the interconnections among food, health and well-being.
History
Journal
Public health ethicsVolume
7Issue
2Pagination
158 - 169Publisher
Oxford University PressLocation
Oxford, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1754-9973eISSN
1754-9981Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2014, The AuthorUsage metrics
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Keywords
healthy food choicesmoralizationnutritional healthnutritional advocacyWestern liberal democracyfree choicefoodethicshealthwell-beingSocial SciencesScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicinePublic, Environmental & Occupational HealthMedical EthicsSocial Sciences - Other TopicsDIETARY GUIDELINESCOLONIAL SCIENCEOBESITYMEDICALIZATIONLIFEOVERWEIGHTDISEASEASSOCIATIONEPIDEMICMEDICINEPhilosophy
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