When we sit down for a meal we hardly realize the work that has gone into the meal beyond the services of the cook. Farmers or fisherfolk in far-off lands may have risked their life to ensure the variety of foods that we enjoy. The knowledge accumulated through research over millennia makes the cuisine, cooking styles, and ingredients that enrich our life.

Arguably, not all of this research is for the service of humanity, given that the production of food is also a major business. Food is intertwined with quality of life, but there are problems of equity and justice in the access and distribution of food. What is an ethics of food? The field of bioethics has identified some key principles that may help us make more ethical decisions when we are confronted with dilemmas in the choices among alternatives. The principle of beneficence calls for active research to serve the needs of all of humanity, while the principle of non-maleficence (primum non-nocere = do no harm) calls us to research the safety of food production. Justice demands that we take both these principles to cover the needs of the entire world. The autonomy of persons to have variety of food is limited by the environmental needs of all, and recognition of the quality of life of the companion animals in the process of food production.

This paper will also draw upon some conclusions reached from a series of interviews conducted by us at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1999. The study showed that although ethics was not openly discussed at FAO until now, many of the programs and policies were founded from the principles of bioethics. Some of the key areas that need urgent ethical reflection in the ethics of food and agriculture will be presented. Some of the key issues that will be discussed include balancing the interests of present and future generations in the conservation and management of natural resources, use of modern biotechnology, and the implications of the rapid modernization of agriculture. Lessons from seeking a balance of love, politics, ethics of need, and global food and agriculture will be discussed.