It seems quite surprising for how long philosophers have analyzed food in the course of history. Although this topic may not have been a central issue of intellectual scrutiny, the issues of appropriate diet, food consumption and production are present at least from Plato. Currently, topics like vegetarianism, agricultural ethics, issues of biotechnology and globalization of food and the very ethics of food are vividly present in contemporary debates. “The Philosophy of Food” serves as a good introduction to those deliberations and to what philosophy of food may be. Indeed, in the introduction to this interesting book, David M. Kaplan points the ways in which food can be analyzed (ranging from the metaphysics of food, food epistemology, food aesthetics, abovementioned food ethics, food technology, politics and identity). In this review, I will briefly introduce the contents of this highly recommended read.

“The Philosophy of Food” edited by Kaplan is a great collection of papers, all of which are written in a clear and approachable style, making them interesting not only to academic audience. This book comprises of sixteen chapters. First two chapters (Roger Scruton’s “Real Man Have Manners” and Lisa Heldke’s “Down-Home Global Cooking”) examine the social role of eating. Scruton argues for the importance of table manners and politeness in expressing our general attitude towards others. Heldke, on the other hand, analyzes our attitude towards food in the context of cosmopolitanism and localism dichotomy. The third chapter of this collection (Kevin Sweeney’s “Hunger Is the Best Sauce”) turns to aesthetics of food. Sweeney interestingly refers to Immanuel Kant’s rejection of food and drink as objects of contemplative and critical appreciation and Jean – Anthelme Brillat-Savarin’s ideas in order to construct the notion of “gustatory imagination” useful for characterization of our pleasures of eating and drinking. Next two chapters of the book are also focused on aesthetical dimensions of food. In the chapter entitled “Smells, Tastes, and Everyday Aesthetics” Emily Brady argues that smells and tastes of food should be included in the aesthetic domain as set out by traditional aesthetic theory. Next, Carolyn Korsmeyer in her “Ethical Gourmandism” argues that a positive aesthetic assessment is a positive moral assessment when it comes to taste.

Chapters from 6 to 8 examine a range of issues concerning the normative dimension of food, eating and food policy. Michiel Korthals (in “Two Evils in Food Country”) argues that the misrepresentation of “food styles” (analogous to life styles) is in fact a form of moral – political misrepresentation (some groups have a disproportionate voice in the food sector). In the next chapter (“Ethics and Genetically Modified Food”), Gary Comstock asks whether it is is ethically justifiable to pursue genetically modified crops and good, and argues that it in fact is. In the eight chapter of “The Philosophy of Food” (Jeffery Burkhardt’s “The Ethics of Food ” in the Twenty-First Century”) the author argues that the national government has the responsibility to ensure food safety and security from the globalization of food trade and from the threat of agri-food bioterrorism.

Chapters from 9 to 11 turn to questions concerning vegetarianism and the ethical standpoint of animals produced for food. Richard Haynes (in his “The Myth of Happy Meat”) argues that the disagreement between animal welfarists and animal liberationists hinges on flawed conceptualizations of happiness applied to animals. Gary Francione (in his “The Problem of ‘Happy Meat’ and the Importance of Began Education”) argues that when animals are seen as property, it is impossible for animal welfare reform to fully protect their interests. Next, David Fraser (in his “Animal Ethics and Food Production in the Twenty-First Century” focuses on the complexity of animal ethics issues and indicates how animal ethics philosophy must change in order to be applied to food production.

Paul Thompson in “Nature Politics and the Philosophy of Agriculture” examines the divide between industrial and agrarian philosophies of agriculture (thus providing a nice and brief overview of philosophical theories in the field) in order to assess issues in contemporary farming practice and food system organization. Next, Matthias Kaiser (“The Ethics and Sustainability of Agriculture”) argues that current practices in aquaculture could be far more ethical and sustainable without compromising the ability to meet food production demands. The following chapter, “Scenarios for Food Security” (by David Castle, Keith Culver and William Hannah) focuses on the role of aquaculture for the planet and for global food security.

The concluding two chapter of the book are focused on food technologies. Gyorgy Scrinis (in his “Nutritionism and Functional Foods”) analyzes nutrients and their relationship to bodily health. Finally, Stellan Welin, Julie Gold and Johanna Berlin (in “In Vitro Meat”) examine the ethical issues related to the new in vitro meat technology. As such, the book comprises of variety of views and subjects related to philosophy of food, serving as a great introduction to the topic and the debates within it. It is a highly recommended read, both for those already acquainted with the topics and for laymen interested in theoretical and practical dimensions of food consumption, agriculture, aquaculture and food production, to name just a few.

© 2013 Milena Marciniak

Milena Marciniak (MA in Philosophy), PhD candidate in Philosophy, Institute of Philosophy, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland.