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Obesity, Public Health, and the Consumption of Animal Products

Ethical Concerns and Political Solutions

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Abstract

Partly in response to rising rates of obesity, many governments have published healthy eating advice. Focusing on health advice related to the consumption of animal products (APs), I argue that the individualistic paradigm that prevails must be replaced by a radically new approach that emphasizes the duty of all human beings to restrict their negative “Global Health Impacts” (GHIs). If they take human rights seriously, many governments from nations with relatively large negative GHIs—including the Australian example provided here—must develop strategies to reduce their citizens’ negative GHIs. As the negative GHIs associated with the consumption of many APs are excessive, it is my view that many governments ought to adopt a qualified ban on the consumption of APs.

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Notes

  1. The amount of bio-productive capacity at average global productivity.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the editors of this symposium, the reviewers of this article, and participants of the “Public Health, Ethics, and Non-Communicable Diseases” conference hosted by the Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine (VELiM) at the University of Sydney on October 8, 2012, for their feedback. I also thank VELiM for its support.

Statement of Competing Interests

The author is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry but was not involved with the review of this article.

Funding Support

This article was finalized with the help of a visiting scholarship funded by VELiM, University of Sydney.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medical Sciences Education Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE2 4HH, England, UK

    Jan Deckers

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  1. Jan Deckers
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Correspondence to Jan Deckers.

Additional information

A version of this paper was presented at a symposium titled “Public Health, Ethics and Non-Communicable Diseases” hosted by the Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine (VELiM) and the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney University on October 8, 2012.

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Deckers, J. Obesity, Public Health, and the Consumption of Animal Products. Bioethical Inquiry 10, 29–38 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-012-9411-x

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