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Friday, February 27th 2009 [ versión español ]
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Doctor Paul B. Thompson was the guest speaker for the conference on food ethics. |
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Ethics in food production and food management is manner of life or death. That is why universities play a principle role in the establishment of curriculums that reinforce the importance of this idea in the agriculture sector.
That was the opinion of Paul B. Thompson, expressed during the conference entitled Agricultural Ethics on the Food Systems of the Future, which took place recently at the College of Agricultural Sciences (CCA by its Spanish acronym) at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) as part of the activities of the centennial celebration of this College.
Thompson is a professor from Michigan State University and the author of seven books in relation to ethics in agriculture. His presentation was the fifth in a cycle of conferences about the ethics of scientific investigation as part of the project Graduate Education in Research Ethics for Scientists and Engineers (GERESE), on this occasion sponsored by the CCA.
During his exposition, Thompson mentioned that it is the social groups, who he designated as the practical part of the ethics of food, who have gathered to be oriented on the relevance of the topic.
“By means of this conference I want to emphasize the spread of ethical thinking about our food system. We have seen social movements throughout the world that focus on just commercial practices for small farmers… In the extent that we see these movements revolutionizing society, we see our universities and our agricultural leaders responding with more systematic ways of thinking about ethics,” said Thompson in an interview with UPRM Press.
Among the movements that he mentioned can be found the Slow Food movement, a movement initiated in Italy that opposes the concept of Fast Food and focuses on promoting the gastronomic traditions of the region.
In the expert’s judgment, universities should pay special attention to these movements in order to plan appropriate curriculums that respond to the emergent necessities of farmers.
“The University is responding to the external pressure of farmers because they are hoping that they will change their methods of production to be more environmentally friendly, or to help smaller farmers. We have to pay more attention to the ethical dimension in the decisions we make about our system,” he sustained.
Doctor John Fernández Van Cleve, dean of CCA, commented that ethics are pertinent in the education of agronomists and in the explanation of reference questions “to the moral aspect of scientific advances, genetically modified organisms, methods of harvesting that are used today and the use of lands for the production of energy without using food.”
Doctor Jorge Ferrer, GERESE coordinator and professor of the Humanities Department, indicated that the activity is an effort to promote the ethical reflection in Agricultural Sciences.
“We can’t forget that UPRM is one of the most important agricultural colleges in the Caribbean. Ethics in Agricultural Sciences touch the most fundamental aspects in relation to life: food production and actual discussion about genetically modified organisms, problems of social justice and environmental conservation. It seems that stimulating ethical considerations in Agricultural Sciences is a fundamental contribution that also forms part of the mission of this University,” concluded Ferrer.
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Professors and students of the four UPRM Colleges participated in the event, as well as students and professors from the UPR, Utuado campus, which has an Agricultural Technology program.
Video
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Doctor Jorge Ferrer, coordinator of the GERESE, gave the activity’s welcome. Doctor Paul B. Thompson can be observed to the left.
Professors and students of the four UPRM Colleges participated in the event, as well as from UPR, Utuado campus.
Photographs by Carlos Díaz / UPRM Press
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