INTRODUCTION TO CULINARY & FOOD ETHICS.pptx

The ppt introduces ethics as applied in the culinary field

1. INTRODUCTION TO CULINARY ETHICS WITH TIMSON M. NYASULU ZGAMBO

2. ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY The study of ethics belongs primarily within the discipline of philosophy, in the sub-discipline of ‘moral philosophy’ Philosophy is the study of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct Philosophers try to find reasoned and rational explanations for why it is our duty to help people who are less fortunate than ourselves Through the study of ethics, you are invited to examine critically your own and others’ arguments and intuitions about some important issues, however clear-cut those arguments may seem to be at first glance The study of ethics is, therefore, just as much concerned with developing the ability to ask and answer questions as it is with ‘learning’ the answers that other people have suggested to some of the questions posed here

3. ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY… The branch of philosophical study that focuses on ‘ethics’ is concerned with studying and/or building up a coherent set of ‘rules’ or principles by which people ought to live Most people instead carry around a useful set of day-to-day ‘rules of thumb’ that influence and govern their behaviour These include rules such as ‘it is wrong to kill’, ‘it is wrong to steal’, ‘it is right to help people in need’, and so on Philosophy puts such ‘simple’ ethical rules to the test. Consider the idea that it is wrong to kill Does this mean that capital punishment is wrong? Is it wrong to kill animals? Is killing in self-defense wrong? Is the termination of pregnancy wrong? If we try to apply our everyday notions of right and wrong to these questions, straightforward answers are not always forthcoming. Philosophers attempt to find general answers that can be used by everyone in society

4. THINK ABOUT IT Think about a significant decision that you have made that had an effect (either for good or bad) on the lives of other people… …say getting married after MSCE vs continuing education to college; or, lying to your mother that John/Jane is just a friend How did you come up with a decision? Was it based on principles of right or wrong? Some underlying principles or rules that influenced your decision might include: ‘I should do the best thing for my career in the long run.’; or ‘It is OK to tell someone a lie if it prevents someone from being hurt by the truth.’ The bottom line is, ethics are not always straightforward rules but they try to come up with a generic principle to guide decision making

5. ETHICS VS MORALITY The term ‘Ethics’ is often used in connection with the activities of organizations and with professional codes of conduct Ever heard of business ethics, media ethics, research ethics, hospitality ethics etc ? Ethics are often formalized in terms of exhaustive sets of rules or guidelines stating how employees are expected to behave in their workplaces Morality , on the other hand, is more often used in connection with the ways in which individuals conduct their personal, private lives, often in relation to personal financial probity, lawful conduct and acceptable standards of interpersonal behaviour The philosopher’s interest in the theoretical study of ethics is with the idea of conduct that is right, fair and just, does not cause harm, and that can be applied to a wide variety of cases The terms ethics and morality may be used interchangeably to refer to ideas about how humans ought to act

6. AREAS OF ETHICAL STUDY There are three broad areas of ethical study: Meta-ethics: focuses on the meaning of ethical terms themselves (for instance, ‘what is goodness?’), and on questions of how ethical knowledge is obtained (for instance, ‘how can I distinguish what is good from what is bad?’)- largely theoretical. Normative ethics : the study of ethical acts. It therefore focuses explicitly on questions of ‘what is the right thing to do?’ in general. Normative ethics is concerned with questions of what people ought to do, and on how people can decide what the ‘correct’ moral actions to take are. Applied ethics : concerned with how people can achieve moral outcomes in specific situations . Therefore, it is concerned with the philosophical examination of particular – and often complex – issues that involve moral judgments. Areas such as bioethics, environmental ethics, development ethics and business/corporate ethics may be regarded as areas of applied ethics

7. WHAT DO YOU THINK? IN WHICH AREA OF THEORETICAL STUDY CAN YOU PLACE CULINARY ETHICS?

8. RATIONALISATION Studying ethics involves attempting to find valid reasons for the moral arguments that we make A philosophical approach to ethics requires people to think critically about the moral ideas that they hold, to support or refute those ideas with convincing arguments, and to be able to articulate and explain the reasons and assumptions on which those arguments are based In moral philosophy, where ethics belong, an argument is not simply about our beliefs or opinions; instead, it is about the reasons underlying those beliefs or opinions This requires careful listening to, analysis of and learning from the arguments that others make, and respect for others’ beliefs A rationalisation occurs when we use what at first glance seem to be rational or credible motives to cover up our true (and perhaps unconscious) motives For instance, do you prepare safe food because you care for the customers health or because you care to not damage your institutional reputation?

9. TYPES OF REASONING We can uncover types of errors (such as rationalization) in our own and others’ arguments by using ‘critical reasoning’. There are three forms of critical reasoning that individuals can use to justify their arguments: Reasoning by analogy: explains one thing by comparing it to something else that is similar, although also different. For instance, animals are like and unlike humans, as humans are also animals. Is the similarity sufficiently strong to support the argument that we should ascribe rights to nonhuman animals as we do to humans? b. Deductive reasoning: applies a principle to a situation. For instance, if every person has human rights, and you are a person, then you have human rights like every person c. Inductive reasoning: involves providing evidence to support a hypothesis. The greater the evidence for a hypothesis, the more we may rely on it For example, the fact that the kitchen is more prone to food poisoning dangers is reason enough to support need for implementation of HACCP

10. WAYS OF TESTING MORAL ARGUMENTS Factual accuracy we cannot say that something is wrong or right simply based on how things are. This is reasonable, but it does not mean that ethical discussion should be divorced from fact; the accuracy of the factual content of a discussion is very important. ii. Consistency Arguments need to be consistent. One can only argue that it is morally wrong to kill one person and yet morally acceptable to kill another, if one can demonstrate that there is a morally relevant difference between the two individuals. Good will While arguments may be factually correct and consistent, they also need to ‘exemplify good will’. This involves resorting to our intuitions and emotions, which are notoriously difficult to integrate with rigorous theoretical debate.

11. ETHICS IN THE CULINARY FIELD As we saw earlier, Ethics refers to the behaviour of an individual toward another individual or group. Ethical behaviour refers to behaviour that is considered “right” or the “right thing to do.” Consistently choosing ethical behaviour over behaviour that is not ethical will go a long way toward avoiding legal difficulty. This is true because chefs often will not know what the law requires in each situation. In cases of litigation, juries may have to make determinations of whether a Chef’s actions were intentionally ethical or unethical. How juries and judges decide these questions may well determine their view of a Chef’s liability for an action or inaction.

12. ETHICS AND THE CHEF While it may sometimes be difficult to determine precisely what constitutes ethical behaviour, the following seven guidelines can be very useful when a chef is evaluating a possible course of action: Is it legal? Does it hurt anyone? Is it fair? Am I being honest? Would I care if it happened to me? Would I publicize my action? What if everyone did it?

13. CONSIDER THIS ETHICAL DILEMNA… You are the Chef who is responsible for a large wedding reception taking place at your event garden. The bride and groom have selected a specific Dish from the wedding Menu to be prepared for their wedding dinner. The contract signed by the bride and groom lists the selling price per dish of the dinner but does not specifically mention the name of the dish selected by the couple. In the middle of the dinner, you run out of that Dish. A less costly substitute is used for the duration of the dinner. Neither the bride and groom nor the guests notice the difference. What would you do in regards to pricing? How do you balance ethics and need for profitability?

14. ETHICAL DILEMNA… Using the seven ethical guidelines just listed above, a Chef could evaluate whether he or she should reduce the bride and groom’s final bill by the difference in selling price of the two Dishes. How an individual determines what constitutes ethical behaviour may be influenced by his or her cultural background, religious views, professional training, and personal moral code.

15. ANOTHER ETHICAL DILEMNA Assume that you are the Head Chef of a large hotel. You are planning for your New Year’s Eve gala and require a large amount of Chambo . You conduct a competitive bidding process of the suppliers in your area, and, based upon quality and price, you place a very large order (more than MK 20,000,000.00) with a single supplier. One week later, you receive a dozen of very prime Chambo , delivered to your home with a nice note from the supplier’s representative stating how much they appreciated the order and that they are really looking forward to doing business with you in the years ahead. What do you do with the Chambo ?

16. ETHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DILEMNA Your first thought may be the most obvious one — that is, you eat it. But hopefully, you will first ask yourself the seven questions of the ethical decision – making process. Is it legal? From your perspective, it may not be illegal for you to accept a case of Chambo . However, there are anti-bribery laws in Malawi that prohibit the supplier from gifting that amount of Chambo . You must also consider whether it is permissible within the guidelines established by the company for which you work. Many companies have established gift acceptance policies that limit the value of the gifts that employees are eligible to accept. In this case, violation of a stated or written company policy may subject you to disciplinary action or even the termination of your employment. If it does not violate a law and/or company policy, go to question 2.

17. 2. Is it fair? Before answering this question, you must recognize who the stakeholders are in this situation. How might others in your company feel about the gift you received? After all, you agreed to work for this firm at a set salary. If benefits are gained because of decisions you make while on duty, should those benefits accrue to the business or to you? If you have decided that it is fair for you to keep the Chambo , go to question number 3.

18. 3. Does it hurt anyone? Well, it probably would not hurt you But, realistically, are you really going to be fair and objective when you evaluate next year’ s bids Or is your mind going to be thinking back to the dozen of Chambo that you received? Assuming that you do not think that it is hurting anyone, go on to question 4.

19. 4. Am I being honest? This question gives you the opportunity to second guess yourself when you are answering questions 2 and 3. Do you really believe that you can remain objective in the purchasing aspect of your job and continue to seek out the best quality for the best price, knowing that one of the purveyors rewarded you handsomely for last year’ s choice and may be inclined to do so again?

20. 5. Would I publicize my action? If you have trouble remembering the other questions, try to remember this one. Would you choose to keep the Chambo if you knew that tomorrow morning the headlines of your city newspaper would read: Head Chef of Local Hotel gets a dozen of Chambo after Placing Large Order with supplier? Your general manager would see it, other employees would see it, all the other purveyors that you are going do business with would see it, and even potential future employers would see it.

21. 6. Would I care if it happened to me? If you owned the company you work for, and you knew that one of the managers you had hired was given a gift of this magnitude from a vendor, would you question the objectivity of that manager? Would you like to see all your managers receive such gifts? Would you be concerned if they did?

22. 7. What if everyone did it? If you justify your choice of keeping the dozen of Chambo , consider: Does this process ever stop? What would happen if the executive housekeeper had a bed delivered to her home every time, she ordered new bedding for the hotel? What would happen if every time she ordered new washers and dryers, she received a matching set at home?

23. ETHICAL ALTERNATIVES Instead of receiving the Chambo for your personal use, you may: Return it to the supplier with a nice note stating how much you appreciate it but that your company policy will not allow you to accept it. Turn the gift over to the general manager to be placed into the normal fish inventory (if the law will allow it to be used this way). Donate it to the employee Christmas party/ canteen.

24. THE APPLICATION OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS Professional ethics directs behaviors in business and guide people about ethical principles and standards. Professional ethics is consisting of principles which command the members of profession, and oblige them to behave according to specific rules and limit their personal interests They exclude the members of profession who are inadequate and unprincipled, and govern professional competition and aim to protect the ideal of services. Professional ethics are trying to find answers to questions about what people should generally apply or not while doing their jobs.

25. WHY ETHICS? Ethics have the following advantages: Gaining respect in the work environment Credibility in the workplace To have a good image in the business world To see convenience in the solution of problems encountered in business Quality management with ethical values and assisting the areas to manage such as; strategic planning To ensure the fulfillment of ethical values of social responsibilities of institutions in an orderly manner Ensuring the prevention of unfair competition with ethical values Acceptance in the business environment

26. THE PROFESSIONAL OATH OF GASTRONOMY (OZKAN et al., 2016) The text of oath is based on safety of food and culinary culture in the name of human health and rights. The professional oath is also aimed to help chefs have ethical and moral values. It is aimed to protect people’s eating habits suitable for their religion like for their health, and respect their choices for food, and protect the originality of cuisine lived with culture. The Oath: “I promise that by serving in the production, food processing, food industry and the field of food, nutrition and food culture, in the services of production of academic and scientific information and improving culinary culture; I do not allow any implementation and product in or near my kitchen which harms, threatens or will threaten people’s health and eating habits, and that I explain ingredients of meal by considering the right of knowing what is eaten and that I remain faithful to the originality, cultural background, geographical indication of eating habits in my scientific and social research and that I respect people’s eating habits related to their religion and choices and values.”

27. ETHICAL RULES OF GASTRONOMY Businesses should base on rules created by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The right of individuals to access to safe food should not be interrupted under any circumstances. Businesses can place the ingredients in the rate specified by law when pricing food. Businesses must develop a scientific strategy for sustainable food production and healthy consuming. Businesses should provide training on health information for employees working in the field, or ensure the employees to receive the training, and the ones who received specified training should run the kitchen. Employees are obliged to inform the employer about any infectious disease that may threaten health of food consumers. Individuals whose infectious diseases are documented, or who visibly have open wound or skin disease should not report for work until they prove their diseases are cured. Businesses must provide the right to their kitchen personnel set by the Labor Laws. Businesses must prove mastery or expertise of the personnel with the official documents.

28. x. Businesses must be based on food security, and create competitive environment with regulations in all dealings. xi. Businesses are obliged to offer the menu items in same content and the same price to all customers/guests. xii. Businesses must take into account of beliefs and feeding types of individuals, and offer them choices in public invitations. xiii. Businesses must provide the right for people to equal services regardless of their disability. xiv. Businesses must not ask for something that does not deserve from customers. (Mandatory tips, for example). xv. The origins of the food products should be specified. xvi. Businesses should not pull down the case of quality, and obtain unfair profit from sharing and content.