Welcome!

This is the homepage for PHIL 105 — The Philosophy of Food.

Food is a central part of human life, both in its production and consumption. Food is closely tied to the values that we hold, and the cultural identities that we endorse (e.g. the sorts of things that we eat vs. the sorts of things that they eat). Our choices about food, both as individuals and as a society raise a variety of moral, political, and economic questions. Some of the questions we shall pursue include:

What is food? Not everything we eat we can digest. Moreover, some of the things we could eat and digest (such as other people), we don't typically consider "food". Why not? Is our concept of what is food dependent on our social practices?
What are the major economic and political structures governing food production and comsumption in the United States and other western countries? How do these structures impact developing countries?
What are the environmental and social consequences of various sorts of eating habits? For example, do food choices contribute to environmental degradation and social injustice?
How should we treat the animals we eat? Do we have ethical obligations to treat them in particular ways? Should we not be eating animals at all?
In what ways does food connect to religious and cultural identities? To what extent can a society legislate for or against food practices that impinge on such identities?

Much of our discussion focuses on the modern industrial food system. For a sense of the scale of such operations you might look at this New York Times Magazine article.

Here are some of the things you can do on this site:

Check out the Syllabus
Look at the plan for the week in Modules
Look at the list of Assignments
Answer the critical questions for the week

If you have any questions, take a look at some of the linked resources, and don’t hesitate to contact your professor or TA!