Agriculture's Ethical Horizon

Agriculture's Ethical Horizon, Third Edition continues to reflect the changing environment in which practitioners of agriculture are challenged to produce food for the world. Fully revised and updated, the book encourages discussion of the moral questions that agriculture faces: What goals should agricultural science pursue, and how should practitioners address important ethical questions which are different and more complex than the dominating questions of production? Author Robert Zimdahl suggests two reasons for the agricultural community's reluctance to address the ethical issues raised by pesticides, genetic modification, pollution and other concerns traditionally relegated to the social sciences. The fundamental positive moral goal of feeding the growing world population and achieving sustainability conflicts with agriculture's traditionally focus which has been almost exclusively on increased production, to the exclusion of critical debate on ethical issues and sustainability.

Agriculture's Ethical Horizon, Third Edition presents the story of agriculture from the blood, sweat and tears era to the present genetic era, including the paradox of agriculture - It has made great strides toward improving production and feeding more people but has largely ignored the negative effects of its technology as a price of progress. For agricultural students and practitioners as well as all who would understand the tremendous responsibility of agricultural production, this third edition presents a foundation for the important discussion and decisions that will support agriculture's future.