Food safety is a critical area of public health management, and food inspectors need to ensure that providers thoroughly follow national standards regarding product sanitation, storage, and handling. Healthcare professionals, including food inspectors, frequently encounter ethical dilemmas and must make difficult decisions to reach the best outcomes possible. Ultimately, the current essay explains that utilitarianism is one of the most practical ethical theories to guide decision-making in food safety inspection and management due to its emphasis on maximizing happiness.
Utilitarianism Overview
Utilitarianism is one of the consequentialism iterations, suggesting that it is critical to judge the morality of a certain action based on its outcomes instead of predetermined rules. Specifically, utilitarianism focuses on maximizing one’s happiness, which could be applied both to individuals and society in general (Mill, 1879). John Stuart Mill (1879) is one of the most well-known advocators of the ethical tradition, contributing multiple works to the research and showing the significance of the “Greatest Happiness Principle” (para. 7). It means that if one encounters a moral dilemma, one must choose the option that maximizes the happiness of the largest number of people possible (Mill, 1879). For example, if someone has the choice to either join a volunteer program for a day or watch TV, they should choose the former because it will lead to greater overall happiness.
It is critical to mention that there are various forms of utilitarianism. The two relevant traditions include act and rule utilitarianism, depending on the approach to actions (“Act and rule,” n.d.). While Mill (1879) did not explicitly discuss these types in his fundamental work, he proposed similar ideas that the former focuses only on outcomes, while the latter considers moral rules as well. The last crucial element of Mill’s understanding is the minimizing aspect. He stated, “No system of ethics requires that the sole motive of all we do shall be a feeling of duty” (Mill, 1879, para. 24). It means that no one is required to always choose the option of greatest happiness and that utilitarianism should act as a moral compass rather than an absolute obligation in decision-making.
Utilitarianism in Food Safety Inspection and Management
The second section of the essay focuses on how utilitarianism can help guide decision-making in food safety inspection and management. There is extensive literature on ethical traditions in public health policy-making, which comprises food safety as one of its core areas. MacKay (2018) states that the general assumption is that “public health is utilitarian by nature” and “at the core of public health practice is the charge to protect the common good” (p. 413). These statements indicate that public health should prioritize the greatest happiness principle and stimulate the development of society as a whole.
The mentioned argument aligns with the current paper’s thesis that utilitarianism is an appropriate theory to guide decision-making in food safety inspection and management. Other models, such as the focus on equity, can be immensely beneficial in public health as well, but the standard of the industry is utilitarianism (MacKay, 2018). Comprehensive food management can help prevent contamination and nutrition-related complications while simultaneously promoting sustainable food production practices. In other words, improving food safety standards is pivotal to maximizing the common utility and the greatest happiness for as many people as possible. That is why utilitarianism is one of the best ethical theories to guide decision-making in this industry.
Additionally, the main principles of utilitarianism align with the code of ethics in food safety management. A hypothetical scenario that confirms this thesis is when a local restaurant that struggles with finances decides to violate food safety standards to protect its business. This approach maximizes the happiness of owners because they can continue doing what they love, but it endangers the health of the customers. As a food inspector, it is ethical to reveal all food safety violations even if it means the restaurant will go bankrupt. This decision-making protects consumers’ health, maximizing overall happiness and contributing to the public good since the number of customers is larger than the number of owners and employees. Hence, it adheres to the greatest happiness principle because everyone’s feelings are equal in utilitarianism. Moreover, it follows the code of ethics in food management since it is the professional duty of inspectors to ensure the highest quality and safety of products and food practices. This example demonstrates that utilitarianism is a fitting ethical theory in food safety inspection and management.
Alternative Ethical Theories: Virtue Ethics
The alternative ethical theory that might pose difficulties to food inspectors in decision-making is virtual ethics. Namely, this tradition focuses on “traits of character that are deemed excellent and that need to be nurtured” (Thomopoulos et al., 2022, p. 1). In the previous example of a restaurant facing bankruptcy and violating food safety standards because of it, this approach might be detrimental. If a food inspector considers kindness as the greatest virtue, they might be inclined not to report poor product sanitation, storage, and handling practices because of a genuine desire to help the owners. After all, if they do document safety standards violations, the restaurant will go bankrupt, and the lives of owners and employees might get significantly more difficult.
However, if the food inspector adheres to this virtue ethics decision-making, they would violate their professional duty and potentially endanger the lives of customers. It also means that the inspector would choose the happiness of a few people (owners and employees) instead of many (customers), which contradicts utilitarian principles. This approach is less ethical regarding the professional duty of food inspectors, who must report all safety violations to protect consumers’ health. While virtue ethics can serve as a moral compass in many complex dilemmas, the proposed example is not one of them. Ultimately, in this scenario, adhering to utilitarianism is a more valuable approach since it prioritizes the health of people and obeys the professional code of ethics. It guarantees that customers will not get food poisoning or other nutrition-related health complications, which is the primary purpose of food safety inspection.
Conclusion
The current analysis has demonstrated that utilitarianism is an appropriate ethical theory to guide decision-making in food safety management. Both academic literature on public health policy-making and the discussion of the hypothetical scenario confirm this thesis. Food inspectors might occasionally encounter complex moral dilemmas, and it is critical that they choose the correct action according to their preferred theory. Lastly, compared to virtue ethics, utilitarianism ensures compliance with industry standards and the professional code of ethics. It can help food inspectors guide their decisions even when they might be inclined to violate regulations due to genuine kindness, as analyzed in the hypothetical scenario. In summary, there is sufficient evidence proving that utilitarianism is a valuable approach to decision-making in food safety management.
References
Act and rule utilitarianism. (n.d.). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web.
MacKay, K. (2018). Utility and justice in public health. Journal of Public Health, 40(3), 413-418. Web.
Mill, J. S. (1879). Utilitarianism. Project Gutenberg. Web.
Thomopoulos, R., Bisquert, P., van Der Burg, B., & Engel, E. (2022). Good practices and ethical issues in food safety related research. Global Pediatrics, 2. Web.