What do you think are the most important ethical questions facing agriculture today?
Secondary questions:
Do you think farmers are among the most ethical people in society?
Do you think farmers are less ethical today than they were a generation ago? Briefly explain your answer.
What (if anything) can be done to promote ethical actions/decision making by farmers and other agricultural professionals?
41 comments:
The most important ethical question that is facing agriculture today would be foreign markets. The United States has built up its economy but in turn it has sent jobs overseas away from the US. This allows other countries to build up their economy.
I do believe that farmers are among some of the most ethical people i know. They always try to help one another out whenever possible. Yes there will be some times when some farmers bump heads over an issue, but in general they get along very well.
In some ways i think that farmers from the past were more ethical. In every generation people try to make money and support their families. Seventy years ago most families did not have some of the newest equipment, so they would all get together and bring the thresher around and harvest each others fields. Today farmers have the equipment so they dont rely on their neighbors to help with the harvest. In some ways the unity has slipped away.
Communication is the biggest and most important way to promote ethical actions and decision making. Without communication nothing would be able to happen.
45
Male
Junior College
Fertilizer Plant/Farm
Not sure
They should be the most ethical but alot are not.
Yes, now a days it is all about the money. Farmers use to farm for the love of farming, but not so much anymore.
Not sure
52
Female
Teacher
College Graduate
Providing food, nutrition, and products with the least amount of harm done to the environment and future generations. We have to weigh between using chemicals so we can feed more people vs. the risk of using those chemicals.
Yes, I believe farmers are among the most ethical people.
No, I think they are more ethical. It's not really that they're more ethical, we just have more choices and technology available i.e. no-till.
Large agricultural businesses have to have restrictions placed on them and need to see the bigger picture and give farmers the opportunity to have reasonably based choices.
60
Male
Some college
Factory/part time farmer
The use of GM products, and how they are going to effect the public. The farmers don't want to harm people, they are just trying to improve their yeilds and make their farm more profitable. Making sure the land is sustained for future generations.
Yes farmers are still pretty ethical. They are pretty enlightened and care about whats going on in the world around them. "I am talking about family owned operations not corporate farms."
He doesn't know exactly but judging off of society everyone is less ethical. They are no longer eating their products directly so they are a little less careful about side effects.
Keeping the agricultural community informed with how their products are performing in society and not making people sick. Staying on top of that information so they don't cause problems in society. Knowing the side effects on society from using inputs such as herbicide and BGH.
Male
55
Computer specialist
bachelor's
Genetically modified food and growth homones in comercially produced meat. Also increasing your acreage and putting other farmers out of business.
I would say no, they are just as greedy as everyone else
I would say yes, it continually becomes more and more a cut throat industry and as it becomes more competitive ethics tend to go by the wayside.
Cut or limit subsities for the big farmers.
Male
50
WIU grad with honors
Bio-tech refuge regulations are the most important ethical questions facing agriculture today.
Farmers are probly not the number one most ethical but, are probly very high on the list.
Most likely because of financial situations and the competition for land.
To start requiring less refuge.
47
male
grain and livestock farmer
1. Whether or not GMO crops will turn out to cause any kind of health problems.
2. Yes farmers for the most part are very respected.
3. I don't think farmers are any less ethical than they used to be but the market decides what we produce so farmers have to produce what will make them the most profit so if the public sees some things as unethical it is what we have to do.
3. the farmers could be educated more on what the effects of all the chemicals and erosion will eventually be.
52
Male
High School
Farmer
The use of pesticides and genetically modified seeds, on how they could eventually be bad for people.
Yes, they are one of the most ethical people in society.
Really not for sure.
Better education.
Gender-male
Age-42
Education-highschool
profession-construction(grew up on a farm
1.) What can we do to make the small farmer survive and still be able to farm while the big farmer gets bigger?
2.) No, they could do more to promote a better environment.
3.) No, they are trying to be more sustainable today.
4.) Make more contact with the Agriculture Bureau and get a better handle on sustainable ag. practices.
38
Male
Junior College
Unemployed
The ethical questions that should be asked is where is the farmers cut of profit coming from. There is no relation or statistics information showing how a farmer makes his money. Most of the time they are having someone else doing this information for them and then later this person (broker/accountant) showing where they made and lost money. Most of this at one time was all done by a farmers wife or the farmer themselves. Many sometimes are unaware of where they actually made there money because it is so detailed they don't have idea where to look.
Yes, because they are more giving then any other businesses oriented person.
No, because they are facing more dilemma then what they were then. However, it is much easier today to get out of this dilemma than what it was back then.
To defend their point if an issue arises to put the truth forward then having a group lying about certain ideas and thus possibly hurting the farming community.
Male - 66 years old
Retried War Vet and Farmer
Currently Commander of a American Legion
I think the most important ethical questions facing agriculture today deal with the welfare of livestock. I personally do not see anything wrong with the way animals are handled typically. Yes there are some "inhumane" ways of treating animals, but for the most part farmers treat animals ethically. I can also see instances arises with runoff into streams, creeks, etc. when farmers spray.
I don't think they are less ethical. Farmers generations ago would be doing the same thing if they were given the technology of today. That is a hard comparison.
I think everything that can be done IS being done today. There are several organizations out there that protect the environment and animals.
Male 48
The most ethical questions in agriculture today are questions about whether farmers are using stratagies and tactics in their operation to benefit themselves or to benefit the community, environment, and economy.
He did believe that farmers are among the most ethical people in society. He feels that they always seem to have quality of their product in mind.
He did think that some current day farmers are less ethical, mostly because with the large size of the farms today it is harder to concentrate your efforts on making good procucts and using safe methods due to the constant need to strictly produce more.
Being ethical is up to the farmer. Some have that mindset and some don't. There's not alot that will change someone's mind when they feel that needing to make more money is more important.
Male
47
Farmer
There are many different ethical issues in today's agriculture. But, in my opinion is the treatment of confinement animals. They are ran off the trailer into areas where they can even move around. Another friend of mine used to raise hogs north of macomb, it was meant to hold 25 per pen. He sold it and now they are using each pen for no less than 50. People need to rethink some of their ideas on this.
I think that farmers are among some of the most ethical people in society. It just depends who you have up there.
Yes, 30 years ago farmers farmed to survive. Now we farm thousands of acres to make as much money as the land will let us.
I think that there is a lot being done. There are people out to protect the animals and the land.
Male
47
Local farmer
There are a lot of ethical questions facing farmers today, but not all of them have answers. What types of sustainable practices should be used? Should GMO crops be used? As stated, some of these questions dont have answers because we are not truely sure of their effects.
I would say yes for the most part. The majority of farmers are in a close nit community and would do just about anything to help one another.
It depends on the farmer. Most farmers are just as ethical today as in times past. However there are some that are only in it to make a buck and wouldnt do anything to help another out.
It is hard to say what would promote more ethical decisions or actions. The ones who have been ethical will contiue that way and the ones who have broken away from that could be defficult to steer in the right direction.
Male
51
4 year Degree
Farmer
One of the biggest issues when it comes to ethics in agriculture is the decline in small family farms. Many families that were once in farming are being forced out because of high prices in land.
Yes I believe so.
Yes they are less ethical now. Farming is turning into larger opporations and fewer family farms.
Education
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Education: high school
Occupation: business manager
to me the most ethical questions facing agriculture would be trying to produce enough food to feed people, while still trying to leave a valuable piece of land for our future generations.
Farmers are in alot of ways the most ethical people today because even though they may not do everything by the book they still have alot of checks and balances on their products thats its hard to get away with anything.
In some ways yes, because even when I was a little kid farmers would easily go out of their way to help anyone out on anything. Today that line is getting somewhat lost.
The markets make the farmers unethical so it would help to address the markets first and foremost.
age: 25
Gender: Male
Education: MBA grad student
Occupation: Real estate Broker
1.) "who should bare the expense of preserving the environment? Individual landowners or the public which receives the benefit."
2.) "no it is a business, like other industries and everyone is looking out for themselves"
3.) "No, there has always been greed involved, and therefore temptation to be unethical."
4.)" There is no way to get rid of unethical behavior it is just human nature, and should be expected."
age: 25
Gender: Male
Education: MBA grad student
Occupation: Real estate Broker
1.) "who should bare the expense of preserving the environment? Individual landowners or the public which receives the benefit."
2.) "no it is a business, like other industries and everyone is looking out for themselves"
3.) "No, there has always been greed involved, and therefore temptation to be unethical."
4.)" There is no way to get rid of unethical behavior it is just human nature, and should be expected."
45
Male
U of I Grad
Farmer
The most ethical thing facing us today is how we manage our land so that it can be farmed for generations to come.
Yes
I think that depends on who you talk to. Even in the past there have been those rotten eggs.
51
Male
Farmer
Some College
One of the most ethical question facing agriculture today is sustainability. we dont know if we are going to have enough resources to keep up with the needs of the public.
i think that some farmers are the most ethical people in society, but everyone is different and has a different outlook on everything.
yes, i believe that some farmers are less ethical today then in the past. farming involves a lot of money and there are always those people who will cut corners to save a buck.
the best thing we can do to promote good ethics in agriculture is offer incentives to those ethical farmers. also, good ethics should be passed down from generation to generation
50
Male
Retired farmer
Bachelors degree
"I would hope it would be that farmers and producers are doing what is best for the people, not for the industry. Sadly, this is not the case. More sincere thought needs to be put into what is the future for food while keeping it sustainable."
"Most farmers hold a very high standard of ethics, but yet they are still humans, and all humans hold a different meaning of what it is to be "ethical" so the whole principle of ethics is nothing more than an ambiguous argument."
"Yes they are in the sense that they are forced to be this way in order to keep up with the ever demanding and controlling markets. Farmers are being forced to be more competitive and viscious as ever."
"Education, seminars, global disasters. Once something big enough happens, (and it will) producers will be forced to view their so called "ethics" perhaps in a different manner once they realize they are screwing everyone."
Male
47
High School Diploma
Farmer
If we should be letting Monsanto or companies like that take over certain aspects of the industry.
Well I think the farmers I know are among the most ethical in our community, but I can't speak for everyone. There are always a few bad apples.
I do think that they are. Farmers a generation ago were helping each other get work done. Today, farmers that are neighbors are stabbing each other in the back just to rent ground.
You know, that's a great question. If someone has a reasonable answer to that I would like to hear it.
Male
49
High School Education
State of Illinois Employee
The biggest question of ethics today in farming is will farmers that have struggled in recent years continue to do what is right or start reverting to raping the land and taking as much from it as they can and moving on.
I think farmers are in the top 10 percent of ethical people in society. No I dont believe farmers are less ethical today then a generation ago. Ethics often are determined on whats moral and how we justify whats moral is with knowledge and information and I believe farmers today are more knowledgable. The only way I think anything can be done to promote ethical actions by farmers is allow them to make their own decision and hopefully in the end they will have made the best decision for our future generations.
Female
78
High School Diploma
Retired
There seems to be a lot of talk about pesticides and also about livestock.
I think that farmers are some of the most ethical people.
I believe that there are differences. It seems like when I was little everyone was willing to pitch in and help and it's not like that anymore.
Tougher penalties might promote more ethical actions.
1.) a. Is it ethical to have only a few major companies processing all of the food consumed in the United States?
b. Should something be done about the destruction of natural eco-systems due to pesticides and fertilizers?
c. Is the WTO and foreign markets for food going to destroy the ag market in the U.S.A?
2.) a. Yes I believe that most farmers are extremely ethical people.
b. I would say yes, most have become less ethical than once before. I believe this is due to the fact that they are practically forced to produce by their contracted buyers. They have to cooperate to pay the bills. Lively hood outweighs ethics. They still have good intentions, and beliefs, but are forced to compromise.
c. I think that a-lot can be done. Public awareness and education of both sides is the first step. People cannot make a sound decision if the have no idea what the facts are. Investigative reports, and journals are the bast way to get your ideas heard. Like the movie "food inc". TV adds could also be a great way, but would be very hard because most every mass media stations are biased and owned/ controlled by conservative capitalists.
Male
76
Business Owner
U of I graduate
Large corporations and money scandals with CEO's.
Yes i am sure to think that they are some of the most ethical people i have ever met in my life.
Farmers are no less ethical becasue they are only doing what they need to do to survive. Its the companies and governmental figure heads that are unethical. Its all about the money.
Be ethical yourself and it will spread.
37
Indiana
The ethical question at this point in time is how much higher can input cost to a crop get before farmers are will to cut back on a input that is needed.
To promote ethics in ag right now, we have to show to the public, or the people in general that the farmers are doing everything they can do to be faithful to the soil, and the enviroment
Female
46
College Degree
Works in Human Resources
The biggest ethical questions in agriculture today involve farmers being conscious of conservation and animal welfare. Farmers should be thinking about the toll they are taking on the environment and other animal producers need to treat the animals with respect.
As an overall whole most farmers are very ethical people but as with everything there is always the exception to the rule.
I don't think farmers are necessarily any less ethical than they were years ago when you compare it to society as a whole.
53
Male
College Grad
Western Employee
He believed the most ethical problems facing agriculture today have to do with the livestock raising side of things and also what really is going into the food we eat.
He believed farmers are ethical people but are perceived wrongly by a lot of people. Mainly having to do with livestock raising.
He believed society overall was more ethical back in the day.
He thinks ethical actions/decisions can be promoted by consumers demanding for pure, good foods.
Male
66
Masters degree
State Representative
“I think the ethical questions today are about the same as they’ve been in the recent past—being fair and honest in your practices, paying your taxes and not trying to find ways to work the system. It seems like some of the farmers I know spend more time and energy trying to get out of paying taxes or embellishing the facts than it would be to just pay them fairly.”
“As a general rule, I’d say there are more ethical farmers than there are ethical people in the majority of other occupations. But, just like with anything, there are some bad apples.”
“Not really. There are just a lot less farmers. I think the farmers of this generation are just as industrious and ethical as in past generations. They’re just trying to make a living like everybody else.”
“I really don’t know. I think making more clear-cut standards, with less bureaucracy, would be the first step. If there were guidelines for the farmers to follow, with a better system to help them understand what they need to do and follow-ups to make sure that the standards are being met. However, farmers are very independent, stubborn people, generally. Most would not take well to having the government watching them and trying to tell them what to do. Having too many restrictions might very well just backfire.”
Male
58
Farmer
College Graduate
I believe the most ethical questions facing farmers today concerns the decisions farmers have to make on land stewertship. It is important to preserve the land and therefor make decisions on replacing nutrients that are taken away from the soil and putting land into conservation programs to further preserve it. I think farmers today are more ethical than in the past because they are more informed so they can practice better farming techniques.
Male
40
Farmer
High School Graduate
The most important thing today would be the future of our environment. How will farming practices today affect our environment and soil in the future.
I would think that farmers today try to be ethical and are aware of what they should be, but sometimes are unable to due to circumstances.
Farmers in the last 20 years have been unable to be concerned with ethics due to rising cost of farming. They have to adjust their ethics in order to keep their farms and be productive. For example, how many millions of bees are killed each season due to aerial spraying from farmers. Aerial spraying destroys many environmental needs.
I feel the only way things will change is if our state and national government implement new standards for farming. They would need to implement ethics, but this would be difficult because you would be changing the way farms would be run.
the most ethical questions that is facing ag today would be wether our world will have enough food to support out global growth.
Farmers can be under the category of ethical individuals but may not be at the top of the list. It varies between the farmer
No i dont think farmers are less ethnical today. If anything, they should be more ethical from beeing more educated and taught the right morals they should follow.
Education is the first and foremost most important way to promote ethical thinking in Agriculture
I think the most important question facing agricultural is, will we be able to produce enough food for everyone in 2050?
I think farmers are still the most ethical people in society, but with the changing times they have lost some of their ethical thinking.
I would say they are less ethical today than a generation ago, because they have to do whatever it takes to make a living and someone of them have to bend the rules or be less ethical to put food on the table.
If we could promote small farms i think farmers would become more ethical again, the small farmer wouldn't feel threaten from the large scale operations that are currently taking over agricultural.
male
age 45
farmer
no college education but 30+ years farming experience
Most ethical decision facing farmers today would probably be whether or not to sacrifice quality of a product in order to produce a larger yield or in essence a larger profit.
Yes farmers are less ethical then they were today. In most instances they are forces into being unethical in order to survive or stay in business
Those that are very ethical need to keep being ethical and not to succumb to temptation to become unethical. You have to admit unethical decisions are definetely easier than ethical ones. We need to use our constitutional right to vote and vote for lawmakers and legislators that we think will have good personal ethics and that will pass laws that encourage ethical decision making. Too many people, especially our younger generation, just don't really care anymore. We need to educate those that aren't involved in agriculture so that they do care and aren't just walking around like chickens with their heads cut off and act totally oblivious to the situations that are going on around them.
57
male
4 year degree
The most important questions that the public is asking is how the livestock is being treated at the packing plants as well as on some of these very large scale operations this gives the entire farming community a black eye when these videos of animal cruelty are seen on tv.
yes i believe that farmers are ethical there are always a few that do not fit into that statement.
Acountabilty if we hold each as other as farmers more acountable
Male
69
Some college
Farmer
1.One big ethical question is how to expand in today's business without stepping on other peoples toes.
2. Yes
3. They are less ethical. When i was younger all the farmers would get together to put up hay. Now its more competitive and less friendly.
4. I think the landowners should look into who would be a better tenant instead of who is just going to pay more.
23
male
student
construction/farmer
The most important ethical questions faced in agriculutre today are.. At what point is production worth detriment to the land and the second would be whether GMO crops are acceptable.
Farmers the most ethical? um..NO They are like anything some probably are and some are not. But as a whole I would say no.
I do believe farmers are less ethical now then they were a generation ago.
Question 6
male
42
Farmer/nuclear operator
highschool
Use of GM Crops and whether or not it
poses a health concern.
Farmers are mostly ethical, hopefully if they are not they will end up out of business.
Farmers are probably less ethical today partly because farms are less family oriented and more corporate.
Higher values on family values on the farm might help to promote ethical farmers.
male
42
Farmer/nuclear operator
Use of GM Crops and whether or not it
poses a health concern.
Farmers are mostly ethical, hopefully if they are not they will end up out of business.
Farmers are probably less ethical today partly because farms are less family oriented and more corporate.
Higher values on family values on the farm might help to promote ethical farmers.
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