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Environmental Sustainability in Agriculture: Bioethical and Religious Arguments Against Carnivory

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Ecological Sustainability and Integrity: Concepts and Approaches

Part of the book series: Environmental Science and Technology Library ((ENST,volume 13))

Abstract

This paper presents the case that diet matters for environmental sustainability in the agriculture/food/population nexus from the ethical, religious and health points of view. This paper is addressed to all concerned with accelerating the transition to sustainability in agriculture in an ethical manner. There is little agreement that diet matters for agricultural sustainability; not even that it is a legitimate issue for agricultural policy. Ethical, health and religious arguments carry little weight in economic development decisions. Most agriculture is not sustainable, and there is little agreement on what the sustainability criterion may be when applied to the agriculture sector (FAO 1995, 1996). Agriculture has degraded more natural capital and caused more extinctions of species than any other sector.

“What comes out of one’s mouth is more important than what one puts into it”

Mahatma Gandhi

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 4872 Old Dominion, Arlington, VA, 22207-2743, USA

    Robert Goodland

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  1. Robert Goodland
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences, University of New England, Biddeford, Maine, USA

    John Lemons

  2. Department of Philosophy, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

    Laura Westra

  3. Environment Department, The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA

    Robert Goodland

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Goodland, R. (1998). Environmental Sustainability in Agriculture: Bioethical and Religious Arguments Against Carnivory. In: Lemons, J., Westra, L., Goodland, R. (eds) Ecological Sustainability and Integrity: Concepts and Approaches. Environmental Science and Technology Library, vol 13. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1337-5_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1337-5_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4980-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-1337-5

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