The food of the future between food tech and eco-friendly lifestyles
Far from being an ethically neutral area, food is now one of the most important issues in moral reflection. The agri-food industry has a growing impact on the environment and human health, while raising ethical questions about fair access to food resources and the treatment of non-human animals. In this context, a twofold challenge emerges for contemporary societies: on the one hand, the need for a substantial transformation of eating habits; on the other, the opportunity – not without ambiguity – to resort to the tools offered by technological innovation. Technology, which through industrial farming has contributed significantly to the genesis of many of today's critical issues, could be part of the solution. The talk will focus in particular on the ethical implications and potential social impact of cellular agriculture and the plant-based industry, including a critical analysis of industrial entomophagy. The aim is to show how a conscious and critical use of technology, combined with a radical rethinking of food practices, can open up a space for reflection on alternative forms of sustainability, moral responsibility and interspecies coexistence.
Speaker:
Luca Lo Sapio studied at the Federico II University of Naples. His research topics include the ethics of human enhancement, the ethics of new food technologies and space ethics. He is currently Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Turin, Professor of Bioethics at LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome and Professor of Industrial Biotechnology Ethics at Federico II University in Naples. He is Scientific Coordinator of the Future Eating and BIOETHIKA-TO Research Group and Vice-President of the Italian Society of Astrobiology (SIA).
Introduction:
Vera Tripodi (Lecturer of Technology Ethics, Politecnico di Torino)