ABSTRACT
Chapter 2, “Facts, values, and naturalness,” discusses key concepts related to food, animals, and the environment. We start by highlighting the fact that we hear claims about our food on a daily basis: “Natural food is good for the planet.” “Organic food is good for human health.” “Free-range meat supports happy animals.” While claims like this are common, they are complex–they stem from concepts as well as values, some of which are unclear or in conflict. In light of this, we ask how we can advance our understanding of these claims in a domain as complicated as that of food, animals, and the environment. We discuss the distinction between–and relationships among–descriptive concepts (concerning facts) and prescriptive concepts (concerning values). We also explain how different types of value are relevant to different aspects of agriculture, raising a host of questions about the relationships between facts and values that we will explore throughout the rest of the book. We then describe and analyze naturalness, a concept that pervades much thinking and writing in this area. We conclude by exploring central values that arise when discussing food, animals, and the environment.
