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WORK TITLE: From Field to Fork
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1951
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://kelloggchair.anr.msu.edu/ * http://www.csus.msu.edu/people/paul_thompson * http://www.philosophy.msu.edu/people/faculty/paulbthompson/ * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_B._Thompson_(philosopher)
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LOC is still down.
PERSONAL
Born July 22, 1951, in Springfield, MO; married March 28, 1975; children: two.
EDUCATION:University of Northern Colorado, B.A. (mathematics), 1971; Georgia Institute of Technology, B.A. (mathematics), 1973; Emory University, B.A. (philosophy), 1974; State University of New York at Stony Brook, M.A., 1974, Ph.D., 1980.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and philosopher. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, professor, 1981-1986, 1987-1997; Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, professor, 1997-2003; Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, professor, 2003—.
Director of Texas A&M University’s Center for Science and Technology Policy and Ethics, 1990-1997, and Purdue University’s Center for Food Animal Productivity and Well-Being, 1999-2003.
AVOCATIONS:Guitar playing, outdoor walks.
MEMBER:Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society (president), Society for Philosophy and Technology (president), Council on Agricultural Science and Technology Task Force on Animal Well Being (1991-97), U. S. Government Agricultural Biotechnology Research Advisory Committee (1994-96), Ecological Standards Workgroup (1997-98), Council on Agricultural Science and Technology Task Force on Urban Agriculture (2000-2001), National Research Council Subcommittee on Environmental Consequences from Commercialization of Transgenic Crops (2000-2001), Genome Scientific Advisory Committee (2002-2008), American Agricultural Economics Association (2006-2010), National Research Council Advisory Committee on Biotechnology, Board of Agriculture and Natural Resources (2000—), RESOLVE (board of directors, 2011—), PEGASUS Project on Animal Biotechnology International Advisory Panel, Mansholt Graduate School at Wageningen University and Research Institute Scientific Advisory Committee (1996-2010), University of Texas Center on Sustainable Development steering committee (2002-2004), Council on Agricultural Science and Technology’s Working Group on Ethics and Animal Agricultural Biotechnology (chair, 2006-10), Agricultural Food and Community Ethics at Michigan State University (W.K. Kellogg chair).
AWARDS:Stony Brook University graduate council fellow, 1975-79; State University of New York doctoral exchange fellow, 1977-78; National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy resident fellow, 1986-87; Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs fellow, 1986-87; U.S. Agency for International Development visiting fellow, 1986-87; Award for Professional Excellence in Communication, American Agricultural Economics Association, 1992, for Agricultural Biotechnology: Issues and Choices contribution, 1993, for Sacred Cows and Hot Potatoes; Yale University postdoctoral fellow, 1994-95; Hastings Center fellow, 2000—; Book of the Year, North American Society for Social Philosophy, 2015, for From Field to Fork; William J. Beal Award, Michigan State University, 2017, for outstanding faculty.
WRITINGS
Contributor to periodicals, including Cross Currents, Techné: Research in Philosophy and
Technology, History and Philosophy of Logic, Cahiers d’ Economie et Sociologie Rurales, Plant Physiology, Bioscience, and The Journal of Animal Science. Also contributor to reports, including The Environmental Effects of Transgenic Plants.
Also contributor to books, including Beyond Whistleblowing: Defining Engineering Responsibilities, Debating Science: Deliberation, Values and the Common Good, Low-Probability/High-Consequence Risk Analysis, The Philosophy of Food, and Animal Welfare in Animal Agriculture: Husbandry Stewardship, and Sustainability in Animal Production.
SIDELIGHTS
Dr. Paul B. Thompson has devoted his career to studying agriculture and its ethics. Prior to his professional debut, Thompson attended the University of Northern Colorado, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University, where he received his bachelor’s degrees. He then went on to the State University of New York at Stony Brook to obtain his master’s and post-doctorate degrees. Thompson has since spent his professional years teaching and writing. He is affiliated with Michigan State University, where he serves as the W.K. Kellogg Chair for their Agricultural, Food, and Community Ethics department and teaches philosophy courses. He is also involved with several professional organizations. Thompson has produced a prolific body of work throughout his career; in addition to his contributions to various periodicals and books, he has also authored numerous books of his own.
Agricultural Ethics
In Agricultural Ethics: Research, Teaching, and Public Policy, Thompson unpacks agricultural ethics as a whole, detailing its importance to our society. Agricultural Ethics is composed of three broad chapters. Chapter one deals with the research aspect of the field, comparing the central themes of agricultural ethical theory. The first, utilitarianism, was founded by philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The second, pioneered by Immanuel Kant, involves fulfilling designated tasks out of necessity. Chapter two addresses the educational facets of the field. In this chapter, Thompson stresses the importance of teaching today’s students about the ethics of agriculture and the benefits such education can bring. He also covers how educators might implement lessons on agricultural ethics within their classrooms. In the process, he posits how a proper agricultural ethics education will improve students’ abilities to analyze the world around them. Chapter three of Agricultural Ethics details the its titular subject from a political standpoint, drawing its evidence from studies conducted on real world farms.
“Thompson’s arguments are well-reasoned and often insightful,” stated Peter G. Hartel in an issue of Crop Science. Hartel added: “He is particularly good at capturing the moral qualities associated with agriculture in a historical context. His discussion of agrarianism (i.e., farming as a way of life as opposed to farming as a business) is superb.”
The Agrarian Vision
The Agrarian Vision: Sustainability and Environmental Ethics is serves as a platform for Thompson to examine the relationship between agriculture and sustainability. Initially, he concentrates on agriculture from an academic standpoint, both through the lens of how agriculture is portrayed in fiction and through the theories of numerous scholars, and where the differences between agriculture and sustainability lie. Thompson specifically draws comparisons with the acclaimed novel Grapes of Wrath, holding the novel and its starring characters against such ideologies as utilitarianism, egalitarianism, and libertarianism. Thompson parses which ideology matches best with the concept of agrarianism and how these ideas hold up when keeping the goal of sustainability in mind.
In Choice, D.M. Gilbert claimed The Agrarian Vision is a “challenging, provocative volume.” On the Englewood Review of Books Web site, reviewer Brent Aldrich claimed the ideas expressed in The Agrarian Vision “will be the work of rooted communities daily living into a vision of wholeness, and ultimately, God’s reconciliation of all things.”
From Field to Fork
From Field to Fork: Food Ethics for Everyone departs somewhat from Thompson’s usual agricultural themes, instead centering on food as a whole and how the food industry fares from an ethical standpoint. To do this, he looks at modern ideas of ethical food production, in the process pondering the truth of these conceptions and whether the reality matches common belief. He addresses both widespread viewpoints on the topic, as well as lesser known subjects he feels should garner closer attention than the public typically devotes.
J.H. Sniegocki, another Choice contributor, remarked that From Field to Fork “includes material that will interest those deeply involved in debates about food ethics.” A writer on the Evilcyclist’s Blog stated: “This is a deep, comprehensive, and balanced, work that is as much about philosophy as it is about food.” He concluded: “As much as Thompson’s book is about food, it also about deeper and fuller thinking of the world around us.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Choice, April, 2016, J.H. Sniegocki, review of From Field to Fork: Food Ethics for Everyone, p. 1180; February, 2011, D.M. Gilbert, review of The Agrarian Vision: Sustainability and Environmental Ethics, p. 1102.
Crop Science, March, 1999, Peter G. Hartel, review of Agricultural Ethics: Research, Teaching, and Public Policy, p. 583.
ONLINE
Englewood Review of Books, http://englewoodreview.org/ (September 3, 2010), Brent Aldrich, review of The Agrarian Vision.
Evilcyclist’s Blog, https://evilcyclist.wordpress.com/ (February 6, 2015), review of From Field to Fork.
Michigan State University Department of Philosophy, http://www.philosophy.msu.edu/ (April 5, 2017), author profile.
Michigan State University W. K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural Food and Community Ethics, http://kelloggchair.anr.msu.edu/ (April 5, 2017), author profile.
Paul B. Thompson (philosopher)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul B. Thompson is a philosopher currently teaching at Michigan State University, where he holds the W.K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural Food and Community Ethics. Thompson was born in 1951 in Springfield, Missouri. He earned his B.A. at Emory University before going on to earn a Ph.D. in philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.[1] He formerly taught at Texas A&M University and Purdue University before joining MSU, where he now teaches and does research on ethical and philosophical questions dealing with agriculture and food and especially the development of agricultural techno-science.
Paul B. Thompson, walking in Michigan.
Paul B. Thompson, W.K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural Food and Community Ethics at Michigan State University. Thompson was instrumental in developing the field of philosophy of agriculture.
Contents [hide]
1 Contributions to philosophy
2 Selected works
3 See also
4 References
Contributions to philosophy[edit]
Thompson has served on national and international committees on agricultural biotechnology such as the International Advisory Panel for the PEGASUS Project on Animal Biotechnology, the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology for the Board of Agriculture and Natural Resources (part of the National Research Council based in Washington D.C.), The Scientific Advisory Committee for the Mansholt Graduate School at Wageningen University and Research Institute, and was the Chair of the Council on Agricultural Science and Technology's Working Group on Ethics and Animal Agricultural Biotechnology from 2006—2010. Thompson also contributed to the National Research Council report entitled The Environmental Effects of Transgenic Plants.[2] He is a past President of the Society for Philosophy and Technology and the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society.[3]
Selected works[edit]
P. B. Thompson, The Agrarian Vision: Sustainability and Environmental Ethics. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 2010.
P. B. Thompson, Ed. The Ethics of Intensification: Agricultural Development and Cultural Change. Dordrecht, NL: Springer, 2008.
K. David and P. B. Thompson, Eds. What Can Nanotechnology Learn from Biotechnology? Social and Ethical Lessons for Nanoscience from the Debate over Agrifood Biotechnology and GMOs. Burlington, MA: Academic Press, 2008.
J. B. Callicott and R. Frodeman, Eds-in-Chief; V. Davion, B. Norton, C. Palmer and P. B. Thompson, Assoc. Eds. Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy Farmington Hills, MI: 2008, Gale-Cengage Learning.
P. B. Thompson and T. C. Hilde, Eds. The Agrarian Roots of Pragmatism. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 2000.
P. B. Thompson, Agricultural Ethics: Research, Teaching and Public Policy, Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1998.
P.B. Thompson, Food Biotechnology in Ethical Perspective, London: Chapman and Hall (Blackie Academic and Professional), 1997.
P.B. Thompson, The Spirit of the Soil: Agriculture and Environmental Ethics, New York and London: Routledge Publishing Co., 1995.
P.B. Thompson, R. Matthews, E.O. van Ravenswaay, Ethics, Public Policy, and Agriculture, New York: Macmillan, 1994.
P.B. Thompson, The Ethics of Aid and Trade: U.S. Food Policy, Foreign Competition and the Social Contract, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
W. Browne, J. Skees, L. Swanson, P.B. Thompson, and L. Unnevehr, Sacred Cows and Hot Potatoes: Agrarian Myths and Policy Realities, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1992.
P.B. Thompson and B. A. Stout, Eds. Beyond the Large Farm: Ethics and Research Goals for Agriculture, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991.
See also[edit]
American philosophy
List of American philosophers
Environmental ethics
Paul B. Thompson
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Professor
W.K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural, Food and Community Ethics
Professor Thompson is the author of 14 books and editions, the most recent being From Field to Fork: Food Ethics for Everyone, which was named “Book of the Year” for 2015 by the North American Society for Social Philosophy. He has served on many national and international committees on agricultural biotechnology and contributed to the National Research Council report The Environmental Effects of Transgenic Plants. He is a Past President of the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society and the Society for Philosophy and Technology. Thompson is the W.K. Kellogg Professor of Agricultural, Food and Community Ethics at Michigan State. He was a recipient of MSU’s William J. Beal Award for Outstanding Faculty in 2017.
Professor Thompson's website: http://kelloggchair.anr.msu.edu/
E-mail: thomp649@msu.edu
Paul B. Thompson
Paul B. Thompson
Holds the W.K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural Food, and Community Ethics at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. He has formerly held positions in philosophy at Texas A&M University and Purdue University. His research has centered on ethical and philosophical questions associated with agriculture and food, and especially concerning the guidance and development of agricultural techno-science.
This research focus has led him to undertake a series of projects on the application of recombinant DNA techniques to agricultural crops and food animals. Thompson published the first book length philosophical treatment of agricultural biotechnology in 1997 and revised in 2007, and has traveled the world speaking on the subject, delivering invited addresses in Egypt, Thailand, Taiwan, Mexico, Israel, and Jamaica, as well as a number of European countries. In addition to philosophical outlets, his work on biotechnology has appeared in technical journals including Plant Physiology, The Journal of Animal Science, Bio-science, and Cahiers d’ Economie et Sociologie Rurales. He serves on the United States National Research Council’s Agricultural Biotechnology Advisory Council and on the Science and Industry Advisory Committee for Genome Canada. Thompson’s new work focuses on nanotechnology in the agrifood system.
In addition to his research on biotechnology, Thompson has published extensively on the environmental and social significance of agriculture. His 1992 book (with four coauthors) on U.S agricultural policy, Sacred Cows and Hot Potatoes, was used as a textbook for U.S. Congressional agriculture staff, and won the American Agricultural Economics Association Award for Excellence in Communication. He has also published a number of volumes and papers on the philosophical and cultural significance of farming, notably The Spirit of the Soil: Agriculture and Environmental Ethics (1995) and The Agrarian Roots of Pragmatism (2000). In 2008, two edited collections appeared: What Can Nanotechnology Learn from Biotechnology: Social and Ethical Lessons for Nanoscience from the Debate over Agrifood Biotechnology and GMOs (edited with Ken David) and The Ethics of Intensification: Agricultural Technology and Cultural Change. A new manuscript entitled Sustainability and Agrarian Ideals is in production at the University Press of Kentucky. Thompson completed his Ph.D. studies on the philosophy of technology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook under the guidance of Don Ihde. He is married, has two grown children and enjoys nature walks as well as playing the guitar.
About the Chair
In 2002, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation keeping to the fulfillment of its 1930’s goal to “Help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations,” established the W.K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural, Food and Community Ethics supported by a $1.5 million initiative. The chair was created in response to an increasing need to address the ethical, social and political challenges related to natural resources, public policy and agriculture. One of the objectives of the chair is to strengthen MSU’s efforts to address the trans-disciplinary ethical, social and political challenges around issues that confront the state of Michigan, other public institutions and different sectors of the society.
Advancements in biological and informational technologies continue to pave the way for innovation in food systems and the management and sustainability of the world’s natural resources. However, many of these breakthroughs also raise ethical and other critical concerns which also need to be considered. The endowed chair is just one example of the efforts by MSU to enhance understanding but also to take action on complex ethical challenges which arise through increased global interconnectedness and natural resource exploitation and depletion. Dr. Paul B. Thompson, the endowed chair, holds the crucial role of providing moral perspective and stimulate dialogue across the disciplines on the ethical questions scientists face, forcing them to rethink their initial query of “Can we do this?” and instead, re-pose it as “Should we do this?” As the endowed chair, Dr. Paul Thompson has a joint appointment in the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He is a member of the faculty in the Department of Philosophy; Agricultural Food and Resource Economics; and Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Economics.
The chair position requires more than scientific experience; it requires a strong sense of moral judgment and the ability to become a leader in more than one setting. In today’s world it is becoming increasingly important for both students and faculty to stretch their horizons and become engaged in studies which transcend disciplines, making the chair’s leadership a crucial step towards helping this come about. Paul B. Thompson is in charge of developing new, evolved ways of teaching by incorporating science, engagement with local communities, and ethical investigation into his education plans. The concentrations of this investigation may include biotechnology assessment, natural resource protection methods, sustainable agriculture, health and food systems safety, animal welfare and organic farming. The overall end goal of this position is to successfully bridge knowledge between colleges, working in collaboration to discover new solutions and methods in sustainable practices through an ethical lens.
The gift from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that established the Chair in Agricultural, Food and Community Ethics also established the Sustainable Michigan Endowed Project which is an important endeavor providing grants to natural, physical and social scientists working towards building a more sustainable Michigan: http://www.smep.msu.edu/
Paul B. Thompson Vita 1/31/20131680.P. B. Thompson, “The Moral Significance of Land,” Institution for Social and Policy Studies Report, Yale University, New Haven, CT, Volume 1, No. 2, Spring 1995 pp. 20 & 22. 81.P. B. Thompson, “Food Security and Technocentrism in Agriculture,” in An Environmental Ethics Perspective on Canadian Policy for Sustainable Development, The Institute for Research on Environment and Economy, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, 1995, pp 205-216.82.P. B. Thompson, “Ethical Worldviews and Decision Making in Agriculture,” in Decision Making and Agriculture: The Role of Ethics, K. Beesley, S. Burns, M. Campbell and P. Sanger, Eds. Truro, Nova Scotia: Rural Research Centre, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, 1995, pp. 3-17.83.D. M. Vietor, A. F. Johnson, B. L. Harris, M. L. Wolfe, and P. B. Thompson, “Probabilistic Tools for Assessing and Minimizing Risks to Water Quality,”Clean Water, Clean Environments for the 21stCentury: Working to Protect Water Resources, Proceedings of a Conference March 5-8, 1995, Kansas City, MO.. St. Joseph, MI: American Society of Agricultural Engineering, 299-302.84.P. B. Thompson, “Ethics,” in The Encyclopedia of Agricultural Science, Volume 2 Charles A. Arntzen, ed. (New York: 1994, Academic Press) pp. 107-116.85.P. B. Thompson, “Environmental Responsibility and the Ecology of the Virtues,” in Ecology and Democracy: The Challenge of the 21st Century, I. Hanousková, M. Lapka and E Cudlinová, eds. NEBE s.r.o., Krajinská 7, 370 01 Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic, 1994, pp 40-42.86.P. B. Thompson, “Ethical Issues and Animal Biotechnology,” in Proceedings of the International Workshop on Animal Biotechnology Issues, M. McGloughlin, Ed. The Biotechnology Program, University of California, Davis, April 1994, 38-9. 87.P. B. Thompson, “Environment, Development and the Rhetoric of International Consensus,” in Proceedings of the Conference on Communication and Our Environment, J. G. Cantrill and M. J. Killingsworth, Eds. (AuSable, MI: 1994, Northern Michigan University), pp. 179-185. 88.P.B. Thompson, R. Stricklin, P. Siegel, A. Rowan, and B. Rollin, “Well-Being of Production Animals: A Diversity of Vewpoints,” Proceedings of Fair ‘95 Symposium on Food Animal Research Priorities, Kansas City, Missouri, October 18-20, 1992 (published 1993).89.P. B. Thompson and J. C. Swanson, “Public Issues and Concerns,” in Food Animal Well-Being. West Lafayette, IN: USDA and PurdueUniversity, 1993.90.P. B. Thompson, “A New Agenda For the Humanities in Development,” White Paper Prepared for the Rockefeller Foundation, Arts and Humanities Division, October 1993.91.E. M. Leigh, D. M. Vietor, P. B. Thompson, and M. L. Wolfe, “Probabilisitic Risk Assessment for Dairy Waste Systems,” Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural Engineering, St. Joseph, MI: Amercian Society of Agricultural Engineers, Summer 1993, 24 pp.92.P. B. Thompson, “Ethics and Agricultural Biotechnology,” Science of Food and Agriculture 5(1):8-9, Jan. 1993.93.P. B. Thompson, “Food Labels and Biotechnology: The Ethics of Safety and Consent,” Center for Biotechnology Policy and Ethics, TexasA&MUniversity. Discussion Paper CBPE 93-1, Jan. 1993.94.P.B. Thompson and J.A. Shadduck, “NABC 4: Animal Biotechnology: Opportunities and Challenges: An Overview,” NABC News5(1):6, Summer 1992.95.P. B. Thompson, “Concepts of Property and the Biotechnology Debate,” Center for Biotechnology Policy and Ethics, TexasA&MUniversity. Discussion Paper CBPE 92-11, Nov. 1992.96.W. P. Browne, J.R. Skees, L.E. Swanson, P.B. Thompson, and L.J. Unnevehr, “Stewardship Values: Still Valid for the 21st Century?” Choices. Third Quarter: 20-25, 1992.97.P. B. Thompson, “Emphasizing the Humanities and Social Sciences,”Agriculture and the Undergraduate. National Research Council, 1992, Washington, DC, pp. 208-21998.P. B. Thompson, “Animal Welfare and Animal Rights: An Overview.” Center for Biotechnology Policy and Ethics, TexasA&MUniversity. Discussion Paper CBPE 92-1, March 1992.99.J. Murray, P.B. Thompson and R. Piggott, “Transgenic Animals,” National Agricultural Biotechnology Council Report 3: Agricultural Biotechnology at the Crossroads: Biological Social and Institutional Concerns, National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, Ithaca, NY: pp. 38-43, 1992.100.F. M. Byers and P.B. Thompson, “Animal Growth Biotechnology In a Quandary,” National Agricultural Biotechnology Council Report 3: Agricultural Biotechnology at the Crossroads: Biological Social and Institutional Concerns, National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, Ithaca, NY: pp. 264-299, 1992. 101.P.B. Thompson, “Constitutional Values and the Costs of American Food,” in Understanding the True Costs of Food: Considerations for a Sustainable Food System. (Greenbelt, MA: 1991, Institute for Alternative Agriculture, Inc.) pp. 64-74.
Paul B. Thompson Vita 1/31/201317102.P.B. Thompson, “Risk: Ethical Issues and Values,” in Agricultural Biotechnology, Food Safety and Nutritional Quality for the Consumer, J. F. MacDonald, ed. National Agricultural Biotechnology Council (NABC) Report 2, (Ithaca, NY: 1991, NABC) pp. 204-217.103.P. B. Thompson, “Philosophies of Property and Their Relevance to Biotechnology,” Center for Biotechnology Policy and Ethics, TexasA&MUniversity. CBPE 91-11, Dec. 1991.104.P. B. Thompson, “Ethical Issues and BST,” Center for Biotechnology Policy and Ethics, TexasA&MUniversity. Discussion Paper CBPE 91-8, June 1991. 105.G.L. Johnson and P.B. Thompson, “Ethical Issues in Agricultural Biotechnology, Agricultural Biotechnology Leaflet Series, B.R. Baumgardt and M.A. Martin, eds., Purdue Agricultural Experiment Station, 1991.106.P. B. Thompson, “Agricultural Biotechnology and Food Safety: Ethical Issues in the Evaluation of Risk.” Center for Biotechnology Policy and Ethics, TexasA&MUniversity. Discussion Paper CBPE 91-1, Jan. 1991.107.P. B. Thompson, Social and Ethical Problems in Desert Locust Eradication for Africa, White Paper submitted to the Office of Technology Assessment, U. S. Congress, Jan. 1989.108.W. Lacy, J.L. Compton, R. Freed, L Johnson and P.B. Thompson, Joint Indo-U.S. Impact Evaluation, Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University and Jawaharlal Nehru KrishiVishwaVidayalaya, to the United States Agency for International Development, Nov. 1987. 109.P. B. Thompson, “Philosophy of Social Science and Ethics,” Proceedings of the Phase I Workshop, Social Science Agricultural Agenda Project, June 9-11, 1987, Neill Schaller, compiler, available from Resources and Technology Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.110.P. B. Thompson, “A Syllabus for Agricultural Ethics,” FP 86-9, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, July 1986.111.P. B. Thompson, “Writing and Thinking in Agricultural Ethics,” FP 86-6, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, April 1986.112.P. B. Thompson, “Teaching Agricultural Ethics in the Agricultural Economics Curriculum,” FP 86-5, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, April 1986.113.P. B. Thompson, “On the Nature of Ethics and Values with Application to Agricultural Issues,” FP 86-1, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, January 1986.Selected Presentations:“Animal Ethics and the Evolution of Standards for Laying Hens in the United States,” Center for Animal Welfare, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, AU, June 18, 2012. “The Fundamental Problem in Food Ethics,” Center for Applied Philosophy and Practical Ethics, Canberra, AU, June 14, 2012; Department of Philosophy, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, April 19, 2012.“Three Problems in Food Ethics,” Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA, Aug. 3, 2011; also delivered as the K. Schilling Memorial Lecture, Pennsylvania State University, August 29, 201, and at American University, Washington, DC, October, 3, 2011. “Genetic Pollution,” Biotechnology in Agriculture Study Group, Yale University, New Haven, CT, April 19, 2011.“Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change,” Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture Colloquium, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, April 13, 2011.“The Agrarian Vision: Sustainability and Environmental Ethics,” Green Mountain College, Poultney, VT, March 29, 2011.“Food, Technology and the Philosophy of Agriculture,” Food: An MIT Boot Camp, The Knight Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, March 23, 2011.“After the Animal: Posthumanism and the Habit of Hunting,” Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy Annual Meeting, Spokane, WA, March 11, 2011.“The Future of Philosophy: Panel Presentation,” A New Practice of Philosophy: Taking Philosophy Beyond Disciplinary Bounds Conference, North Texas University, Denton, TX, March 7, 2011.“Author Meets Critics: The Agrarian Vision,” Association for Professional and Practical Ethics Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH, March 4, 2011.“The Fundamental Problem of Agricultural Ethics,” Frontiers in the Ethics of Science and Technology Research, Free University, Amsterdam, Feb. 23, 2011.“The Gap between Productivity and Sustenance: Making the Ethics Case for Agricultural Research,” Glasscock Lecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, Jan. 31, 2011.
Paul B. Thompson Vita 1/31/201318“From GMOs to Nano and Synbio: Lessons on the Ethics of Emerging Technology,” School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, Jan. 23, 2011. “The Agrarian Vision: Sustainability and Environmental Ethics,” Willson Center Distinguished Lecture, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, Jan. 21, 2011. “The Not Very Sexy but Ethically Important Issues in Synthetic Biology,” Bioethics Symposium, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, Jan. 14, 2011. “Animal Welfare Standards,” National Research Council Board on Agriculture Workshop, Washington, DC, Nov. 9, 2010. “Public Philosophy,” Panel Presentation, The Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy Annual Meeting, Montreal, CA, Nov. 5, 2010.“What Makes Food Good? A Conversation with My Wife,” 46th Nobel Conference, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter Minnesota, October 6, 2010.“Agricultural Biotechnology: What Are the Ethical Issues?” Minnesota Science Museum, St. Paul, MN, October 3, 2010.“What Happened to Food Nanotechnology? A Case Study in Private Sector Science Policy,” Gordon Conference on Science and Technology Policy, Waterville Valley, NH, August 12, 2010.“Social Sustainability and Public Acceptability in Egg Production,” Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, July 14, 2010.“Ethical Issues in Animal Biotechnology,” Council on Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) Congressional Staff Briefing, Longworth Building, Washington, DC, June 7, 2010.“Ethics and Agricultural Intensification,” Workshop on Diversity and Germplasm, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, April 14, 2010.“Animal Welfare Ethics and Public Expectations: The North American Outlook,” Swimming with the Tide: An Animal Welfare Symposium, American Veterinary Medical Association and Association for Veterinary Medical Education, East Lansing, MI, Nov. 9-11, 2009.“Conceptualizing Sustainability Science: The Role of Values,” Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), Alexandria, VA, Oct. 29-31, 2009.“Agrifood Nanotechnology: Is This Anything?” Keynote Address, European Society for Agriculture and Food Ethics, Nottingham, UK, July 3, 2009.“Biotechnology’s Contributions to Sustainability,” 8th Annual Bioethics Forum, Biopharmaceutical TechnologyCenter, Madison, WI, April 23, 2009.“Food Aid: Does it Help or Hurt?” Food for Thought Conference, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, April 11, 2009.“Ethics and Food Production,” University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez, April 12, 2009.“The Ethics of Communicating Risk for Emerging Technology: Settled Norms, Open Questions and Enduring Controversies,” Workshop on Risk Communication and Emerging Technology, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Jan. 8, 2009.“Ethical and Policy Analysis of Linkages between Public Perception and Oversight of Emerging Technologies,” (with J. Kuzma, U. Minnesota), Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, Dec. 9, 2008. “Panel Presentation: The Future of Food: Toward a Bioethics of Food,” American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Annual Meeting, Cleveland, OH, Oct. 24, 2008.“Social and Ethical Issues in Agricultural Nanotechnology,” RENANOSOMA, Natal, Brazil, October 13, 2008.“The GMO Debate,” Genome British Columbia Executive Council Retreat, Vancouver, BC, June 14, 2008.“Agricultural Biofuels: Two Key Ethical Issues,” Annual Meeting, National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, Columbus, Ohio, June 5, 2008. “The Green Revolution,” International Society for Environmental Ethics Meeting, Highlands Camp, CO, May 28, 2008.“Where is Agrifood Nanotechnology?” (with Bill Hannah), Conference on Consuming Nanotechnology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, May 19, 2008. “The Opposite of Human Enhancement: Nanotechnology and the Blind Chicken Problem,” Bioethics Program, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, April 15, 2008.“Emerging Technology and the Problem of Risk,” University of North Carolina-Charlotte, April 12, 2008.“Rethinking Sustainability,” Muskegon Community College, Muskegon, MI, April 4, 2008.“The Emergence of Food Ethics,” Swedish Food Agency, Uppsala, Sweden, March 18, 2008.“Harnessing Agriculture for Energy: The Ethical Issues,” American Association for the Advancement of Science, Boston, MA, Feb. 15, 2008.
Paul B. Thompson Vita 1/31/201319“The Opposite of Human Enhancement: Nanotechnology and the Blind Chicken Problem,” and “What Can Nanotechnology Learn from GMOs,” Presentations at the Department of Philosophy and the Center for Nanotechnology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, Oct. 19, 2007.“Ethical Bases of Sustainability,” European Society for Agriculture and Food Ethics Meeting, Vienna, Austria, September 14, 2007.“Panel Participant on Biofuels,” World Agricultural Forum, St. Louis, MO, May 9, 2007. “The Opposite of Human Enhancement,” Workshop on Nanotechnology and Human Enhancement, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, April 14, 2007 “Author Meets Critics Commentary on Albert Borgmann’sReal American Ethics,” American Philosophical Association Pacific Division, San Francisco, CA, April 7, 2007.“Animal Ethics 101,” Ethics and Animal Biotechnology Workshop sponsored by Michigan State University and the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, The National Press Club, Washington, DC, Oct. 18, 2006.“Ethical Bases of Sustainability,” European Association for Animal Production Meeting, Antalya, Turkey, September 17, 2006.“Sustainability in an Agrarian Key,” Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Memphis, TN, Aug. 9, 2006.“Connecting Economics with Ethics,” American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Long Beach, CA, July 25, 2006.“Ethics and Animal Biotechnology Revisited in Light of Bush Administration Science Policy,” American Association of Animal Science Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, July 12, 2006.“SEIN in NNIN,” Institute of Food Technologists Post Conference Workshop on Nanotechnology, Orlando, FL, June 29, 2006.“Ethical Issues in Industry/University Cooperation,” National Agricultural Biotechnology Council Annual Meeting, Ithaca, NY, June 16, 2006.“Food and Community,” Central European Pragmatist Forum, Szeged, Hungary, May 30, 2006.“Biotechnology and the Blind Chicken Problem,” Presidential Lectures Series, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, Feb. 14, 2005.“Mark Sagoff’s Kantian Environmental Philosophy,” American Philosophical Association, New York, NY, Dec. 29, 2005.“Ethics and Animal Well-being: Frontiers of Research,” Frontiers of Animal Agriculture Conference, CSIRO, Surfer’s Paradise, Australia, Oct. 12, 2005.“Exclusion Cost, Alienability and Rivalry: Three Institutional Factors for Technical Design,” Presidential Address, Society for Philosophy and Technology, Technical University-Delft, Delft, The Netherlands, July 21, 2005. “Science and Value Judgments in Assessing Risks from GM Crops,” Philosophy of Science Association, Austin, TX, Nov. 20, 2004.“Ethics, Hunger and GM Crops,” Homer Babcock Workshop on Ethics and World Hunger, CornellUniversity, Nov. 18, 2004.“Technological Innovation and Institutional Change,” American Philosophical Organization Conference on Philosophy and Technology, Newark, DE, Oct. 24, 2004.“Animal Rights, Animal Welfare and Animal Well-Being: How to Talk to the Outside World,” Future Trends in Animal Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture, Jefferson Auditorium, Washington D.C., September 22, 2004.“Ethics and Social Issues for Transgenic Insects,” Biotech Bugs: A Look at the Science and Public Policy Surrounding Release of Transgenic Insects, Pew Initiative on Food and Agricultural Biotechnology, Washington D.C., September 20, 2004.“Moral Economy and the Dark Side of Social Capital,” Panel Presentation, American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, August 2, 2004.“Animal Welfare and Animal Rights,” Heifer International, Little Rock, AK, July 29, 2004.“Polanyi and Pragmatism,” Central European Pragmatist Forum, Potsdam, Germany, June 4, 2004. “Values in Risk Assessment: The Case of GM Crops,” Department of Philosophy, University of Delft, Deft, The Netherlands, May 10, 2004.Visiting Scholar Lecture Series on Agricultural Biotechnology, WageningenUniversity and ResearchCenter, The Netherlands, May 12-June 2.“Value Judgments in Biotechnology Risk Assessment,” University of California at Davis, April 14, 2004.Panel Presentation, Genetic Prospects, Association for Professional and Practical Ethics, Cincinnati, OH, Feb. 28, 2004.Value Judgments and Risk Assessment for GM Crops, Iowa State University, Mar. 2, 2004.
Paul B. Thompson Vita 1/31/201320“Ethics and Agricultural Intensification,” FAO Conference on Ethics and Agricultural Intensification, Wye College, Imperial University, Wye, United Kingdom, Jan. 10, 2004.“Thomas Jefferson and Agrarian Philosophy,” (plus two other lectures), Taiwan National University, Taipei, December 8-11, 2003.“Technological Commodification,” American Political Science Association National Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, Aug 30, 2003.“Rationality, Egoism and Ethics: Are They Equivalent?” American Agricultural Economics Association, July 28, 2003.“Research Ethics and Animal Biotechnology,” Presentation at the FRONTIS Workshop on Professional Ethics, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands, May 20, 2003.“Getting Pragmatic about Farm Animal Welfare,” Pacific Sociology Association meeting, Pasadena, CA, April 3, 2003.“The Labeling Issue as a Risk Management Approach,” Panel Presentation GE3LS Symposium 2003, Montreal, Canada, Feb. 8, 2003.“Biotechnology and the Natural: Extra-Medical Sources of Interpretation,” Paper Presentation, American Bioethics and Applied Humanities Society Annual Meeting, Baltimore Maryland, Oct. 25, 2002.“Discourse Ethics and Occasional Philosophy,” East European Pragmatist Forum, Krakow, Poland, June 12, 2002.“You Are NOT What You Eat,” Invited Plenary Address, Eat, Drink and Be Merry? A Symposium, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 5, 2002.“Shifty Risk Comparisons: Genetically Engineered and Conventionally Bred Crops,” Tanner Symposium, Utah State University, March 15, 2002.“Agricultural Biotechnology, Public Participation and Risk,” Panel Presentation, Association for Professional and Practical Ethics, Cincinnati, OH, March 1, 2002.“Ethical Issues in Agricultural Biotechnology,” American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2002.“Animal Welfare, Cloning and Transgenics,” National Research Council Workshop on Animal Biotechnology, Washington, D.C. Nov. 18, 2001, excerpted on National Public Radio Morning Edition, Dec. 4, 2001.“Ethical Issues in Research Management: The Case of Agricultural Biotechnology,” Invited Presentation, EUAGRI Annual Conference, Lisbon, Portugal, May 18, 2001.“What Is ‘What You Eat’?” Convivium Satellite Session, American Philosophical Association Central Division, Minneapolis, MN, May 4, 2001.“Ethics and Agricultural Biotechnology: Why Is Everybody So Mad at Us?” College of Agriculture Symposium, Feb. 27, 2001; “Conceptualizing Risk: Issues for Interpretation, Communication and Public Involvement,” Environmental Policy Symposium, Feb. 28, 2001, both Ohio State University, Columbus.“Agricultural Biotechnology: Ethical and Cultural Issues,” Gordon Research Conference on Agricultural Science, Ventura Beach, CA, Feb. 11, 2001.“Agricultural Biotechnology, Justice and the Good,” Symposium on Governing GMO’s, President’s Centennial Series, University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, MN, Feb. 1, 2001.“The Reshaping of Conventional Farming: A North American Perspective,” Invited Address, 2nd Congress of the European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics, Copenhagen, Denmark, August 26, 2000.Panel Presentation, The Precautionary Principle in Food Safety, The Embassy of France to the United States, Washington, DC, July 20, 2000.“Privacy, Secrecy and Security,” Conference on Computer Ethics and Philosophical Enquiry, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, July 15, 2000.“Pragmatism and Biotechnology,” Summer Institute on American Philosophy, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, July 12 & 13, 2000.“Ethical Issues for Gene Technology: The Emerging Paradigm of Consumer Concerns,” Conference on Cloning and Transgenic Animals, Utah State University, June 19, 2000.Workshop Reporter, Transatlantic Platform on International Trade and Consumer Concerns, Lelystad, The Netherlands, June 16-17, 2000.“Bioethics Issues for the Biobased Economy,” National Agricultural Biotechnology Council Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, May 13, 2000.“GMO’s in Our Food,” Panel Presentation, National Consumer League Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, May 1, 2000.“Religious Tolerance and GMO’s,” Association of Popular Culture Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 21, 2000.
Paul B. Thompson Vita 1/31/201321“Understanding Consumer Attitudes and Values,” Institute for Animal Agriculture Inaugural Meeting, Corpus Christi, TX, April 11, 2000.“What’s the Problem with Animal Agriculture?” Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Meeting, Albuquerque, NM, April 6, 2000.Panel Presentation, International Association of Culinary Professionals, Providence R. I. April 1, 2000.“Ethics and Consumer Acceptance,” Conference on The Science and Controversy of GMO’s, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, March 4, 2000.“How Technology Changes Rights: The Case of Mechanization,” Department of Agricultural Engineering, IowaState University, Ames, IA, March 3, 2000.“Walk a Mile in the European Consumer’s Shoes,” Delaware Governor’s Conference on Agriculture, Dover, DE, Feb. 27, 2000.“Cultural Integrity vs. Individual Consent: Further Thoughts on GMO’s in the Food System,” East-West Philosophy Conference, University of Hawaii, Jan. 13, 2000.“Defining the Agrarian Tradition,” Social Science History Association, Ft. Worth, TX, November 13, 1999.“Contentious Issues in Animal Agriculture: The Broader Context of Social and Environmental Concerns,” College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, November 5, 1999.“Ethical Implications for International Trade Standards,” Institute for Food and Agricultural Standards, MichiganState University, East Lansing, MI, November 2, 1999.“Against Mechanism,” (with A. A. Schmid) American Association of Agricultural Economics Annual Meeting, Aug. 10, 1999, Nashville, TN.“The Environmental Ethics Case for Crop Biotechnology,” Meeting of the Society for Applied Ethics, Oxford University, June 28, 1999; American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, May 7, 1999; University of Missouri, Columbia, May 25, 1999.“Consumer Acceptance of Biotechnology: The Ethics of Optimization and Consent,” University of Wisconsin-Madison, April 1, 1999.“Envisioning the Future,” Panel Presentation, First European Congress on Agriculture and Food Ethics, Wageningen, The Netherlands, March 5, 1999.“Jefferson and Agrarianism,” Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, Eugene OR, Feb. 26, 1999.“Conceptualizing Risk for Food Safety,” National Research Council Working Group on Science and Trade, Irvine, CA, Jan. 26, 1999.“Food Safety and the Ethics of Consent,” American Association for the Advancement of Science, Anaheim, CA, Ja nuary 22, 1999.“Ethics and Biotechnology,” Cornell University, October 2, 1998.“The Ethics of Livestock Cloning,” American Society of Animal Science/American Dairy Science Association Meeting, Denver CO, Aug. 3, 1998.“Ethical Issues,” Workshop on Biotechnology, The Foundation for Nutritional Advancement, The Johns Hopkins University Center, Bologna, Italy, Nov. 17, 1997.“Can Modern Farming Recapture the Spirit of the Soil?” Keynote Address, The Soul of Agriculture Conference, Hubert H. Humphrey Center, Minneapolis, MN, Nov. 14, 1997, sponsored by the Center for Respect of Life and the Environment.“Sustainable Livestock Production: Methodological and Ethical Challenges,” European Allied Animal Production Meeting, Vienna, Austria, Aug. 26, 1997.“From a Philosopher’s Perspective, What Should Animal Scientists Do to Meet the Challenge of Contentious Issues,” American Animal Science Society Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN, July 31, 1997.“Consumer Acceptance: The Final Stage of Technology Acceptance: Ethical Issues,” Workshop on Transgenic Animals, Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, Stockholm, Sweden, May 23, 1997.“Value Frames and Ethics for Resource Management,” Invited Address, Confluences Conference ‘97, Oregon StateUniversity, at Newport, OR, May 17, 1997.“Ethics and Food Safety,” Ph.D. Workshop on the Social Construction of Food, Centre for Rural Studies Research, Norwegian Science and Technological University, Trondheim, Norway, April 14, 1997.“Three Teaching Cases for Natural Resource Management,” Association for Professional and Practical Ethics, Washington, D.C., March 9, 1997.“Value Frames and Natural Resource Management,” Society for Range Management, Rapid City, S.D.Feb. 9, 1997.“Animal Biotechnology: Social and Ethical Issues,” The Third Asia Pacific Conference on Agricultural Biotechnology, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand, November 11, 1996.
Paul B. Thompson Vita 1/31/201322“Sustainability as a Norm,” Society for Philosophy and Technology, Puebla, Mexico, October 30, 1996.“Food Biotechnology’s Challenge to Cultural Integrity and Individual Consent,” Inaugural Jesselson Symposium on Technology, Ethics and Judaism, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, October 7, 1996. “The Varieties of Sustainability in Livestock Farming,” 4th International Livestock Farming Systems Symposium, Research Centre Foulum, Denmark, August 22, 1996. “Markets, Moral Economy and the Ethics of Sustainable Agriculture,” Symposium on Rural Reconstruction in a Market Economy, Mansholt Institute, Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands, December 14, 1995.“Farming as Focal Practice,” Conference on Technology and the Character Contemporary Life, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Sept. 30, 1995.“Moral Economy in The Grapes of Wrath,” Agriculture, Food and Human Values Annual Meeting, Tuskegee University, AL, June 10, 1995. “Biotechnology, Food Labels and the Ethics of Consent,” Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Meeting, San Francisco, CA, May 24, 1995.“Ethics, Prediction and Environmental Science,” ISPS Interdisciplinary Faculty Seminar on the Environment, YaleUniversity, April 14, 1995.“Technological Responsibility: Imperative or Oxymoron?” North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, March 27, 1995.“The Moral Significance of Land,” Program on Agrarian Studies Seminar, Yale University, March 4, 1995.“Sustainability from Seed to Nation State,” American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, Feb. 17, 1995."Balancing Diversity and Values in Public Policy Education," Keynote Address at National Public Policy Education Conference, Boise, ID, Sept. 1994.University of Nebraska, 3 lectures: "What's Holistic About Holism," "Ethical Issues in Biotechnology," and "Workshop on Ethics and Agricultural Research." Oct. 2-4, 1994.“Animal Biotechnology and Ethical Issues,” University of California, Davis, CA, April 12, 1994."Conceptions of Property and the Biotechnology Debate," American Association for the Advancement of Science, San Francisco, February 1994."Social Consequences," presentation at the African Workshop on Biosafety, USAID, Cairo, Egypt, January, 1994."Ethical Worldviews and Decision Making and Agriculture" Keynote Address at Decision Making in Agriculture: The Role of Ethics, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, January 20-22, 1994."Risks and Responsibilities in Modern Agriculture," International Conference on Issues in Agricultural Bioethics, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, England, September 13-17, 1993."Environment, Development and the Rhetoric of International Consensus," Conference on Communication and Our Environment, Big Sky, Montana, July 23-25, 1993."Is Sustainable Agriculture a Fascist Ideology?" annual meeting of the Agricultural Food and Human Values Society, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, June 3, 1993."Social and Ethical Issues in Biosafety," Latin American/Caribbean Biosafety Workshop, sponsored by USAID, Oracabessa, Jamaica, May 10-13, 1993."Agricultural Philosophy: A Ten Year Look," American Philosophical Association, Central Division Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 22, 1993."Food Security and Technocentrism in Agriculture," An Environmental Ethics Perspective on Canadian Policy for Sustainable Development, Institute for Research on Environment and Economy, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, Oct. 2, 1992."Biotechnology: Problem or Solution?" Swedish Agricultural University, Uppsala, Sweden, Aug. 17, 1992."Normative Studies of Agricultural Science," Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting, Gothenburg, Sweden, Aug. 15, 1992."Some Common Elements of Ethical Choices," Conference on Ethics in Agricultural Research, The Rockefeller Foundation USDA/CSRS, Bellagio, Italy, April 8, 1992."Designing Animals: Ethical Issues for Genetic Engineers," American Dairy Science Association National Meeting, Utah State University, Logan, UT, Aug. 13, 1991."Agrarianism and American Thought," American Studies Institute, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria, July 3, 1991."Animals in the Agrarian Ideal," International Conference on Farm Animal Welfare: Ethical, Scientific and Technological Perspectives, Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, Queenstown, MD, June 7-10, 1991.
Paul B. Thompson Vita 1/31/201323"The Varieties of Sustainability," Agriculture Food and Human Values Society Presidential Address, Asilomar CA, May 12, 1991."Values in the Applied Science Laboratory," Society for Philosophy and Technology Meeting, Reciento Universidadde Mayaguez, University of Puerto Rico, March 10, 1991."Ethical Issues in Biotechnology: Ice Minus, BST and Other Inventions," Cornell University, March 7, 1991."Constitutional Values and the American food System," Institute for Alternative Agriculture, Washington, DC, March 6, 1991."Foreign Aid, Agricultural Trade, and the True Interests of U.S. Agriculture," Iowa State University, Ames, IA, Jan. 28, 1991."Ethical Dimensions of Agricultural Research and Education" The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, Nov. 26, 1990"Internalizing Values for Agricultural Research," American Association for the Advancement of Science, Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, Feb. 17, 1990."Animal Welfare and Animal Rights," to Ohio Dairy Farmers Federation Annual Meeting, Columbus, OH, Jan. 15, 1990."Biotechnology and the Political Evaluation of Risk," University of Missouri, Columbia, Dec. 7, 1989."Values in Food Production," Ethics in an Age of Pervasive Technology International Conference, University of Guelph, Ontario, Oct. 15, 1989."Agricultural Biotechnology and the Politics of Risk," University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, Sept. 15, 1989."Burke, Bentham, and Biotechnology," Society for Philosophy and Technology, International Meeting, University of Bordeaux, July 1, 1989."Risk Objectivism and Risk Subjectivism: When Are Risks Real?" Public Participation in Risk Management: Ethics, Science and Law, Franklin Pierce Law Center, Concord, NH, Oct. 13, 1988."Agriculture, Biotechnology, and the Political Evaluation of Risk," Panel Presentation, National Meeting, American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, Sept. 3, 1988."Ethical Issues in Agriculture: The Importance of Recognition and Debate," The University of Wyoming, Feb. 19, 1988."Philosophical Aspects of the Concept of Risk," Resources For the Future, Washington, DC, Dec. 4, 1986."Welfare and Rights," Department of Animal Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, Nov. 19, 1986."Ethics and Myth in Agricultural Sustainability," Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, March 28, 1986."The Social Goals of Agriculture from Thomas Jefferson to the 21st Century," GTE Symposium on Agriculture in the 21st Century, Carthage College, Kenosha, WI, Oct. 28, 1985."Of Cabbages and Kings," Society for Value Inquiry, American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, April 28, 1985."Teaching the Problems of Agricultural Technology," Fifth International Conference on Teaching Philosophy, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, Aug. 14, 1984."Technological Risk Assessment and Ethical Policy Decision Making," Conference on Ethics in the Professions, University of Northern Kentucky, Oct. 5, 1982."Why Subways Have to Be Safer Than Highways," National Conference on Engineering Ethics, RPI, June 14, 1980.Grants and Contracts:Institute for Sustainable Solutions, Portland State University, Portland, OR. Personal Services Contract, Consulting on environmental philosophy and on interdisciplinary research with the IGERT on Ecosystem Services in Urbanizing Regions, $60,000 finalized Oct. 1, 2011. National Science Foundation, “Anticipatory Workshop on Biosensors in the Agrifood Sector,” SES-1055542 Lead P.I. $50, 689, Funded Aug. 2010. World Health Organization/National Institutes of Health, “Contract for Contributions to a Framework for Field Testing Transgenic Mosquitoes,” $10,000, funded April, 2010.The Sloan Foundation, Ethics and Synthetic Biology, Collaborating P.I. with the J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, MD, $174,439 funded Aug. 2009.U.S. Department of Agriculture/CSREES. “Social Sustainability in Egg Production,” (Co. P.I. with Janice Swanson and Joy Mench) $400,000, funded Aug. 2007.National Science Foundation, “NIRT: Building Capacity for Social and Ethical Research and Education in Agrifood Nanotechnology,” $1,720,000, SES-0403847 funded Aug. 2004.
Paul B. Thompson Vita 1/31/201324Genome BC, Vancouver BC, Contract for advice on structure and review of social and ethical issues research portfolio, September 2007, $7500. MSU/Pew Initiative on Food and Agricultural Biotechnology Collaboration. “Ethical Issues in Animal Biotechnology and Cloning,” $2000 MSU, $180,000 Pew, Jan. 2005-March 2007. National Science Foundation, “Third Party Certification in Food and Agriculture: A Study in Values and Science,” (Co P.I. with Lawrence Busch, Lead P.I.), $250,000, funded July, 2004.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Contract for multiple projects on intensification and biotechnology, US$20,000. Approved, February, 2003. Purdue Research Foundation, “Transnational Cosmopolitanism,” Dissertation Research Award for J. Todd Ferguson, $28,500, funded Aug. 2002.Genome Canada, Contract for Review of Research Proposals, US$7,000. Approved January, 2002.Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Contract for White Paper/Expert Consultation on Ethics, Food Safety and the Right to Food, $6000. Approved December, 2001.Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Commission, White Paper on Ethical Issues in Food Biotechnology, CA$23,000, Contract Approved June 15, 2000. Purdue Center for Information Assurance and Security, Ethics in Education for Computer Professionals, $15,000, funded June 2000.Purdue Center for Information Assurance and Security, Philosophical Issues in Information Technology, $18,500, funded June 1999.Purdue Research Foundation, “Morality of the Group,” Dissertation Research Award for Mary Lyn Stoll, $27,400, funded Aug. 1998.National Science Foundation, “Ethical Issues for Food Biotechnology: A North America-Europe Comparison,” SBR9602968, $49,797, funded April 1997.Texas Advanced Technology Research Program, “Improving and Implementing Risk Assessment, Part II,” $49,000, funded Sept. 1995.U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, Grant for Three Satellite Teleconferences on Agricultural Ethics (with A. Powell), $19,000, funded Sept. 1994.Texas Advanced Technology Research Program, "Improving and Implementing Risk Assessment of Agricultural Practice," (with D. Vietor) $59,300 funded Sept. 1993.U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research Service, "Probabilistic Risk Assessment for Managing Dairy Waste," (with D. Vietor and B. Harris) $150,000 funded Sept. 1993.National Science Foundation, Ethics and Value Studies, "Sustainability as a Norm," $88,000 funded Oct. 1992, renewed June 1994, $25,000, renewed April 1995, $10,000.The Rockefeller Foundation, Division of Arts and Humanities, "Ethics and Agricultural Development," $23,701 funded Sept. 1992; $37,780 renewed Dec. 1992; $15,000 renewed April 1993.The National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, Contract to support NABC Conference at Texas A&M, $25,000 approved Feb. 1992.Texas Advanced Technology Research Program, "Assessing and Integrating Risks of Agricultural Practice" (With D. Vietor and M.L. Wolfe) $95,621 funded Oct. 1991.U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Higher Education, Grant for Developing AG*SAT Broadcast of agricultural ethics course, (With D. Vietor) $59,000, funded Oct. 1991. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Higher Education, Grant for Development of Case Studies in Agricultural Ethics (With D. Vietor, co-P.I.) $43,000 funded Oct. 1990.Texas Advanced Technology Research Program, "Risk Assessment for Agricultural Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Considerations" (With B. Stout, co-P.I.): $89,000 funded Oct. 1989.The National Science Foundation, Ethics and Values Studies, Grant to study the social and ethical goals of agricultural research decisions (With B. Stout, co-P.I.): $112,599 funded Aug.1988.Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and College of Liberal Arts, TexasA&MUniversity, Grant for research on conflicts of interest between U.S. agricultural producers and farmers in the developing world: $6000 funded July, 1988.The Rockefeller Foundation, Grant to support international travel for Council on Foreign Relations IAF Fellowship: $19,500 funded Jan. 1987.Council on Foreign Relations, through funds of the MacArthur Foundation, salary stipend for International Affairs Fellowship: $30,000 funded Sept. 1986.College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University, Departmental Development Grant for workshops on agriculture and business ethics: $7000 funded Dec. 1985.
Paul B. Thompson Vita 1/31/201325W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Grant for curriculum development in agriculture and liberal arts: $99,184 funded Sept. 1984.Texas Committee for the Humanities, The Land Myth in Texas Agriculture symposium: $7,135 funded Sept. 1984.Franklin J. Machette Foundation, seminar on artificial intelligence: $1300 funded July 1984.Major Professional Affiliations:American Agricultural Economics Association, Member American Philosophical Association, Member, Central DivisionAmerican Society of Animal Science, MemberSociety for the Advancement of American Philosophy, MemberSociety for Agriculture, Food and Human Values, President 1991-1993Society Philosophy and Technology, Vice-President, 2002-2003; President, 2004-2005International Society for Environmental Ethics, Secretary, 2003-2006.Society for Risk Analysis, Charter Member
Thompson, Paul B.: From field to fork: food ethics for everyone
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Thompson, Paul B. From field to fork: food ethics for everyone. Oxford, 2015. 329p bibl index afp ISBN 9780199391684 cloth, $99.00; ISBN 9780199391691 pbk, $21.95; ISBN 9781336287709 ebook, contact publisher for price
53-3462
BJ52
2014-41251 CIP
Thompson (philosophy, Michigan State Univ.) explores various topics related to food ethics. The subtitle is somewhat misleading, since it implies that the book will be useful to a broad audience. In fact it seems to mean that all who are involved with food--in the broadest sense--have a role to play when it comes to ethics. Nor is the book a systematic introduction to food ethics as the title infers. Rather the author provides a philosophically dense exploration of somewhat disparate issues, seeking especially "to complicate the ethical analysis" (as he writes in the introduction) by highlighting dimensions of the issue that he considers inadequately analyzed. For example, he questions the common assumption that free-range, cage-free conditions are truly better for chickens, and he highlights what he perceives to be the benefits of genetically modified food crops, suggesting ways that the industry could better present its case to the public. Though the book includes material that will interest those deeply involved in debates about food ethics, readers seeking a clearly written, broad introduction to food ethics will likely find studies such as Peter Singer and Jim Mason's The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter (2006) much more helpful. Summing Up: * Optional. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.--J. H. Sniegocki, Xavier University
Thompson, Paul B. The agrarian vision: sustainability and environmental ethics
D.M. Gilbert
CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. 48.6 (Feb. 2011): p1102.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 American Library Association CHOICE
http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/about
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48-3239 S441 2010-7781 CIP
Thompson, Paul B. The agrarian vision: sustainability and environmental ethics. University Press of Kentucky, 2010. 323p bibl index afp ISBN 97808131251379, $40.00
In this challenging, provocative volume, Thompson (Michigan State Univ.) begins to establish a philosophical foundation for environmental sustainability. He focuses his attention primarily on agriculture because of its enormous impact on the environment. In early chapters, the author explores the concept of sustainability and contrasts the two main philosophies of agriculture: agrarian and industrial. Then he analyzes the neoliberal underpinnings of these philosophies through an examination of the travails of the Joad family in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. These underpinnings can be divided into three ethical/political systems: libertarian, which focuses on the role of property rights; egalitarian, which focuses on the role of equality of opportunity; and utilitarian, which focuses on the role of efficiency. Because these systems are concerned primarily with environmental impacts, though, Thompson opts for a more conservative agrarian solution to promote environmental sustainability. This agrarianism has its roots in Jeffersonian democracy, though Jefferson viewed its importance in terms of economic rather than environmental sustainability. Rather than highlight and address environmental impacts only, the agrarian vision promotes the cultivation of virtues that promote sustainability, such as humility, community, and prudence (particularly as it relates to the acceptance of new technology). Summing Up: Recommended. ** Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections.--D. M. Gilbert, Maine Maritime Academy
Gilbert, D.M.
Agricultural Ethics: Research, Teaching, and Public Policy
Peter G. Hartel
Crop Science. 39.2 (Mar. 1999): p583.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 1999 Crop Science Society of America
https://www.crops.org/publications/cs
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Agricultural Ethics: Research, Teaching, and Public Policy. PAUL B. THOMPSON. Iowa State University Press, 2121 South State Avenue, Ames, IA 50014. 1998. Hardback, 239 pp. $49.95. ISBN 0-8138-2806-6.
The role of the philosopher is to dig deep into problems, to reveal the roots and structure, and to show connections to problems that may seem simple on the surface. Here, in a book of 13 chapters, philosopher Paul Thompson digs deeply into agricultural ethics. Agricultural scientists need agricultural ethics because we no longer have shared values. At the turn of the century, 35% of all Americans lived on farms; now less than 2%--4.6 million people--live on farms. Many agricultural scientists have never lived on a farm. We need to talk about agricultural ethics because we need a more sophisticated understanding of agriculture than just maximized yields. Many of us are not just considering the scientific implications of our work, but also its social and economic implications. Thompson's purpose is to stimulate our discussion and to improve the quality of our ethical understanding.
Thompson has divided the book into the familiar "three-legged stool" of research, teaching, and extension (here as public policy). Each section begins with some theoretical discussion before proceeding to more practical matters. The first section on research begins with a discussion of the two great streams of modern-day ethics, the ethical rationalism of Immanuel Kant (our duties and obligations) and the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham (in loose modern translation, the greatest good for the greatest number). Because Thompson feels that modern day ethics is an amalgamation of these two streams, with utilitarianism being the more dominant of the two, most of the section on research discusses the merits and deficiencies of utilitarian theory. The section ends on a discussion of technological values (e.g., holism versus reductionism). Thompson is digging in good ground here, although I am not sure that all agricultural scientists are as utilitarian as Thompson makes them out to be. The section on teaching goes smoothly and covers the need for teaching agricultural ethics and how one might do this, whether teaching from anthologies, textbooks, or case studies. I agree completely with Thompson that agricultural ethics can equip students with critical thinking skills. The third and final section on public policy is mostly case studies (food labels, animal rights and animal welfare, agricultural biotechnology, bovine somatotropin, agrarianism, cultural values, and sustainable agriculture).
On the positive side, Thompson is an excellent philosopher who has spent considerable time in an ethical area that has not received very serious inquiry from mainstream philosophers. Thompson's arguments are well-reasoned and often insightful. He is particularly good at capturing the moral qualities associated with agriculture in a historical context. His discussion of agrarianism (i.e., farming as a way of life as opposed to farming as a business) is superb.
However, if Thompson's purpose is to stimulate and improve the ethical debate, the reader will be disappointed with his narrow focus. The reader will not find anything on land issues like grazing rights, water rights, genetic diversity, political movements like the County Movement, organic farming, migrant farm workers, endangered species, urbanization of farmland, waste management, world hunger, pesticides, world population, foreign aid, or any issues dealing with foreign countries. It is particularly unfortunate not to have anything on soil or our perceptions of land (this is in another of Thompson's books, The Spirit of the Soil). Admittedly it was not Thompson's intent to provide this broad overview, but it would have been nice for the book to waltz across more of the agricultural ethics spectrum than what is presented here. To make matters worse, 10 of the 13 chapters were written between 1986 and 1992. This gives the book a "dated" feel. Although bovine somatotropin may be an excellent metaphor for discussing the interface between technology and society, my students want to talk about cloning.
The writing is often ponderous (where were the editors to counter Thompson's penchant for writing in passive voice?), and several chapters in the book contain considerable philosophical jargon, especially in the third section on public policy. This is the sign of a writer who does not really care to understand his audience. By the time that Thompson gets to the Conclusion to write about "a third order of normativity," the reader who does not have a strong background in philosophy could hardly care. The truth is most agricultural scientists have never taken a course in ethics. This reviewer, who teaches agricultural ethics, has never had a single course in philosophy. If Thompson's intent is to interest agricultural scientists in agricultural ethics, then he has an obligation to write clearly. With not even a glossary in sight, Thompson has missed his audience.
This book would be useful for the few agricultural scientists with a background in philosophy. For those interested in a broad overview of agricultural ethics, I recommend Charles Blatz's anthology, Ethics and Agriculture, or for the more case study-minded, Jan Wojcik's book, The Arguments of Agriculture.
Peter G. Hartel
Dep. of Crop & Soil Sciences
University of Georgia
3111 Plant Sciences
Athens, GA 30602-7272
(pghartel@arches.uga.edu)
FEBRUARY 6, 2015 · 15:01 ↓ Jump to Comments
Book Review — From Field to Fork: Food Ethics for Everyone
From Field to Fork by Paul B. Thompson
From Field to Fork: Food Ethics for Everyone by Paul B. Thompson is a different look at food ethics. Thompson is a philosopher currently teaching at Michigan State University, where he holds the W.K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural Food and Community Ethics. He earned his B.A. at Emory University before going on to earn a Ph.D. in philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Thompson is a philosopher and his arguments follow a philosophical reasoning. I took plenty of political philosophy in graduate school and was familiar with his references. His three “M”s of philosophy are Marx, Mill, and Malthus. Mine were Marx, Mill, and Morgenthau so it was not a far leap for me. Mill and Kant, however, make up most of the European philosophy Utilitarianism and reason and perception. Amartya Sen is used in some modern thinking, and Vandana Shiva is used in some of the GMO discussion.
This might be a complex book for average American thinking because in general Americans look only at the surface and like their arguments simple. “It’s wrong to kill an animal for culinary enjoyment,” vs “We have canine teeth to tear meat.” “Farm subsidies support farmers,” vs “Majority of the subsidies go to Con-Agra.” We like clear cut, one or the other choices, like our two party system of government. Thompson does not take sides but examines reason and utility to form arguments and then checks it against itself. Utilitarianism can be quite brutal in itself.
The arguments and ideas are interesting and people, including myself, miss some of the points. By not eating that piece of meat on the plate in front of me, I am not preventing that animal from suffering. I could not want to eat meat for very selfish reasons, like my health. Does a food donation from “Big Tobacco” nullify its benefits because of its source? Is obesity an individual’s problem or it a public problem. If my insurance rates go up to cover the cost of obesity related medical conditions, doesn’t that make it my problem or society’s problem? What happens if what you do for one purpose becomes a benefit for another? Upton Sinclair wrote “The Jungle” to bring about changes in labor. People losing limbs and falling into bins to become part of the sausage were his concerns. Instead, the book is known for what it did for food safety. Sinclair said he aimed for the people’s heart and hit their stomach.
I picked this book up because as a strict vegetarian I thought it would be about animal rights. I was only right in a very limited sense. Thompson covers food ethics in an all-encompassing way. He looks at the history, the arguments, what helps and hurts farmers, what works for some people and what doesn’t for others — indigenous people in the arctic can not develop a plant-based diet. He looks at food as an ethical and moral issue. If people are starving it would seem to be the right thing to send food aid to alleviated the suffering. But then what happens to all the subsistence farmers that sell part of their crops to buy things they need but can’t produce? Suddenly their crops lose value with free food flooding the market. What if the starvation is not the result of not enough food, but no infrastructure to transport it? The Soviets had that problem. Food rotted on train cars and people starved. The problem of starvation may be something deeper than what it appears to be.
Perhaps taking his lesson from Sinclair, Thompson aims at the entire food infrastructure. Not taking any chances, instead of aiming with an arrow, he aims with a Claymore and hits everything in his path. This is a deep, comprehensive, and balanced, work that is as much about philosophy as it is about food. We tend to tread very shallowly in today’s world. Sound bites took over for news discussions. Game consoles have taken over pick up baseball games. Newspapers have all but disappeared, and all information on the internet must be true. As much as Thompson’s book is about food, it also about deeper and fuller thinking of the world around us.
Review: The Agrarian Vision by Paul Thompson [Vol. 3, #32]
September 3, 2010 — 0 Comments
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A Review of
The Agrarian Vision:
Sustainability and Environmental Ethics.
(Culture of the Land Series)
Paul B. Thompson.
Hardback: U Press of KY, 2010.
Buy now: [ Amazon ]
Reviewed by Brent Aldrich.
The Agrarian Vision: Sustainability and Environmental Ethics by Paul Thompson is the newest installment in the Culture of the Land series, in which Thompson narrates a long history of philosophical thought relating to agriculture, environmentalism, ethics, and most thoroughly, notions of sustainability. Along the way, the background argument is that agrarianism, as practiced and as an ideal, can underwrite and give shape to the language of sustainability, the popular meaning of which is often nebulous.
Agrarianism is directly tied to a specific place, and people, and its very embeddedness is perhaps its fundamental mark:
“[the agrarian vision] serves as an ecology of virtues, a generator of values that structures, ennobles, and gives purpose to life, not only for farmers but also for the vast majority of participants in the food system. It makes humanity’s dependence on nature and natural systems more obvious… the agrarian steward looks to nature for a sense of place, an understanding of the underlying structure that informs personal values and gives meaning to human life” (82).
For the bulk of The Agrarian Vision, then, Thompson goes on to pick apart philosophies that have a stake in that statement, but does so generously so as to draw out parts of any philosophies related to agrarianism that might still be useful. Efficiency and Utilitarianism, for example, are both critiqued in their overreaching presence in industrialized agriculture, but neither are rejected in whole. For this reason, the book can seem to wind around, covering whole histories of philosophical thought, but in doing so, Thompson perhaps invites conversations with other ways of thinking, rather than rejecting any flat out.
In many ways, The Agrarian Vision shares the central thesis with the previous Culture of Land title, Fred Kirschenmann’s Cultivating an Ecological Consciousness, which uses Aldo Leopold’s quote (“A land ethic, then, reflects the existence of an ecological conscience, and this in turn reflects a conviction of individual responsibility for the health of the land. Health is the capacity of the land for self-renewal. Conservation is our effort to understand and preserve this capacity”) as its starting place. Each of these books asks that human practices are seen as embedded and connatural with the rest of the creation, as well as formational: “the relevant system includes not only geology, climate, flora, and fauna. It also includes human institutions: habits, traditions, standing practices… As a people’s daily practice reinforces habits of industriousness, community solidarity, citizenship, husbandry, and solicitude, the virtues needed to ensure the integrity of both natural and social patterns of interaction are produced and reproduced” (229).
One of the practices described within is eating together, which Thompson cites as one material practice that forms people in a certain way, namely, encouraging agrarian ideals and community health: “Members of a community share common memories, common rituals, common traditions, and even a common biological constitution. Eating together is a practice that unites all these ontological realms. The offer to share one’s table with another is thus rich in community significance” (151). While this might be the clearest practice named in The Agrarian Vision, there are many more, and these will be the work of rooted communities daily living into a vision of wholeness, and ultimately, God’s reconciliation of all things.