Peter Sandøe

Food Safety and Ethics: The Interplay between Science and Values

The general public in Europe seems tohave lost its confidence in food safety. Theremedy for this, as proposed by the Commissionof the EU, is a scientific rearmament. Thequestion, however, is whether more science willbe able to overturn the public distrust.Present experience seems to suggest thecontrary, because there is widespread distrustin the science-based governmental controlsystems. The answer to this problem is thecreation of an independent scientificFood Authority. However, we argue thatindependent scientific advice alone is unlikelyto re-establish public confidence. It is muchmore important to make the scientific advicetransparent, i.e., to state explicitlythe factual and normative premises on which itis based. Risk assessments are based on arather narrow, but well-defined notion of risk.However, the public is concerned with a broadervalue context that comprises both benefits andrisks. Transparency and understanding of thepublics perception of food risks is anecessary first step in establishing theurgently required public dialogue about thecomplex value questions involved in foodproduction.

The welfare implications of large litter size in the domestic pig I: biological factors

Increasing litter size has long been a goal of pig breeders and producers, and may have implications for pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) welfare. This paper reviews the scientific evidence on biological factors affecting sow and piglet welfare in relation to large litter size. It is concluded that, in a number of ways, large litter size is a risk factor for decreased animal welfare in pig production. Increased litter size is associated with increased piglet mortality, which is likely to be associated with significant negative animal welfare impacts. In surviving piglets, many of the causes of mortality can also occur in non-lethal forms that cause suffering. Intense teat competition may increase the likelihood that some piglets do not gain adequate access to milk, causing starvation in the short term and possibly long-term detriments to health. Also, increased litter size leads to more piglets with low birth weight which is associated with a variety of negative long-term effects. Finally, increased production pressure placed on sows bearing large litters may produce health and welfare concerns for the sow. However, possible biological approaches to mitigating health and welfare issues associated with large litters are being implemented. An important mitigation strategy is genetic selection encompassing traits that promote piglet survival, vitality and growth. Sow nutrition and the minimisation of stress during gestation could also contribute to improving outcomes in terms of piglet welfare. Awareness of the possible negative welfare consequences of large litter size in pigs should lead to further active measures being taken to mitigate the mentioned effects.

Assessment of Farm Animal Welfare at Herd Level: Many Goals, Many Methods

This paper describes and compares nine methods of assessing the welfare of farm animals at herd level. A distinction is made between two types of welfare parameter: the environmental and the animal-based. The relative weight of these parameters, together with variation in their measurability, explains many of the differences between the methods with which the paper is concerned. To discuss the merits of a given method it is necessary to look at the goal it is intended to serve. Some methods compare production systems well. Others are better used in assisting the individual farmer to improve the welfare of animals within his production system.

The welfare implications of large litter size in the domestic pig II: Management factors

Increasing litter size has long been a goal of pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) breeders and producers in many countries. Whilst this has economic and environmental benefits for the pig industry, there are also implications for pig welfare. Certain management interventions are used when litter size routinely exceeds the ability of individual sows to successfully rear all the piglets (ie viable piglets outnumber functional teats). Such interventions include: tooth reduction; split suckling; cross-fostering; use of nurse sow systems and early weaning, including split weaning; and use of artificial rearing systems. These practices raise welfare questions for both the piglets and sow and are described and discussed in this review. In addition, possible management approaches which might mitigate health and welfare issues associated with large litters are identified. These include early intervention to provide increased care for vulnerable neonates and improvements to farrowing accommodation to mitigate negative effects, particularly for nurse sows. An important concept is that management at all stages of the reproductive cycle, not simply in the farrowing accommodation, can impact on piglet outcomes. For example, poor stockhandling at earlier stages of the reproductive cycle can create fearful animals with increased likelihood of showing poor maternal behaviour. Benefits of good sow and litter management, including positive human-animal relationships, are discussed. Such practices apply to all production situations, not just those involving large litters. However, given that interventions for large litters involve increased handling of piglets and increased interaction with sows, there are likely to be even greater benefits for management of hyper-prolific herds.

Are we ready for back-to-nature crop breeding?

Sustainable agriculture in response to increasing demands for food depends on development of high-yielding crops with high nutritional value that require minimal intervention during growth. To date, the focus has been on changing plants by introducing genes that impart new properties, which the plants and their ancestors never possessed. By contrast, we suggest another potentially beneficial and perhaps less controversial strategy that modern plant biotechnology may adopt. This approach, which broadens earlier approaches to reverse breeding, aims to furnish crops with lost properties that their ancestors once possessed in order to tolerate adverse environmental conditions. What molecular techniques are available for implementing such rewilding? Are the strategies legally, socially, economically, and ethically feasible? These are the questions addressed in this review.

Animal Welfare as One among Several Values to be Considered at Farm Level: The Idea of an Ethical Account for Livestock Farming

A proposal as to how to combine animal welfare with other goals using an ethical account for livestock farming is presented. The purpose of an ethical account is to report on the consequences of individual events and routine methods on the farm for all affected parties, and to ensure that the farmer is conscious of his ethical priorities. A procedure for an annual account is presented and the concepts involved in it are explained. Welfare assessment involves information from four sources: the system, the systems application, animal behaviour and animal health. Welfare assessment is an aid for operational management as well as for strategic planning. This ethical account was developed in collaboration with twenty livestock farms over a period of three years. In the course of its evaluation farmers were interviewed by a social scientist who was not directly involved in the project. It was concluded from these interviews that the implementation of welfare assessment, in this way, in the ethical account was a success.

Bioethics: limits to the interference with life.

The paper presents a review of various ethical considerations to which the application of modern biotechnology in breeding of domestic animals gives rise. The review is based on an automated literature search, covering papers and reports within agricultural bioethics published since 1992. The aim is to present the different points of view in a clear, unbiased manner. First the various concerns and viewpoints are presented. The concerns are divided into three main categories: animal welfare concerns, concerns about animal integrity and concerns relating to human health and environmental issues. Then follows a discussion of how to weigh potentially conflicting concerns against each other. The paper concludes with suggestions about how ethical issues should be handled in practice.

Attitudes to Publicly Funded Obesity Treatment and Prevention

The aim of this study was to investigate the Danish publics support for publicly funded obesity treatment and prevention. It was also examined whether levels of support could be explained by dislike of obese people and/or the belief that those who are obese are personally responsible for their condition. A representative survey of members of the Danish public (N = 1,141) was conducted using a web‐based questionnaire. The survey was designed to assess attitudes to public funding for obesity‐related health care, and to investigate the impact, on those attitudes, of dislike of obese people, the perceived controllability of obesity, self‐reported BMI, and additional attitudinal and socio‐demographic characteristics. Public funding of some obesity treatments, such as weight‐loss surgery, attracted only limited public support. A majority of the Danish public did support “softer” treatment interventions and preventive initiatives. Attitudes to the treatment of obesity were clearly best predicted by the belief that individuals are personally responsible for their own obesity. Dislike of obese persons had no direct effect on the preference for collective treatment initiatives and only a small effect on support for publicly funded obesity prevention. The high level of disapproval for publicly funded obesity treatment should be cause for concern for decision makers aiming to ensure equal access to health care. Since it is the belief that obese people are personally responsible which explains this disapproval, strategies for challenging public opinion on this issue are discussed.

Canine and feline obesity: a One Health perspective

Recent years have seen a drastic increase in the rates of overweight and obesity among people living in some developed nations. There has also been increased concern over obesity in companion animals. In the latest article in Veterinary Records series on One Health, Peter Sandøe and colleagues argue that the relationship between obesity in people and in companion animals is closer and more complex than previously thought, and that obesity should be treated as a One Health problem

The role of scientific knowledge in shaping public attitudes to GM technologies

Depending on the perceived balance of risk and benefit, and on the perceived unnaturalness, some applications of gene technology appear more acceptable to the public than others. This study asks whether a person’s knowledge of biology affects their assessment of these factors differently. A random sample of the Danish population (n = 2000) was presented with questionnaires. The respondent’s knowledge was measured by a number of textbook questions on biology. The results indicated that knowledge increases the likelihood that a person will have differentiated opinions on medical and agricultural applications, but decreases the likelihood that he or she will differentiate between cisgenic and transgenic cereals. We discuss the implication that knowledge makes people more likely to base their acceptance on judgements of risks and benefits, rather than on judgements of naturalness. The article concludes that the effect of knowledge on acceptance cannot be generalised wholesale from one application, or method, to others.