How to Apply Ethical Principles to the Biotechnological Production of Food – The Case of Bovine Growth Hormone.

Ben Mepham has proposed that a ``matrix'' be used in the analysis of ethical problems in food production and elsewhere. In particular cases, this matrix would ideally cross the most important moral principles involved, and the individuals and groups affected by the decisions. In the following, Mepham's model is assessed in the case of genetically engineered bovine growth hormone. My argument is that a more straightforwardly ``consequentialist'' analysis can draw attention to the problems of using the hormone better than Mepham's original proposal. It is possible, however, that some nuances will be lost in the process. I do not, therefore, argue for the overall superiority of my suggestion – it is merely a slightly different, and perhaps sometimes a more promising, way to analyze the ethical dimensions of food production and marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]