Agricultural Science and Ethics

Abstract

SynonymsAnimal welfare; Ethics of nature; Sustainability; Valuesin scienceIntroductionHumans live in constant interaction withnature. That is part and parcel of being a biological creatureon this planet. On one hand, humans exploit the availableresources to survive, and at the same time, humans are deeplydependent on the continued capacity of nature to sustain theirlives and the lives of their children and future generations.But something has changed over the past 50 years: Never beforein human history have so many animal and plant species been madeextinct so fast -- in the last few hundred years about 1,000times as much as in the planet’s history -- and 10--30 % ofmammal, bird, and amphibian species are currently threatenedwith extinction; freshwater ecosystems are particularly at risk.Never before has humankind been so destructive and exploitativein relation to ecosystems and vital resources as now. Just as anexample, in the last decades of the twentieth century, about 20...