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Food and Beverage Policies and Public Health Ethics

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Abstract

Government food and beverage policies can play an important role in promoting public health. Few people would question this assumption. Difficult questions can arise, however, when policymakers, public health officials, citizens, and businesses deliberate about food and beverage policies, because competing values may be at stake, such as public health, individual autonomy, personal responsibility, economic prosperity, and fairness. An ethically justified policy strikes a reasonable among competing values by meeting the following criteria: (1) the policy serves important social goal(s); (2) the policy is likely to be effective at achieving those goal(s); (3) less burdensome options are not likely to be effective at achieving the goals; (4) the policy is fair.

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Acknowledgments

This article is the work product of an employee or group of employees of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH). However, the statements, opinions or conclusions contained therein do not necessarily represent the statements, opinions or conclusions of NIEHS, NIH, or the United States government.

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  1. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 111 Alexander Drive, Mail Drop CU 03, Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA

    David B. Resnik

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Resnik, D.B. Food and Beverage Policies and Public Health Ethics. Health Care Anal 23, 122–133 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10728-013-0266-z

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