title: What Should We Eat? Biopolitics, Ethics, and Nutritional Scientism.
abstract: Public health advocates, government agencies, and commercial organizations increasingly use nutritional science to guide food choice and diet as a way of promoting health, preventing disease, or marketing products. We argue that in many instances such references to nutritional science can be characterized as nutritional scientism. We examine three manifestations of nutritional scientism: (1) the simplification of complex science to increase the persuasiveness of dietary guidance, (2) superficial and honorific references to science in order to justify cultural or ideological views about food and health, and (3) the presumption that nutrition is the primary value of food. This paper examines these forms of nutritional scientism in the context of biopolitics to address bioethical concerns related to the misuse of scientific evidence to make claims regarding the effect of diet on health. We argue that nutritional scientism has ethical implications (i) for individual responsibility and freedom, (ii) concerning iatrogenic harm, and (iii) for well-being.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Level 1, Medical Foundation Building (K25), 94-96 Parramatta Rd, Sydney, 2006, NSW, Australia. christopher.mayes@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Mayes
authors.affiliation: Rock Ethics Institute and Food Science, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Donald B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000266:history / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001206:Ascorbic Acid Deficiency / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000178:diet therapy; D001690:Biological Science Disciplines; D003677:Deficiency Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000178:diet therapy*; D004032:Diet; D005502:Food; D005610:Freedom; D006262:Health; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease; D018673:Nutrition Policy / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends; D011050:Policy Making; D011634:Public Health / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D064167:Recommended Dietary Allowances / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D001205:Ascorbic Acid
keywords: Biopolitics; Continental philosophy; Food ethics; Nutritionism; Public health ethics; Scientism