Applying the Capabilities Approach to Ecosystems

The capabilities approach has attracted broad interest in environmental ethics. One very interesting application is the environmental or extended capabilities approach which promotes the notion of environmental capabilities that contribute to the flourishing of non-human beings and ecological systems. The approach however lacks any account of the capabilities of ecological systems. This essay applies the environmental capabilities approach at the ecosystem level and examines how the flourishing of an ecosystem can be understood in terms of capabilities. Ecosystem flourishing presumes the ability of a given system to maintain its characteristic functions, diversity and quality, and do so eve…

Olemuserosta aste-eroon. Filosofianhistoriallinen katsaus eläimen ja ihmisen välisestä suhteesta.

In this paper, we argue that the classical conception concerning the relation between animals and humans in Western philosophy is anthropocentric. Notwithstanding the traditional outlook which has emphasized the substantial difference between animal and human intellect, we contend that this classical position has been overturned during the epistemological-evolutionist shift culminated in the 18th and 19th centuries. The paper is constructed in the following way. First, we shall survey the classical, anthropocentric position which includes roughly the time line from antiquity to early modern period. Second, we will analyze Hume’s epistemological arguments which undermine the uniqueness of hu…

Justice in transitions: Widening considerations of justice in dietary transition

Just transition is gaining increasing attention. The need to consider social justice in sustainability transitions is finally being acknowledged. Research on this issue has, to date, mainly concentrated on energy systems. In this paper, we examine how the elaboration of dietary transition widens the spectrum of justice questions in sustainability transitions research. We explicate the arising normative questions along the dimensions of distributive, procedural and recognitive justice; widening the considerations further to restorative and cosmopolitan justice. Dietary transition widens the justice considerations to basic needs, food security and nutrition. By doing so, it evokes socio-cultu…

Is there a convincing case for climate veganism?

AbstractClimate change compels us to rethink the ethics of our dietary choices and has become an interesting issue for ethicists concerned about diets, including animal ethicists. The defenders of veganism have found that climate change provides a new reason to support their cause because many animal-based foods have high greenhouse gas emissions. The new style of argumentation, the ‘climatic argument(s) for veganism’, may benefit animals by persuading even those who are not concerned about animals themselves but worry about climate change. The arguments about the high emissions of animal-based food, and a resulting moral obligation to abstain from eating such products, are an addition to t…

Right to Food and Geoengineering

AbstractClimate change poses grave risks to food security, and mitigation and adaptation actions have so far been insufficient to lessen the risk of climate-induced violations of the right to food. Could safeguarding the right to food, then, justify some forms of geoengineering? This article examines geoengineering through the analytical lens of the right to food. We look at the components of food security and consider how the acceptability of geoengineering relates to the right to food via its impacts on these components. Our examination shows that results vary greatly between different forms of geoengineering: while some forms of geoengineering fail to respect the right to food, certain o…

Food Assistance

Food assistance and food charity refer to practices where public, private, or third sector actors provide food (or resources to acquire food) to individuals or households that face hunger or food shortage. The food is provided for free or for a minimal cost and the provision is conducted through varying services like food banks. Domestic food assistance practices are realized in relations between a collective (the provider or donor) and individuals (the recipients of the assistance). For those international practices of food aid that take place between collectives, typically nations or global food aid organizations and recipient countries, see the entry for Food aid. Currently, approximatel…

Justice in Finnish Food Policies

Abstract The need to create more sustainable food systems calls for careful attention to justice in making the transition. However, to achieve a just transition and create policies to support the goal of developing sustainable food systems, we need more knowledge of the ways current policies tackle justice. This knowledge can reveal blind spots and development needs and increase the transparency of potentially conflicting goals, which is essential for designing just transition policies. From the normative perspective of food justice, a food system should produce three principal outcomes: food security and nutrition, livelihoods and fair income, and environmental sustainability. In this arti…

Planetary well-being : Ontology and ethics

This chapter elaborates the ontological and ethical underpinnings and implications of the concept of planetary well-being. We illustrate how planetary well-being can contribute conceptually to transformative thinking and discussing well-being, and to organizing human societies in more life-considerate ways. The chapter focuses on two themes: First, the ontological grounding and implications of planetary well-being, and second, the central ethical underpinnings and ramifications of planetary well-being. We demonstrate how planetary well-being is positioned in the broader ontological and ethical-theoretical landscape, owing to its process-oriented perspective and morally inclusive (non-anthro…

Oikeudenmukaisuus luontosuhteessa

Lectio praecursoria 9.8.2017

Insights into food system exposure, coping capacity and adaptive capacity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the concepts of exposure, coping capacity and adaptive capacity as a multiple structure of vulnerability in order to distinguish and interpret short-term coping responses and long-term strategic responses to food system vulnerability. Design/methodology/approach This paper applies an abductive approach for qualitative analysis of data, which were collected through 18 semi-structured interviews among Finnish food system actors. Findings The findings suggest that coping capacity and adaptive capacity are indeed two different concepts, which both need to be addressed in the examination of food system vulnerability. Public and private food syste…

Reilu ruokamurros : Polkuja kestävään ja oikeudenmukaiseen ruokajärjestelmään

Ruokajärjestelmämme kärsivät monista yhteen kietoutuneista kestävyysongelmista. Ongelmia ei korjata yksittäisillä teknologisilla ratkaisuilla, vaan muutoksia tarvitaan läpi koko ruokajärjestelmän. Muutosten laajuuden vuoksi on syytä puhua järjestelmän perustavanlaatuisesta muuttamisesta eli ruokamurroksesta. Tässä julkaisussa tarkastelemme, miten ruokajärjestelmän ilmastopäästöjä voitaisiin vähentää Suomessa siten, että ruokaturva ei vaarannu. Arvioimme ilmastotoimien toteutusta eri murrospoluilla, jotka keskittyvät maankäytön, ruokavalioiden, maatalous- ja ruokateknologioiden muutoksiin. Arvioimme eri murrospolkujen vaikutuksia maatalouteen eri alueilla ja eri väestöryhmien ravitsemukseen.…

Täsmäratkaisuja kestävään tulevaisuuteen : suosituksia planetaarisen hyvinvoinnin tukemiseen poliittisessa ohjelmatyössä

Peer reviewed

Social vulnerability to climate policies: Building a matrix to assess policy impacts on well-being

In this article, we address the social vulnerability of people to climate mitigation policies and contribute to assessing the social impacts of climate policies by introducing a matrix tool for conducting vulnerability assessments and participatory climate policy planning. The matrix serves as a methodological tool for identifying social groups in their social spaces. First, we lay the foundation for the matrix by linking social vulnerability to equality and justice, demonstrating the importance of addressing social vulnerability in climate policy design and research. Next, we introduce the ways in which social vulnerability has been addressed in the integration of social and climate policy…

Justice in and to nature : an application of the broad framework of environmental and ecological justice

This dissertation applies and develops the broad framework of environmental and ecological justice. It is a new relational approach to justice, whose elements have been introduced by David Schlosberg in his works on environmental and ecological justice. The present study provides a systematisation of the framework and applies it to contemporary environmental topics using the methods of conceptual analysis and case-implication critique. The main outcome of this study is that the elements comprising the broad framework of environmental and ecological justice provide fresh and useful insights into topics like species extinctions and ecosystem wellbeing. In particular, the holistic and conflict…

Ruokajärjestelmän haavoittuvuus koronaviruspandemialle

Charitable food aid in a nordic welfare state : A case for environmental and social injustice

Measuring Vulnerability in the Food System

Food system vulnerability is an emerging concept for food security policies and food supply chain management. Hence, measuring food system vulnerability is necessary for developing appropriate food security policies and managing food supply chain vulnerabilities. In this paper, we aim to clarify the development process of food system vulnerability indicators. We conducted an abducted qualitative content analysis based on public documents of various Finnish organizations, including ministries and administration, interest organizations, NGOs, food sector enterprises, and a church. We analysed the engagement level of various organizations in food security and identified vulnerability aspects i…

Disparities in nutritional adequacy of diets between different socioeconomic groups of Finnish adults

Information on dietary adequacy is needed to assess food and nutrition security in a modern society, especially in the transition towards climate-friendly food systems. In this study, differences in the nutritional adequacy of diets among Finnish adults were evaluated in population groups of different education, income and urbanisation levels. The study used data from the FinDiet 2017 Survey (n = 1655, 18–74 years). Modelled usual intakes of foods and nutrients were evaluated relative to food-based dietary guidelines issued by the National Nutrition Council of Finland (FNNC) and with respect to nutrient adequacy following the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations and FNNC. For about half of the …

Vulnerability matrix of the food system : operationalizing vulnerability and addressing food security

Food security is the major desired outcome of any food system, but its realization may be prevented by vulnerabilities in a food system. By shifting the focus of their vulnerability analysis from the discrete components of the food system to the food system as a whole, the authors of this article were able to develop a qualitative food system vulnerability matrix. The objective of the research was to make the concept of food system vulnerability operational by identifying vulnerability drivers, vulnerable systems and vulnerable subclasses in light of food security. The vulnerability matrix was set up with five classes of vulnerable systems (‘Vulnerability of what?’) on the horizontal axis a…

Introduction to the special issue on just food system transition : Tackling inequalities for sustainability

This special issue builds understanding of just transitions by looking at specific dynamics in food system transitions. The articles in the special issue apply a multi-dimensional understanding of justice, which stress that in addition to distributional matters, also recognition and procedural justice require attention in transitions. The current injustices in the food system emphasize the interrelatedness of these dimensions. The special issue includes eight articles that scrutinize food system transition in various contexts from Finland to Brazil and from farm-level decision-making to the UN food system summit. The papers demonstrate the focality of recognition justice for interpreting co…

Introduction to interdisciplinary perspectives on planetary well-being

This chapter gives an overview of the objectives of the book, presents its structure, and summarizes the content of each section and chapter. It introduces planetary well-being as a novel cross-disciplinary concept coined to foster global transformation to a more inclusive and equal expression of well-being for all. The chapter describes how researchers from different human, social, and natural sciences apply and reflect on the concept of planetary well-being in this book, demonstrating its value as an interdisciplinary and cross-cutting driver of change. The Introduction concludes that sustainability science and policy need a concept of well-being that is built on systemic and non-anthropo…

Anthropocentrism versus Ecocentrism Revisited: Theoretical Confusions and Practical Conclusions

One of the hardest questions in environmental philosophy is the debate between anthropocentric and ecocentric accounts of value. I argue that a great deal of the disagreement in this debate arises from a) misunderstanding of the concepts used in the debate and b) unfruitful reading of vaguely framed arguments. The conceptual and argumentative analysis of the debate shows that many arguments can be ignored as they either contain conceptual confusion or concern issues that are actually irrelevant to the centrism division. However, there are arguments that maintain their relevance, and these arguments have important consequences on the practical environmental ethics. Hence, contrary to Bryan G…

Kokonaiskestävä aluekehittäminen : esimerkkinä Keski-Suomi

Julkiset ruokapalvelut voivat toimia reilun ruokamurroksen edelläkävijöinä

Ilmastotoimien sosiaalinen hyväksyttävyys

Reilua ruokaa tänään ja huomenna : suosituksia kestävän ruokajärjestelmän luomiseksi

Copenhagen failure : a rhetorical treatise of how speeches unite and divide mankind

The purpose of this treatise is to analyse five of the Copenhagen Climate Convention's main speeches to see how they supported or weakened the agreement possibilities in the convention. Particular focus will be on the elements that divide or unite negotiators and whether the summit's failing outcome is already built in the pre-planned speeches held at the main podium. Theoretically, the study builds on Kenneth Burke's identification thesis and Elizabeth L. Malone's climate change debate analysis. I combine these in my analysis using a revised version of Malone's argument family classification tool putting it into Burke's theoretical framework. The central concept is Burke's identification, …

Food Systems and Climate Engineering : A Plate Full of Risks or Promises?

Elinvoiman ja elonkirjon puolesta : ekologinen jälleenrakennus kunnissa pandemian jälkeen

Planetary well-being

Tensions between the well-being of present humans, future humans, and nonhuman nature manifest in social protests and political and academic debates over the future of Earth. The increasing consumption of natural resources no longer increases, let alone equalizes, human well-being, but has led to the current ecological crisis and harms both human and nonhuman well-being. While the crisis has been acknowledged, the existing conceptual frameworks are in some respects ill-equipped to address the crisis in a way that would link the resolving of the crisis with the pivotal aim of promoting equal well-being. The shortcomings of the existing concepts in this respect relate to anthropocentric norma…

Planetary well-being

Tensions between the well-being of present humans, future humans, and nonhuman nature manifest in social protests and political and academic debates over the future of Earth. The increasing consumption of natural resources no longer increases, let alone equalises, human well-being, but has led to the current ecological crisis and harms both human and nonhuman well-being. While the crisis has been acknowledged, the existing conceptual frameworks are in some respects ill-equipped to address the crisis in a way that would link the resolving of the crisis with the pivotal aim of promoting equal well-being. The shortcomings of the existing concepts in this respect relate to anthropocentric norma…

Social Acceptance of Climate Change Adaptation in Farms and Food Enterprises : a Case Study in Finland

This article identifies perceived climate change risks and adaptation aspects among farms and food processing enterprises using a case study in Finland. In addition, the article pinpoints key factors that contribute to the social acceptance of climate change adaptation and mitigation policies in the food system. The purpose is to study the willingness of farms and food enterprises to accept and adapt to different climate policy implementation. The research data consists of 27 thematic interviews conducted in 2012 and 2013. The main research questions were: 1. What risks does climate change pose to farms and food enterprises? 2. What adaptation features can be identified in farms and food en…

Towards sustainable farming practices and food security: study about vulnerability of Finnish farms

The aim of this paper is to discuss food security in the context of sustainable farming practices in Finland. There are two research questions: 1) How are the Finnish farms vulnerable from the viewpoint of food security? 2) How could they increase their resilience for guaranteeing food security in the future? The paper is based on a qualitative study for which 15 Finnish food system specialists were interviewed in 2015. According to the results, three types of vulnerabilities are discovered: 1) market vulnerabilities, 2) continuity of farms, and 3) environment changes. For reducing vulnerabilities, the re-evaluation of policy instruments is needed. At the same time, new knowledge and skills…

Kohti reilua ruokajärjestelmää : ruokajärjestelmän toimijoiden näkemyksiä ilmastopolitiikan keinojen oikeudenmukaisuudesta

Haavoittuvuusmatriisi

Matriisi liittyy 2020 julkaistavaan Elintarvike ja terveys -lehden artikkeliin. peerReviewed