Short description:

This volume provides readers with a clear understanding of the trade-offs and conflicts emerging from the increasing interconnectedness of global and local food, water and energy supplies, and to introduce the major ethical debates surrounding the food, water and energy nexus.

Long description:

Achieving global food security and providing universal access to water and energy without exceeding planetary boundaries and compromising ecosystem integrity is becoming ever more challenging. This book provides readers with a clear understanding of the trade-offs and conflicts emerging from the increasing interconnectedness of global and local food, water and energy supplies, and to introduce the major ethical debates surrounding the food, water and energy nexus. 

The book explores the various values and judgements that may inform societal choices and political decision-making with a view to balancing the competing demands through appropriate governance solutions. Topics coverered include animal and livestock farming, food waste and food aid, fisheries and aquaculture, religious and secular foundations in water governance and ethics, transboundary waters, biofuels and the consequences of extraction of energy resources. 

The author presents a comprehensive treatment of the ethical dilemmas which contribute to the governance of natural resources and proposes a holistic approach which makes the best of scientific and local knowledge to bring about equitable and sustainable use of food, water and energy. The book is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students from various disciplinary fields and will be of great value to those with little background in philosophy, ethics and political sciences. All chapters include illustrative case studies, recommendations for further reading and questions for reflection and discussion.

Table of Contents:

Part 1: Introduction  1. The Global Quest for Food, Water and Energy Security  Part 2: Ethical Issues and Governance Challenges in the Agri-Food System  2. Food Security and the Human Right to Food: Definitions, Concepts, and Controversies  3. From Subsistence Farming to the Modern Agri-Food System  4. Animal Ethics and Governance of the Livestock Sector  5. The Politics and Ethics of Food Waste, Food Aid and Food Contamination  6. Ethical Issues, Conflicts and Governance in Fisheries and Aquaculture  Part 3: Water Governance and Water Ethics  7. Religious and Secular Foundations of Water Governance and Water Ethics  8. Water as Common-Pool Resource and Economic Good: Rights, Values and Conflicts  9. The Concept of Virtual Water and its Implications for Governance and Ethics  10. Transboundary Water Bodies: Food and Energy Security Concerns, Water Conflicts and the Need for Collaborative Governance  Part 4: Energy Ethics and the Governance of Energy Supply Systems  11. Energy Security: Between National Interests and Local Needs  12. Energy Use in Traditional, Industrialized and Organic Agri-Food Systems  13. Biofuels: Impact on Food Security, Water Supplies and Resource Grabbing  14. Conventional and Unconventional Extraction of Energy Resources: Impacts on Climate Change, Water Security and Agricultural Production  Part 5: Conclusion  15. Ethical and Sustainable Pathways to Global Food, Water and Energy Security