Ethics

Ethics and Health Food Innovation
Theo Ockhuizen
Theo Ockhuizen, PhD
Central theme
Ethical issues in consumer communication
as a Health Food Innovation manager
Purpose of the lecture
To recognize the issues at stake
2
Food & Ethics?
“Erst kommt das Fressen, dann die Moral.“
Bertold Brecht
“Consumeren is een morele daad”
Cees Veerman, 2003
According to Franck Meijboom, 2010
3
Facts and evaluation
How it is
How it ought to be
Empirical question:
Normative question:
Is a specific food pattern
contributing to public and/or
individual health?
Do you need to improve
public and individual
health (with a healthy
dietary pattern)?
The answer to this questions does
not imply the need to improve the
dietary pattern.
According to Franck Meijboom, 2010
4
Health food innovation is more that just facts
The questions:



“Why bother on food intake data
and food patterns and why is this
knowledge of relevance?
“What’s our goal with the new
gained knowledge on the
relationship of nutrition and
health?”
“To what extend can nutritionists
be held responsible and when are
you asking to much?”
According to Franck Meijboom, 2010
The answers:



Not only knowledge but also a
science-based evaluation.
Not only understanding but
also a vision on the value of
health.
Not only competence but also
a vision and professional
responsibility.
5
Ethics
How the world operates
How we ought to deal with
people, our environment and
eventually with the earth.
According to Franck Meijboom, 2010
6
Ethics
Ethics
Ethics is a systematic reflection on moral issues.
Morals
“A universal and essential set of norms and values for a
person or a group of persons as a directive for their
behaviour”.
Van der Burg 1994
According to Franck Meijboom, 2010
7

Norms:

Norms are a set of concrete rules which direct our way of doing.
Norms form a designated standard of average performance of (a group of)
people of a given age, background, etc.

Values:
Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses
of action or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right and
wrong.
Values are an integral part of every culture. With worldview and
personality, they generate behavior.

Values tell people what is good, beneficial, important, useful, beautiful,
desirable, constructive...etc.
According to Franck Meijboom, 2010
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Health Food Innovation and ethics (1)
Health food innovation needs a set of norms and
values in research, application and consumer
communication.
?
Always
Ethics
According to Franck Meijboom, 2010
9
Health Food Innovation and ethics (2)
When?
1.
Health food innovation is a multidisciplinary science
and requires during the innovation process always a moment of
evaluation, but not necessarily an ethical evaluation.
2.
An ethical evaluation is a systematic reflection on norms and values
which direct our ways of conduct and behavior.
3.
A reflection is indicated when the answers to our issues are not
consistent and clear: “We have a moral problem”
According to Franck Meijboom, 2010
10
Health Food Innovation and ethics (3)
We do have a moral problem if:
 there is a shift in values,
• Als er een waardenverschuiving is
 values are contradicting/conflicting,
 there is new situation,
 the consequences of a (set of) norms
are unclear.
According to Franck Meijboom, 2010
11

How is health defined now:
 Nutrition improving Health as
Performance
 Freedom from disease
 Biomarkers are indicators of disease
We want health and true prevention

Health in future will be Optimal
Metabolism
 Foods and Ingredients that improve
overall metabolic efficiency
 Provide or Enhance active protection
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Consumer needs
Personal & social needs
Achieve more
enhanced physical health
mental performance
Body shape
fit & active; youthful
weight management
Sense of well-being
balance
no stress; mood; sleep
13
Change in consumer needs
Market opportunity
What nutrition information can be used?
How to use it?
14
To use or not to use? That’s the question
Accepted body
of knowledge
low
New knowledge
from research
high
Risk continuum
15
Factors influencing the risk continuum
Customer
trust
Credibility
low
Ethical
issues
high
Risk continuum
16



Customer trust – key aspect of customer
relationship
Credibility – of industry and organisation
Ethical issue – can nutrition/health advice to
consumers be defended and justified?
17

New nutrition news can be used


New nutrition news can be used


BUT care is needed because of risks
BUT robust research is needed for defending statements
Competitive advantage can be achieved

BUT marketers should work closely with nutritionists in
deciding what to use
18

Health is an important selling item

Health delivers a competitive advantage

A competitive advantage thrills marketers
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Most health claims are suggestive and misleading and lack proper
scientific justification.

Internally most often there is a difference of opinion between
marketers and nuritionists.
The marketer is commercially oriented, whereas the opinion of
the nutritionist must be evidence based.
MARKETERS
NUTRITIONISTS
Clear statements
No absolute truth
Need for new features
High risk for changing views
Need for short term results
Consistancy in message
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Misleading


Forbiden by court
Soya is free of cholesterol by nature
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Misleading
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Misleading
Scientific proof?
23
Misleading
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Wrap up

Health food innovation is more that just facts:




An ethical evaluation is a systematic reflection on
norms and values



Norms are a set of concrete rules which direct
our way of doing.
Values are broad preferences concerning appropriate
courses of action or outcomes.
We have moral problems if norms and values are
contrading and/or conflicting:


Not only knowledge but also a science-based evaluation.
Not only understanding but also a vision on the value of
health.
Not only competence but also a vision and professional
responsibility.
Internally most often there is a difference of opinion
between marketers and nutritionists.
Advertisement should be fair.

The upcoming EU regulation is expected to clear the arena
from cowboys.
25
Thank you for your attention
Theo Ockhuizen