Utilitarianism and the Case of Perdue Farms Essay

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Perdue Farms

Personal & Organizational Ethics

Perdue Farms practices are in question for being inhumane. In my opinion, their form of advertisement is deceitful and false advertisement. It is advertised in this manner to instill trust in the company's ethics and chicken factory farming process. Its products are promoted as chickens that are raised cage free, on an all vegetarian diet, with no animal by-products, no antibiotics EVER, and humanely raised (CompassionUSA, 2014). It is important that the consumer perceives the process of farm-raising the chicken as humanely as possible. After all, how many people do you know who do not eat chicken? Perdue operates under the utilitarianism theory which our text states is "the theory that an action is morally right if the consequences of the actions are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone" -- or, in other words, that emphasize making ethical decisions as long as it benefits the majority of the people (Fieser, 2015). This paper will show why, in spite of its advertising, Perdue Farm's farming practice is inhumane.

I believe that the solution to the moral issues currently plaguing Perdue Farms can be found in the ethical theory of utilitarianism, which is the same theory that in my opinion they operate under. In this instance the word "everyone" (Fieser, 2015) should include focus towards the chicks. The favorable consequences will greatly exceed those of the unfavorable if more emphasis is placed on this process from day one. In short, it is not just people who are impacted by the utilitarian principle; animals are impacted also -- all of nature is; and this should be considered when the question of ethics arises. Is Perdue acting ethically with regards to nature and to chickens in particular? The answer is no.

Chicks being raised in chicken factories are being abused and treated inhumanely. The fact that their chickens are living and lying in their own feces demonstrates Perdue's a) lack of care and upkeep for the animals they are farming, and b) emphasizes the fact of continued inhumane practices by Perdue and their farmers. Chicks live in their own feces and vomit (CompassionUSA, 2014; Mercy for Animals, n.d). Perdue Farms participates in irresponsible farming by raising chicken that grow at such an alarming rate that their own limbs cannot keep up with the weight of their own bodies (CompassionUSA, 2014). Animal interests count, so deliberate or wanton cruelty is bad, but animal interests are easily overridden by our own interests, e.g. in producing meat or eggs cheaply (WilliamsCollege, 2009). The horrific condition speaks volumes to the moral compass of Perdue leadership. Essentially, Perdue leadership's ethic guideline is to put profits before the responsibility of raising farm animals. Yet, as a farm industry leader, Perdue has a responsibility to lead the way in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR is what companies do when they want to appeal to the public and show that they are sensitive to environmental and humane issues that are important to society. Animal rights is an issue that should be important to a company like Perdue -- especially as more and more consumers move towards adopting an "organic" or "free-range" way of life, in which food, whether plant or animal, is certified as being free of any genetically-modified organisms (GMO) or abusive tactics.

As a moral solution to the troubles faced by Perdue Farms, virtue ethics would be my second choice as a solution. Virtue ethics as defined in our text states "the view that morality is grounded in the virtuous character traits that people acquire" (Fieser, 2015). In this case, if Perdue Farms leadership would have acquired the moral characteristics required to operate a humane operation, they would solve the issues they are facing or avoid them all together. In my opinion, in a corporation that touches so much of the population, there is no time to acquire character traits. Utilitarianism is a trait that any person can apply to a corporation without needing training. Perdue Farms has not applied or completely utilized the utilitarianism ethical theory to fulfill the maximum potential of its corporation. Proper use of this theory will ensure the majority, including the chickens, are benefiting from this corporation. Likewise, a virtue ethics approach would ensure that Perdue was acting responsibly towards all forms of life and putting this responsible system of business before its concern for maximizing return by causing disorder in the life of the chicken.

Some may object to my thesis by asserting that Perdue has a responsibility to its stakeholders to ensure that it is maximizing its return on investment and producing as many chickens as possible at the greatest size possible -- and that the comfort, health or safety of the chickens themselves is immaterial as they are merely being bred for the slaughterhouse.

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They might argue that the most important thing for Perdue to do is to raise chickens and sell them for food, and that they are doing this in a successful way that benefits stakeholders. They would suggest that animal rights is not even a real thing, as animals are not on the level of humans and to act "humanely" towards an animal is to place human feelings and sentiments on animals, when animals and humans are not the same thing at all.

While this is an important objection -- and it is true that humans are not animals and vice versa -- the basic premise of this argument is faulty. The premise of this line of argumentation is that humans can act rightly without acting humanely. Acting humanely towards animals does not mean that one has to view animals as though they are equal to humans; it does, however, mean that humans have to live up to a bar or standard that they set for themselves so as to judge whether or not they are acting rightly. This is called a standard of ethics and it applies in everything a human does. For example, one would not say that a person who condemns spilling toxic waste into a stream is equating aquatic life with human life -- but one would say that dumping toxic waste in a stream is unethical because it hurts the world, destroys life, could cause harm to humans nearby, and gives a bad example of how to behave. The same idea applies to Perdue's raising of chickens in a gross and negligent manner. Perdue does not have to pretend that chickens are humans, but it should recognize that its leaders, as humans, have a responsibility to adhere to the ideals and ethical standards that we set for ourselves in order to act rightly. Acting rightly means respecting life, being responsible, and not being harmful towards the world. Causing chickens to be raised in their own waste can not only be unhealthy for chickens but also for the consumers who purchase and eat their meat. Not taking into consideration the health of its own consumers and thinking only of its accounts is a terrible way for a company to maintain a positive relationship with the public. Even if one wants to argue that the company has no need to consider the interests of the chickens, it at the very least has a responsibility to consider the interests of its consumer; and if its chickens are not healthy in life, why should they be considered healthy for consumers? It is a valid question and one that the company should ask itself: in refusing to take care of its chickens, it is putting at risk the health of the consumer who eats the chicken. From both a utilitarian and virtue ethics philosophical approach, Perdue should hold itself accountable for how well it treats its chickens since these products are going to be consumed by humans. If the company does not want to adopt an attitude of respect for chickens and natural life, it should at least have respect for its consumers and not sell to them meat that is tainted.

In conclusion, what I have attempted to show in this essay is that companies have a responsibility to act favorably towards one and all -- whether human or animal, environment or man-made entity. Respect for life, for creations, for one another and for nature is so pivotal and important in how we all get along that for a company to not show it is like a child misbehaving in school and yet expecting to be rewarded at the end of the day regardless. For its own sake, a company should respect life and cultivate a spirit of mission within its ranks that upholds this idea of respect. Philosophers through the ages have recognized how important it is to be respectful to life, whether they have identified it as karma or as charity -- it is always the same idea. Respect for life wins hearts and minds to one's side and contributes to one's own standing. Disrespect leads to contention, to hurt feelings, to obstacles and strife. This can be….....

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