Carleton Philosophy Students to present Just Food Coop Class on the Humane Treatment of Animals

Carleton College philosophy students will lead their own class at Northfield’s Just Food Co-op on Wednesday, Nov. 7 beginning at 7 p.m., discussing what constitutes the humane treatment of farm animals. The class is being offered in conjunction with the Real Food Challenge, a nonprofit organization which promotes the procurement of community-based and ecologically sound food by colleges and universities. Students will present their ideas about what guidelines for humane treatment of animals Real Food Challenge ought to adopt. This event is free and open to the public.

The students are part of a fall term seminar at Carleton, “Animal Ethics: The Moral Status of Animals,” which examines different ethical theories surrounding the question of whether humans have a moral obligation toward non-human animals. The course has included visits to local farms and discussions with area farmers about their treatment of animals. Wednesday’s class represents an opportunity to present to the public the ideas the students have formulated over the course of the term.

The course has also been an opportunity to bring to the Northfield community the Real Food Challenge, a nationwide activist group with a presence on the Carleton campus. The group’s goal is to shift a total of $1 billion of American universities’ food budgets away from factory farms and towards “local/community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane food sources.” Bon Appetit, the food management company that serves both Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges, has made significant strides in this direction, focusing on increasing the sustainability of the food offered on both campuses.

For more information about this event, contact Just Food Co-op at (507) 650-0106. The store is located at 516 Water Street South in downtown Northfield.