18
In the Hallmark case, the contract dealt with the supply of animal-based food to
schools. The company was, then, under the obligation to inform the consumers of
the possible risks connected to the use of products which could have detrimental
effects on health and on the environment.
In Hallmark, the disclosure of the whistleblower made clear that not only the
company knew that its conduct was in violation of the federal contracts but that, by
intentionally concealing such informations, this conduct amounted to fraud. The
conduct of Hallmark was even more harmful. The potential victims of the fraudulent conduct were children, eating at school the food provided under the National
School Lunch Program. Here, the familiar refrain of “personal responsibility” as the
traditional defense used by the meat corporations, when discussing food habits
couldn’t work. In this case, the harm was primarily caused to children’s health and
then to the government for its exposure to the health’s care expenses. In the case of
the so-called Tobacco’s Litigation the focus on the harm caused to children led—
inter alia—to the adoption of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control
Act (2009) trying to impose some restrictions on Tobacco’s industries to prevent the
spreading of smoke among younger.
Even so, despite the warnings, no doubt that the financial interests of the big
smoking corporations continue to affect political choices. The same for the animalbased industries whose economic power charges the public authority with the
impossible task of both promoting the health of its citizens and promoting the consumption of meat.
5 A New Dietary Culture
To avoid the problems linked to meat production and consumption, a possible solution could be met in the transformation of the food production relationship, in a
more responsive attitude towards food consumption and in the use of sustainable
practice for food manufacturers, retailers, and food services (Ripple William et al.
2017). Land conversion should be avoided by developing best practices, including
limited fertilization, cover crops, crop rotation, organic production, well-managed
grazing, for example, animals graze in forested areas. Lowering the use of land- and
GHG-intensity emissions connected to the food consumption implies also a shift in
dietary choices, favouring the use of foods with lower emissions and a reasonable
consumption of land. As it has been said “a food system in which quality farmland
is devoted to raising cattle feed instead of crops is a good way to waste resources,
impoverish farmers and maintain hunger” (Lappe 1971). The transition to sustainability implies the adoption of several policy instruments, able to influence the markets and other economic drivers. The steps towards an alternative way of doing
business include the need (1) to a well-managed reserves of the world’s terrestrial,
marine, freshwater, and aerial habitats for maintaining nature’s ecosystem; (2) to
halt the conversion of forests or grasslands; (3) to reduce food waste through education; (4) to encourage dietary shifts towards plant-based foods; (5) to promote new
green technologies and the use of renewable energy sources; (6) to reduce wealth
V. Zambrano
In the Hallmark case, the contract dealt with the supply of animal-based food to
schools. The company was, then, under the obligation to inform the consumers of
the possible risks connected to the use of products which could have detrimental
effects on health and on the environment.
In Hallmark, the disclosure of the whistleblower made clear that not only the
company knew that its conduct was in violation of the federal contracts but that, by
intentionally concealing such informations, this conduct amounted to fraud. The
conduct of Hallmark was even more harmful. The potential victims of the fraudulent conduct were children, eating at school the food provided under the National
School Lunch Program. Here, the familiar refrain of “personal responsibility” as the
traditional defense used by the meat corporations, when discussing food habits
couldn’t work. In this case, the harm was primarily caused to children’s health and
then to the government for its exposure to the health’s care expenses. In the case of
the so-called Tobacco’s Litigation the focus on the harm caused to children led—
inter alia—to the adoption of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control
Act (2009) trying to impose some restrictions on Tobacco’s industries to prevent the
spreading of smoke among younger.
Even so, despite the warnings, no doubt that the financial interests of the big
smoking corporations continue to affect political choices. The same for the animalbased industries whose economic power charges the public authority with the
impossible task of both promoting the health of its citizens and promoting the consumption of meat.
5 A New Dietary Culture
To avoid the problems linked to meat production and consumption, a possible solution could be met in the transformation of the food production relationship, in a
more responsive attitude towards food consumption and in the use of sustainable
practice for food manufacturers, retailers, and food services (Ripple William et al.
2017). Land conversion should be avoided by developing best practices, including
limited fertilization, cover crops, crop rotation, organic production, well-managed
grazing, for example, animals graze in forested areas. Lowering the use of land- and
GHG-intensity emissions connected to the food consumption implies also a shift in
dietary choices, favouring the use of foods with lower emissions and a reasonable
consumption of land. As it has been said “a food system in which quality farmland
is devoted to raising cattle feed instead of crops is a good way to waste resources,
impoverish farmers and maintain hunger” (Lappe 1971). The transition to sustainability implies the adoption of several policy instruments, able to influence the markets and other economic drivers. The steps towards an alternative way of doing
business include the need (1) to a well-managed reserves of the world’s terrestrial,
marine, freshwater, and aerial habitats for maintaining nature’s ecosystem; (2) to
halt the conversion of forests or grasslands; (3) to reduce food waste through education; (4) to encourage dietary shifts towards plant-based foods; (5) to promote new
green technologies and the use of renewable energy sources; (6) to reduce wealth
V. Zambrano