Ethical means concerning ethics, or reasonable and acceptable from a moral point of view — and in food, the word has become a market category. Ethical food claims span fair wages, animal welfare, environmental care, and honest dealing: the shopper choosing free-range eggs, fair-trade coffee, or sustainably caught fish is making an ethical purchase. The term’s power is also its problem — “ethical” has no legal definition, so its meaning is set by certifiers, campaigners, and brands, each with their own standards. Philosophers distinguish the ethics of consequences from the ethics of principle; shoppers mostly follow conscience and label. The food industry’s ethical turn — codes of conduct, welfare audits, sourcing policies — reflects a real shift: morality has become a product attribute, priced, certified, and shelved like any other.