Exploring Ethics in Innovation: The Case of High-Fructose Corn Syrup

This chapter aims at challenging the view of innovation as synonymous to improvement, which underlies much of the current business paradigm. It debates the presence of the ethical element in innovation processes, by presenting the case study of High-fructose Corn Syrup, a product innovation widely used in the food industry. An argumentative analysis is conducted upon the case, taking into account the perspective of the different stakeholders. The main message of this chapter is that innovations have an inherent ethical dimension and that for them to serve important societal purposes it is imperative for the ethical dimension to be considered by different actors in the system.