On a Saturday, Wanda goes to the local farmers’ market to take a break from baking treats. While she is there, she sees a vendor with customers crowded around the stall. When she asks someone what all the excitement is about, a customer informs her that a woman who sells gourmet dog treats has just arrived, and if Wanda doesn’t get in line early, the woman will sell out. The customer goes on to tell Wanda that this vendor always sells out, and that since she has started buying these treats for her dogs, her dogs seem much healthier and happier. Wanda waits in line with the other customers.
When it is Wanda’s turn, she engages the woman in conversation about the ingredients in her treats and her process for making them. The woman is very nice and actually shares a recipe with Wanda for a pumpkin peanut butter dog biscuit that has always been one of her best-selling items. Wanda purchases one of each treat the woman is selling and takes the recipe when it is offered to her, never mentioning that she is in the same business. She plans to “reverse engineer” the treats and test the new recipe out that very day.
Were Wanda’s actions unethical? Why or why not?
Write an argument that explains your views and discusses the ethical questions posed by Wanda’s actions.