In today's world, copyrighted digital content is considered illegal by most nation's law, and immoral by some as stealing.
Digital Content is duplicated through millions of 1's and 0's. There is no loss in cost when someone duplicates Digital goods. Arguably, there may or may not be loss in sales.
What if food was digital?
In a post-modern society, someone invented a machine that was so cheap to make that everyone in wealthier societies would own one. These machines can take any food, even old or rotten food, and duplicate it to become a brand new, exact copy, and entirely fresh.
The cost to duplicate the food? Matter or Energy, which is free in this post-modern world.
Now, there are people who make a living off of their food. Their recipe took them decades to perfect. People come from all over the world to taste their fine dining. Restaurants have loyal customers. From McDonalds and Taco Bell, to the most luxurious 5 star restaurants and top paid chefs- everyone has their recipe.
The catch is, the food blueprint is digital. One person can buy a 5 star restaurant's steak, and put it in the machine. Then he can send this steak to anyone and everyone, and they can download it from a popular torrent website. Within seconds, their machine will material, for free, that exact food, but piping hot, fresh, and even altered (How do you want your steak cooked? What sides? Anything altered?)
Restaurants would instantly become bankrupt. The entire food industry would collapse. Millions would lose their jobs, and chefs would be put out of work due to the multitude of incredible recipes available in what quickly became the most popular torrent in the world: "The Ultimate Digital Recipe Book".
The food industry unites, and begins to sue these uploaders and file hosters. Bloggers and Indie Chefs begin to complain that their work is being stolen, and it hurts them a lot more than it hurts McDonalds or [insert 5-star-restaurant]. The government sides with the food industry, and places people in prison for uploading and hosting these torrents.
Meanwhile, people starving in other countries have these machines- or know someone who does. The RIAA version of the food industry is trying its best to prevent them from getting their recipes, because they own them. These starving individuals have free copies of bland rice and less-than-tasty hamburgers. However, they begin demanding 5 star recipes, because the matter and energy cost is exactly the same: free, or the cost of electricity to run a computer.
Is this immoral to duplicate food? Is it only immoral to break the law? Is it only immoral to UPLOAD the digital food?