Potions are capable of producing powerful magic. Potion-making is one of the most ancient forms of magic and one of the most precise. However, the ingredients we use to make potions come from a wide variety of sources. These range from inanimate objects to mundane and magical plants to pieces of or entire living creatures, including sapient magical species and even humans. obviously, the topic is therefore quite broad and there are many who have strong opinions on these topics. In general, there are several factors which are considered with regards to Potion ingredients. These are:

Rarity - the harder to obtain an item is, the more carefully we must consider its proper use.

Renewability - some kinds of potion ingredients are finite, while others take a long time to be replenished, and the harder it is to get more of an ingredient, the more care must be taken about using it up

Damage Caused When Harvesting - many potion ingredients result in pain or death for a plant or animal, and so we must weigh this as we consider whether we should use these ingredients at all, and if so, under what circumstances

Environmental Impact - the removal of certain plant or animal species from a given area can affect the surrounding ecosystem, as does setting aside land for raising certain species, and these impacts should be taken into account

Respect - some potion ingredients must be obtained in specific ways or from specific sources which may be distasteful or disrespectful, and the impact of such acts upon those involved with the collection must be considered

Possibility of Substitution - sometimes an ingredient can be replaced by another or a set of ingredients which have the same effect, which can sometimes provide an alternative to using an ethically questionable substance

Efficacy and convenience - some ingredients can be substituted, but the substitution is not always as effective or convenient, which may impact whether the substitution is worthwhile

These factors all interact when determining the ethics of potion-making, and different people will place different importance upon each of these factors in different situations. Professor Emeritus of Hogwarts Horace Slughorn wrote this in a chapter of his textbook, "Principles of Advanced Potions," published in 1975:

"One must consider not only the ingredient itself but the circumstances under which the potion is being brewed. Let us take, as a hypothetical example, an antidote for a deadly poison which can kill within hours. There are two ways to brew this potion. Each is equally effective, but they use different ingredients and take different amounts of time to brew. The usual way involves plants and nonliving ingredients which pose no real moral concern, but takes three days to brew. In most cases, one need merely keep a fresh stock of this antidote available at all times and there is nothing to worry about. However, what if you do not have any in stock when the need arises? There is another way to brew this hypothetical potion - a faster way, which can be produced in less than an hour, but it requires the death of a small animal - perhaps a mouse or a lizard. What then, ought one to do? Should you kill an innocent creature to save the person suffering from the poison, or should you let them die?"

The responses to this hypothetical situation are not universally accepted. Some hold to the view that animals should not be harmed, even to save the life of a witch or wizard. This is the view taken by Pamela Alton, who has recently become a stong activist for total pacifism. In an opinion piece for the Daily Prophet in 2011, she wrote:

"All life, whether human or animal, magical or non-magical, ought to be respected. The taking of life is always unnecessary, always barbaric, always damaging. While it is true that nature is filled with killing and death, for wizards today, it is unnecessary. Life is precious and it cannot be given back once it has been taken away. To us, the life of a beetle or a flobberworm may seem trivial, but to the beetle and the flobberworm, it is of supreme importance. Only true compassion for all life can lead us to peace and balance within."

Most wizards and witches tend toward a less extreme view regarding the taking of life, however. Perhaps the most notable of these is Damoclese Belby, the famous potioneer who received the Order of Merlin for developing the Wolfsbane Potion, who laid down what he refers to as the Seven Tiers of Potion Reagents. These are:

1) Inanimate matter - This includes things such as dirt, water, or gold, but also things which may be produced by plants or animals but cause them no pain or inconvenience to collect. Usually, this means things which are shed naturally - fallen limbs, hair, nails, feathers, and horns. These things, Damoclese argues, may be used in potions without moral concern, so long as the supply is not rare and finite.

2) Simple plants - This includes all nonmagical plants and all magical plants which do not exhibit animal-like tendencies. Potion ingredients include whole plants as well as anything picked, plucked, or cut from such a plant, including seeds. Damoclese argues that since there is life in some of these plants, there is some slight moral concern about using them in potions. However, since humans must consume plants in order to survive, and since plants can usually be cultivated in greenhouses or fields to avoid significant environmental impacts, these moral concerns are extremely small. He does note that one important exception to this would be certain trees which take decades if not hundreds of years to reach full size, and cautions that we should be extremely careful about harvesting from these for fear of driving them to extinction or making the acquisition of these valuable ingredients impossible for several generations.

3) Plants with animal-like properties - This includes all magical plants which exhibit behaviors that closely resemble those of animals, such as mandrakes. Since these plants seem to be capable of self-motivation, Damoclese argues that these ought to be treated with more care and respect than other plants. He advocates that such plants be used as little as possible as potion ingredients, and that if they must be used, that the plants be treated humanely, in addition to the usual concerns regarding scarcity and environmental impact.

4) Primitive animals - This includes all animals which demonstrate little to no intelligence, such as insects, most mollusks, and corals, of both magical and nonmagical varieties. Damoclese notes that many members of this class of ingredients are considered pests, and that they are often killed without any moral qualms to prevent them from harming crops or people. Some of these creatures are also used as food items, and Damoclese suggests that the same ethics which govern the collection of these creatures for food ought to govern their collection as potion ingredients. Since the creatures can still suffer, at least to some degree, he recommends that they be killed humanely or allowed to die of natural causes before being used in potions. He also cautions that these creatures do serve a vital role in the ecosystem and should not be over-harvested. Even among this class of creatures, many of which are quite plentiful, there are some which are endangered, and that these should almost never be used for potions.

5) Simple animals - This class includes animals which show low levels of intelligence, but more than that of primitive animals, such as most reptiles and amphibians, some birds, fish, including sharks, and many kinds of mammals. As a general rule of thumb, Damoclese proposes that animals in this category have intelligence roughly equivalent to or lower than those regularly used as food by most cultures. This means creatures such as pigs, sheep, cattle, chickens, and rabbits. Damoclese notes that some ingredients can be taken from these animals without any significant harm to the creatures, such as their unfertilized eggs or their milk. With regards to any reagent which cannot be gathered without causing harm to the animal, Damoclese once again recommends following the same general guidelines as we would animals being slaughtered for food. In fact, he points out that many ingredients may be taken from animals which were slaughtered for such purposes. He also says that no part of such animals ought to go to waste. Killing a goat simply to obtain a bezoar and then leaving the skin, bones, and meat to rot is, Damoclese claims, wasteful and treats the life of the animal with callous flippancy.

6) Advanced animals - This class includes animals which are highly intelligent and capable of expressing emotions similar to those of humans, such as dogs, cats, apes, whales, some birds, a few reptiles, and cephalopods (advanced mollusks like the octopus and squid). This class also includes many magical creatures, such as dragons, unicorns, hippogryphs, and garden gnomes. Gathering potion ingredients from these creatures ought to be generally avoided, according to Damoclese. Most countries do not consider such animals suitable for food and many of these animals are endangered in the wild. Such creatures are incapable of giving consent, but are capable of great amounts of pain and suffering. Damoclese believes that the only acceptable way to obtain most ingredients from such animals is after their natural deaths.

7) Sapient creatures - This class includes all creatures with intelligence similar to that of human beings, such as humans, centaurs, house elves, goblins, merpeople, sphynxes, and giants. This class of ingredients is actually easier to obtain ethically than the class below it, since sapient creatures may consent to contribute pieces of themselves. This is an extremely tricky subject, especially when dealing with house elves, many of whom would consider it an honor to lay down their lives for their master's slightest whim. Certain ingredients, such as saliva, tears, or flakes of skin, can be uncontroversially taken with consent. However, beyond these things, Damoclese argues that we ought to only use ingredients derived from these creatures in dire emergencies with consent. He points out that very few potions which require the blood, skin, bones, or other similar parts of sapient creatures are of much use to any but the darkest wizards, and so this is not something which most wizards should have to worry about.

Damocles' seven tiers theory is currently well-respected, and has been the basis for several laws passed regarding the tradability of certain items often used in potions, as well as many of the fair-trade policies employed by various apothecaries throughout the wizarding world. However, the theory is not without its critics. The seven tiers are often accused of being vague and arbitrary. One popular example cited is that of rats. There is much conflict, even amongst the supporters of the theory, over whether these ought to be categorized as simple or advanced animals. This stems from the question of how intelligents rats really are as much as it does from the question of where the boundary lies between the two tiers. Some proponents of the theory, including Damocles himself, have suggested that the seven tiers are not rigid boxes into which all potion ingredients can be categorized, but rather waypoints along a continuum to which all potion ingredients can be mapped. One challenge which opponents of this theory have leveled is that this explanation renders the theory even more complicated than before, since Damocles' proposed rules for how to treat ingredients within each category should somehow also lie upon a continuum, which significantly reduces the practical usefulness of Damocles' system.

The ethical questions surrounding potions ingredients are numerous and complex. It is a very active field which is hotly debated amongst ethicists, despite the fact that the average witch or wizard seems to rarely think about the topic at all. Still, it is a very important subject which in the coming years may impact many of our laws and affect our way of life.

Follow-up Questions:

Are there any circumstances that would make you more willing to use a potion ingredient you would normally avoid? Do you think it would be right to do so?

Do you think the use of certain potion ingredients ought to be banned altogether? Why or why not?

Do you think that certain potion ingredients ought to only be collected by qualified individuals? If such a policy were to go into effect, how stringent should the requirements to become qualified be?