The paper addresses the issue of how in democratic societies a procedure might be formulated to facilitate ethical judgements on modern biotechnologies used in food production. A framework for rational ethical analysis, the Ethical Matrix, is proposed. The Matrix adapts the principles described by Beauchamp and Childress for application to medical issues, to interest groups (e.g., producers, consumers, and the biotic environment) affected by these technologies. The use of the Matrix is illustrated by applying it to an example of a ``novel food,'' viz., a form of genetically modified maize.