The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests. Bioethical Implications of Globalization: An International Consortium Project of the European Commission The BIG project looks at some of the ethical concerns surrounding globalization and health. T he term "globalization" was popularized by Marshall McLuhan in War and Peace in the Global Village . In the book, McLuhan described how the global media shaped current events surrounding the Vietnam War [1] and also predicted how modern information and communication technologies would accelerate world progress through trade and knowledge development. Globalization now refers to a broad range of issues regarding the movement of goods and services through trade liberalization, and the movement of people through migration.