The Ethics Of Using Genetically Engineered And Cloned Food

Your Name
Course
Professor
University
26TH OCTOBER, 2017
Introduction
Although this GMOs and cloned food can be used to enhance productivity in both livestock and crop production, critical and ethical issues raised must be confronted before the widespread of technology. Most importantly, its impact on the health of the affected animals must be ascertained and addressed. In addition, research institutions should conduct comparative studies between the benefits of these technologies to producers viz a viz the research costs involved. Thirdly, scientists must establish the indirect impact of cloning crops and livestock to human cloning. Therefore GMO and cloned food should be labeled to protect people who find these technologies abhorrent. Notwithstanding the apparent benefits of these technologies, particularly in food production, ethical issues surrounding their use are weighty and warrant further research. Genetic engineering of animals has raised critical ethical issues such as animal welfare, anthropocentricism and deep ecology. Other ethical concerns raised include procedural invasiveness, large number requirement, unanticipated welfare issues and determination of ethical limits in genetic engineering. This research paper will review and discuss different ethical concerns raised with regards to the use of GMOs and cloned food. Before delving into the discussion of ethical issues surrounding GMO and cloned food, the research paper will provide a brief definition of the key words: “Genetic Engineering” and “Cloning”.
What is Genetic Engineering?
Genetic engineering can be defined as the process of using modern biotechnology to introduce new DNA or genetic traits, or altering the existing genetic composition of an organism with the aim of introducing new traits (D’Ambrosio et al., 2016). Some of the terms used to refer to Genetic engineering include “genetically modified”, “genetically altered”, “transgenic” or “Genetically manipulated”(EFA, 2013). These terms are used to indicate the interference with the natural genetic composition of an animal. Thus a genetically altered or modified animal is one whose natural genetic composition has been modified, for example RDNA thereby giving the animal new superior traits. There are different types of GMO animals, namely Biopharm, research, xenotransplant, companion, disease resistant and food use animals (Wang, 2012). This research will only focus on disease resistance and food use. Genetic engineering of animals has gained widespread popularity among farmers due to the efficacy and economies of scale related issues. However, this has not been without ethical concerns. Different ethical issues have been raised pertaining to the use of genetically modified animals as human food.
What is Cloning?
Cloning can be defined as the process of replicating particular animal cells, or replication of a specific animal cell component or DNA with the aim of multiplying the desirable genetic trait. Cloning exists in three forms namely “….DNA cloning, therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning”(Wu, 2012). This paper will primarily focus on reproductive cloning as it is the only form that can have ethical implications, especially animal welfare. Thus reproductive cloning refers to a process of reproducing or replicating an animal based on a nuclear DNA of an identical existing animal (Kapoor et al., 2017). The technology employed in animal cloning is referred to as “…somatic cell nuclear transfer”(Viedma-Viedma, 2015). Animal cloning is a sophisticated process that involves copying the genetic traits of an existing animal into another (Thompson, 2016). Hence it is used in livestock breeding with the view of improving productivity. Thus, it has gained widespread usage among livestock farmers as it produces an identical copy of the original animal, even though with superior traits. Subsequently, cloning is used in animal production mainly to achieve high efficiency and economies of scale (Thompson, 2016).
Pros and Cons of GMO and Cloning in Food Production
Even though cloning could finally gain widespread usage and acceptance, particularly in farm animal production, different ethical issues raised must be addressed before the technology is accepted by the public (Kapoor et al., 2017). These issues range from genetic diversity to environmental concerns. Genetic engineering is used in agricultural livestock production with the view of enhancing “….productivity, food quality, disease resistance as well achieving environmental sustainability”(Frewer et al., 15). GE has been hailed for its ability to enhance the production of farm animal species. For instance, GE has been used to produce pig and sheep breeds that have high growth hormones necessitating their fast maturity. Moreover, GMO plays an important role in enhancing food quality which benefits both the farmer and the consumer (Kapoor et al., 2017). Besides, farm animals can be genetically modified to produce a species that is highly disease resistant. It can also be applied as a means of reducing agricultural pollution. Although Genetic engineering has numerous benefits, there has been resistance to the use of GMO animals in food production, despite FDA reports that suggest that GMOs and cloned food have no adverse effect on human health (Houdebine, 2012). The remaining sections of this paper shall review different ethical issues raised regarding the use of these technologies in farm food production.
Extrinsic Versus Intrinsic Ethical Concerns
Ethical concerns in genetic engineering continue to raise more doubts and fears among the public in equal measure. Ethical concerns surrounding the use of GMO food have been studied under two categories, namely extrinsic ethical concerns that are merely based on doubts about the safety and efficacy of GMO technology; and intrinsic ethical concerns that are purely based on public opinion and perception (EFA, 2012)..
‘Extrinsic Ethical Concerns’ emanate from reservations about GMO food and how it could impact human life. Although GMO proponents cite many benefits such as food security, malnutrition and potential for food quality and quantity improvement, ethical concerns raised by opponents are critical (Thompson, 2016). First and foremost, GMO food is said to be produced through unnatural means, even though it’s nearly impossible to distinctly differentiate it from conventional food as they may appear and taste the same. One ethical issue raised is that GMO food production can produce a breed of super weeds that would be difficult to contain (Wang, 2012). This remains public speculation as there is no scientific evidence that can support it. Another ethical issue is that the crops can be potentially harmful to both humans and animals that consume them. For instance, it’s alleged that Bt toxin in beet sugar killed monarch breed of butterflies when they feed on it. This claim lacks scientific backing. In addition, it is claimed that GMO food and crops are harmful and detrimental to biodiversity (EFA, 2012). Intrinsic Ethical Concerns are purely based on speculation, views and public opinion. Most of these views are religiously motivated. For example, the argument that GMO food is produced through unnatural means and hence violating the natural process instituted by God.
Ethical Concerns of Using Genetically Engineered Food
Different ethical issues have been raised concerning the use of GMOs and Cloned food. One of these issues has been animal welfare concerns which include invasiveness of employed procedures (Thompson, 2016). The debate surrounds the concern that the use of GMO animals necessitates sacrifice of some other animals using surgical procedures. It has been argued that these surgical procedures are not only a necessity for the DNA donating animal, but the recipient as well. The use of surgical procedures such as vasectomy and embryo transfer on farm animals has been termed as invasive and unethical (EFA, 2012). Although these procedures are commonly done in mammals, these genetic engineering techniques have been significantly improved to eliminate this concern. New GE techniques such as deathless ‘transgenesis’ are used which are less invasive as the DNA is introduced into the sperm cells of animals, thus eliminating the need for euthanasia (Thompson, 2016).
GMO Uses Large Animal Numbers
Ethical concerns raised over the use of GE in food production include the argument that it necessitates the use of large numbers of animals (Wang, 2012). This is because the embryos, which undergo genetic modification rarely survive, and for those that survive, only a small percentage can be of significance. Subsequently, large numbers of animals will have to be used to obtain GMO animals. Therefore, this contravenes the ethical tenets of animal species conservation. In addition, recent technological advancements in the genetic engineering have led to an increase in the number of available genetically modified farm animal species (Frewer et al., 15). Even though the latest GMO technologies are more efficient compared to the old technologies, there are still ethical concerns that the surplus animals could be exposed to harmful and distressful experiences (Wang, 2012). Whether or not these concerns are legitimate, one important fact is that modern GE technologies have eliminated some of these ethical concerns through’ cryopreservation’ (D’Amb...