Ethical concerns in genetic engineering

As discussed above, because genetic engineering is thought to be a new technology, some doubts, fears, concerns have been raised. One way we can consider these concerns under two kinds of ethical arguments: extrinsic ethical concerns and intrinsic ethical concerns. Let us consider each.

a) Extrinsic concerns: These concerns are based on the doubts about the technology, its potentiality, newness and applicability to all life forms. The people in favour of technology think that genetic modification provides a great opportunity for solving hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in the world since it can be made for all environmental conditions and help in increasing quantity and quality of food. At the same time, there are fears raised about the safety of the food in eating and also risks to one’s health since it is considered as a new technology and people fear that some genes will be transmitted to them.

Also many people think genetic engineering is unnatural and call it as Franken foods. However, it is not possible to differentiate GM food from other conventionally grown foods since both look the same, may even taste the same, unless it is mentioned on the labels of the packets.  It is difficult to say whether the food is safe or unsafe given that in some parts of the world, like in the USA, people have been eating GM food for a decade but in other parts of the world, especially in Europe, many people are not willing to accept GM food because of fears of risks and other ethical concerns.

Many NGOs in the world have also raised the concern that growing genetically modified crops will be harmful for the environment and genetic modification will result in "superweeds". For example, if herbicide resistance genes from canola will flow into weedy relatives to make them resistant to herbicides. Scientific studies have not supported this fear.

Also it said that GM crops are unsafe for other organisms that feed on them, for example, some people claimed Bt toxin kills Monarch butterfly larvae. Extensive scientific studies found this was not true, however, these stories are still found on the Internet and in some NGO circles.

There is a fear that GM crops and foods will result in the loss of our biodiversity. Also, since the technology is new and needs lots of investment, it would be unfair to small farmers in poor countries. These are valid concerns and demand scientific interventions. However, the scientific studies have not been conclusive, there may be benefits in some environments and societies and not in others. There have been reports both in favour and against genetic modifications which are confusing people.

b)  Intrinsic concerns: intrinsic concerns are based on how people view life, nature, religion, their personal emotions and values.  There is a feeling that mixing up genes in the organisms for our use is "Playing God" and human beings should not intervene in God’s realm. Crossing natural species boundaries is creation of new life forms and inventing a new world through technology. Genetic engineering disrupts the beauty, integrity, balance of nature and might harm life. However, at the same time we can say that high tech medicines involves playing with God and agriculture was started by disrupting nature. Also hybrid plants and animals like mules are cross-species organisms and exist. In fact mules have been cloned and can reproduce in that way!

It is also argued that people eating meat harm the life of sentient beings (See the chapter on Animal Rights). Supporters of GM food consider these concerns are not valid and do not provide any solution to pragmatic issues like saving the environment and improving environmental conditions, solving hunger and malnutrition, preventing loss of biodiversity etc.

Conclusion

Nowadays, genetically-modified foods are a big part in our diet. There is no doubt that GM food is going to be very important for solving the hunger and malnutrition problems in many poor countries. They can also decrease the environmental damages and increase productivity. However, there are many unclear areas ahead for scientists and governments, such as the safety of GM foods, setting up international policy and labeling GM foods. As a result, we must continue developing GM foods with caution in order to avoid the unintended harm to the environment and human health. All after all, this powerful technology will definitely benefit our world greatly.