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ENGINEERING GENESIS |
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"Engineering Genesis" is published by Earthscan Publications,
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Press Conference 15:30 and Debate 16:30 See our Short Press Statement for Royal Smithfield Show |
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both featured the book and interviewed Dr Donald Bruce on Wednesday November 11. BBC's News Web Page on "Engineering Genesis" includes an audio recording of the Today Programme interview. |
There is too much emphasis on a scientific, rationalist tradition which tends to dismiss intrinsic ethical values as emotional, irrational and out of place in deciding about genetic engineering. On the contrary, the study finds ample evidence that scientis
ts and policy makers are as likely to be influenced by basic beliefs as those opposed to genetic engineering, but these are usually hidden. It is also not sufficient to seek to "educate" the public out of their concerns about genetic engineering. Many obj
ections arise not out of ignorance but from deeply held values, and may be just as rational as the enthusiasm of the proponents. Much depends on how trustworthy the proponents of biotechnology are regarded, and what their governing motivations are perceive
d to be. Throughout this study, the social dimension of the issues raised by genetic engineering has been a recurring theme. It has proved very important to appreciate the different social constructions of the questions, and the societal situations of th
e different players involved, in order to gain a proper understanding of the moral debates themselves.
To restore public confidence in the decision making system, a standing ethical commission on non-human biotechnology is urgently needed. Its work must be fully open to public scrutiny and involve a much greater degree of public participation than is presen
tly the case. Commercial confidentiality in the private sector was also seen as a barrier to public accountability.
Genetically Modified Food and Risk
Many people object to the genetic modification of food, for religious or other deep-seated reasons, or due to doubts over its safety, which it would be wrong merely to dismiss. Whereas most of the working group did not share these objections, for something
as basic as food there is an undeniable ethical case for mandatory labelling and segregation of all foodstuffs whose production has involved genetic modification, not merely where "foreign" DNA can be detected. UK and EU regulations show serious flaws in
this respect.
There is little empirical evidence that genetically modified organisms are causing serious problems in the environment. First signs suggest that some developments can lead to less chemical input on the land. But in this still young technology it would be irresponsible to relax the precautionary principle too far. As more are releases take place, increasingly complex ecological relationships are set up, which may prove difficult to analyse. A balance needs to be struck between a due concern for possible da ngers which in hindsight were obvious, and an aversion to risk that demands minimising every conceivable hazard, no matter how tiny the probability. It seems appropriate at present to concentrate on applications that are restricted in scale, and which conf er strong human or ecological benefits.
The study challenges the ethical claim is that genetic engineering offers the only serious hope for addressing future world food needs. Most applications currently coming to market are not aimed at meeting developing country food needs, but are western consumer products, whose primary benefit is the production efficiency of commercial enterprises. Thus far, the driving factors of the technology are not primarily oriented to the benefits of those most in need. A substantial change is needed in research and product funding priorities if the claim is not to become devalued. Some of the group go further and argue for a less reductionist and technological agriculture and for a more holistic and ecological approach which draws from indigenous wisdom in different cultures. Others would look for a middle way which incorporate some of the insights of ecological agriculture with biotechnological methods.
Genetically Modified Animals - How far can we go?
The book examines a range of genetic engineering applications in animals. Few welfare issues are raised which could not also be produced by selective breeding, but some serious ethical questions are already raised by the latter. It is more than just a matter of animal welfare, however. While few problems are raised by producing pharmaceuticals in sheep's milk, the use of pig organs in humans (xenotransplantation) and genetically induced cancerous mice (oncomice) present real dilemmas about how far we are justified in intervening in our fellow creatures for human benefit.
Xenotransplantion is a novel and serious intervention in the animal kingdom, marking a change in how we relate to animals. The "yuk factor" at the idea of having a live animal organ in one's body may convey deeper issues than mere unfamiliarity. Some of the working group saw mixing organs between species as denying the sanctity of both human and non-human life and an excessively instrumental use of the animal. The seriousness of intervention in the animal might, however, be justified if it offered very significant and long lasting improvement for most patients. The majority of our group took this view for the heart and kidney, given the shortfall in availability, but not as carte blanche for all organs, and not if the success is only limited.
Genetically inducing cancer in mice as models of human disease seeks human benefits only at the cost of serious harm to the animal. The graveness of human cancer may be sufficient reason, but there is an urgent need to review how far realistic medical benefits being fairly assessed against the animal suffering involved. Concerns are expressed that in the rapidly increasing scale of use of genetically modified mice models, mice are being reduced to mere items in a research catalogue. The increase seems to conflict with the established "3 R's" principle of reduction, replacement and refinement of animal use. Mice must not become mere research tools, sheep mere bioreactors, nor pigs spare part factories.
Cloning has become a cause celebre but the animal implications have generally been overlooked in the speculation about human use of nuclear transfer technology. For some, cloning mammals would violate a biological distinction in reproduction, and were it to be routinely used in farm animals, it would bring factory production concepts one step too far into animal husbandry. The use of the technology at Roslin is to improve methods of genetic manipulation of farm animals for specialist applications are more acceptable ethically, although welfare questions relating to pregnancy difficulties remain need to be resolved. Extensions of nuclear transfer methods to mice will open a much greater range of cloning applications which will need careful ethical scrutiny.
Patenting Life?
Patenting arouses some of the most heated debate over genetic engineering. The book supports the some form of intellectual property protection to protect investments and help disseminate commercially sensitive knowledge, but it also finds that exaggerated claims are made about the benefits of patents, which can be protracted and expensive and may not always disseminate knowledge. The major controversy is, however, over what should be protected, and the study puts both sides of the case. There is intense pressure from the biotechnology industry to regard living matter as no longer only a product of nature, but also a product of industry, and therefore patentable. Many argue, however, that this fails to respect the normal ethical distinction between what is alive and what is not, and that a transgenic organism is primarily God's creation, which no one can claim to have "invented". Some therefore argue that either a new gene construct could be patented, but not the animal and not a naturally occurring gene sequence. Others see no need to make such distinctions, seeing a patent as only a human device of commerce.
Ethics and Genetic Developments
Patenting is not the place to decide on the acceptability of the invention in itself. It has become so by default, however, in the absence of an adequate system for public ethical assessment of biotechnological inventions. This re-emphaises the need for commissions at UK and European level, charged with looking at the ethical dimension of key patent applications, and with scope for public comment. These would have to be satisfied both to gain the patent, and to allow that its production was ethical. This reflects a major thread running through the book, that genetic engineering that genetic engineering has the potential to make a major social impact, but is being driven without a proper level of assessment of the ethical priorities which should govern the technology. The winners are well catered for. By default, the situation of those who might stand to lose is not being adequately appreciated. What finally goes on the market is also apt to be limited to what is demanded and economic, which may not be the same as what is needed or was originally claimed, or what is ethical. For all its benefits, genetic science does not tell us how to live, or how to use its findings. The future of the technology itself may depend on how well the present imbalance of public involvement is rectified.
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The members of the group and their areas of relevant expertise
"At last a balanced and rational approach to genetic engineering. The pros and cons are clearly explained ... will be easily understood by the layman."
Professor Sir Ghillean Prance, Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
"Engineering Genesis is a major contribution to the public debate on genetic engineering ... it is lucid, well argued and never shirks controversy."
Dr David Shapiro, Nuffield Council on Bioethics, former Executive Secretary
"The genetic revolution requires the best of science and theology. This book provides a taste of both."
Dr David Cook, writer, lecturer and broadcaster on Christian ethics.
"An outstanding guide for the morally and scientifically perplexed in this new age of genetics. No atheist has written anything half as good on genetic engineering as this report by the Church of Scotland."
Tom Wilkie, Head of Biomedical Ethics, The Wellcome Trust, former science editor of The Independent newspaper.
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Dr Donald M. Bruce,
Society, Religion and Technology Project
, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4YN, Scotland.
tel. 0131-240 2250, fax 0131-240 2239,
email address : srtp@srtp.org.uk http://webzone1.co.uk/www/srtproject/enegenpre.htm
Church of Scotland Press Office, tel. 0131 240 2243, fax 0131 225 6475
Clare Bruce,
Earthscan Publications, 120 Pentonville Road, London N1 9NJ
tel.0171-278 0433, fax 0171-278 1142
email address : cbruce@kogan-page.co.uk
"Engineering Genesis" published October 1998 by Earthscan Publications, 120 Pentonville Road, London N1 9NJ at 12.99 UK Pounds paperback, ISBN 1 85383 570 6
For more information about the book and its background, see also our page on the SRT Study on the Ethics of Genetic Engineering in Non-human Species.
For more information about genetic engineering and cloning, see also our pages on Genetic Engineering issues and Cloning issues
This page was last revised on 4 January 1999, and has been accessed
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