GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS

Claire Foster © 2006

The Ethical Dimension

For 10,000 years farmers have modified their crops by breeding desirable traits in and undesirable traits out.  During the last few decades the skills of the plant breeder have been supplemented by plant biotechnologists.  This revolution has resulted from an increased understanding of how cells and organisms work at the molecular, biochemical and physiological level and also from the development of techniques which allow the transfer of genes from one plant species to another, or from other organisms such as bacteria. Purposes include:

• Improvement of the plant as a whole, to make it have a better yield; to make it more nutritious; or to improve its ability to take up and use soil nutrients.
• Increase the plant’s resistance to stresses such as heat, cold, drought, saline soils, pests and diseases.
• Change the nature of the plant so it can be used, for example, as an industrial feedstock or to provide a product with medicinal qualities.

There remain many questions about the safety and efficacy of GMOs.  There is the question of whether transferring genes from different species has long term harmful effects – some people feel it is radically unnatural to transfer a gene from one species into another species – and yet genes are, in a way, all our inheritance and all species share thousands of them. There is also the question of whether ‘gene contamination’ spreads so that an intended effect in one plant is transferred to another. If so, will crops that were organic no longer qualify? Finally, will the resulting plant be safe to eat or use?

Goal-based question:  Are the purposes for which GMOs are created serving the common good?

Duty-based question:  Is undue harm going to result?