Since the beginning of time, the human race has attempted to perfect our lives, constantly adapting, and learning, and changing our environment to suit our needs. we have been changing the world dramatically in a large variety of environments from the atmosphere to the rainforests, and soil in which the trees grow. Up to this point we have been manipulating our environment in nearly any way we can imagine, making ourselves the dominant race on the earth, but perhaps we should be aware of how far we are going.
Currently humanity attempts to meddle with the very material that makes all that lives what it is, their DNA or genetic makeup. This is a very serious area of science that we are beginning to dive into, Because of the severity of tampering with the genetic makeup of nature, we must bring to attention the question: To what extent is it ethical to continue the use of GMOS for the betterment of society, and the progression of the human race considering the risks? As far as humanity has gone to manipulate our environment to suit our needs, this may be by far the most drastic, and ethically dividing manipulation to have participated in.
This is a huge dilemma because of the fact that the use of GMOS could be the solution to so many of the world’s current roblems, but conversely the use of GMOS could also become the catalyst for many problems, with the precarious possibilities of viruses, and damage to the environment included in the use of GMOS, to what extent would it be ethical to further research and invest in the use and progression of GMOS? , when is the point where we draw the line? Should we wait until something bad happens, and hope that we can find a solution to the problem, or attempt to stop the possible creation of a problem before it arises.
As our race continues to progress with the idea of genetic manipulation and Genetically Modified Organisms we must also take into account very important issues such as the very welfare of the animals whose genetics and traits we modify. Genetics, although there are multiple studies, are still in their experimental phases, with a great deal of short and long term possible effects, because of these possible unknown effects we have to consider the possibilities of causing irreversible damage to the livestock, and produce through their alterations.
The main question that scientists ask, is do the benefits of genetically modified animals outweigh the risks that could come from it? Everything depends on how far, and how thical society is willing to be given the possible benefits. Even if we can come to an agreement that experimentation on animals is ethical, we must also decide to what extent, if GM should on animals for consumption and use for research, or for domestic animals as wellI. essence of living beings to fit our desires were in thought for centuries, by scientists and other inquirers.
A commonly known idea behind genetics had come from a scientist by the name of Gregor Mendel, progressing science and revealing secrets about how to create desired traits to a being, and what influences them. Because of Mendel’s breakthrough, scientists around the orld have continued to further progress his studies to the point where they have successfully cloned an organism, creating a huge breakthrough in how far science and technology can go, creating a new sense of hope and desire for once thought impossible ideas such as immortality an creating and altering genes.
Do you take for granted the very life that you see as mundane? Have you thought about people in other places that are not as fortunate as you may be? Many would argue that everything is based on perspective. When speaking on the dilemma of GMO’s and the idea of genetic modification, one ust first take into account that not everybody lives at the same standards. Less fortunate people such in third world countries The ideas of creating and altering the are much more likely to support the use of GMO’s in their food because of the fact that the price GMO foods are significantly less that the price of organic.
GMO foods are much more affordable for people that live in the lower class and cannot afford the high prices of organic as organic food “costs 10 percent to 174 percent more for fruits, vegetables and meat. ” This is a huge dilemma among the masses because of the gap in ages as the more wealthy are more likely to purchase the more expensive organic foods as they have the means. This is a huge piece of the dilemma that officials must consider when deciding to continue or cease the use of GM.
As a country the US has been known to break barriers in search of new technology and advancement, one of the huge barriers that we have been attempting to break is GMO and use and whether or not it is ethical to use them is masses and with animals. As a society we Americans tend to tolerate more unethical actions when we are not in the presence of them, or it does not directly affect us in he process.
For example, many are Ok with the fact that their apples don’t get bruised, and their chicken abnormally large, but begin to riot, and call for change, and animal rights, and ethics when viewing the process that goes into the creation of these super foods. Perhaps the government sees that this a common occurrence among the American society and should be less open with the use of GMO, but the government must also take into account the ethics of the situation as many people may feel betrayed by the fact that they don’t know exactly what is in their food.
The fact that as Americans, we appear to be more aware nd have more knowledge and control over our lives is both a plus and minus, as that also means that we must take more responsibility, whereas in other countries such as those with a dictator such as North Korea those responsibilities and decisions lie with the leader, where the people have no say in the situation.
When considering the use of Genetic Modification one must also take into consideration the effect that such experiments and alteration would have on the environment and the rest of the ecosystems that are connected, taking into account the effects of biodiversity and tipping point, nd how the alteration of a single organism can either assist in allowing an ecosystem to thrive or lead to its ultimate destruction pushing it towards its tipping point.
All animals in an ecosystem are connected in different ways helping to keep balance within an ecosystem, when one of the animals in that ecosystem is tampered with then like a ripple effect everything within the ecosystem feels it, whether good or bad. The ethics in the situation is can we consider the possibility of eradicating an entire ecosystem for the betterment of another? Also to what extent is it OK, is there a limit to how many ecosystems we estroy or can we utilize as many as we need to receive what we desire?
These dilemmas need to be taken into account when pondering upon the idea of utilizing Genetic Modification with no restrictions or limits. Ethics is a difficult subject because to decide what is, or is not ethical one must first take into consideration what others deem ethical, one of the more extensive obstacles being religion and how different people of different faiths view a subject such as controversial as Genetic Modification.
Many faiths would safely say that Genetic Modification is 100% wrong, and that it is not our place to amper with such science. But completely opposite of this belief other religions believe that we have been made in the image of their “god” and that we are here to fix the mistakes of “god”, whomever that may be. One must take into account the fact that there are many different views on whether or not we should dive further into the science of genetic engineering with our foods or anything relating to the subject.
To formulate an opinion on the use of GMO in our daily lives one must first understand what exactly defines a GMO. BY definition “A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, icroorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified using recombinant DNA methods (also called gene splicing), gene modification or transgenic technology”(nongmoproject. org).
GMO are a means of altering desired genes within an organism to produce desirable traits, such as providing corn with a gene that creates a natural pesticide, or resistance to insects. If possible to use genetic modification safely, with everything providing only the traits designed and desired then genetic modification could be a huge breakthrough for humanity, solving a lot of the world’s problems.
The problem that many of the world’s governments nd health organizations have concern about is the fact that it is unconfirmed whether or not genetic modification has or is going to have any short or long term effects that they will come to regret. Ideally governments would jump at the opportunity to greatly increase the amount of food that is being produced in their countries, but in reality one must take into consideration the long-term consequences, as well as the short term benefits when deciding upon a decision as big as genetic modification.
In the society that we currently live in, all around the world, people are constantly looking to make a quick dollar and for this eason one must take into account the business, and economic aspect of the use of GMO’s, specifically patents on things such as plants genes and seeds. The fact that using GMOS is becoming increasingly harder to avoid, many consumer groups worry that as new GM plants are created the price of seeds will increase exponentially, leaving small scale farm companies and farmers in developing countries no way to afford such varieties of crops.
In this way the divide between the upper and lower classes will increase significantly. Farmers such as that of the “Monsanto Canada Inc v Schmeiser” are also under fire as they may not ven be purposely using the seeds or pesticides that are under a patent but have been sent to court by the company Monsanto for the genetically modified plants somehow making their way into the farms of the farmers through pollination and other natural causes.
When thinking about GM foods in addition to the effects of patents economically, and socially, one must also consider whether it is even ethical for one to own the genetics of an organism, and if patents on such should even be allowed. Many have the opinion that it is unethical for any one man to have rights to the genetic makeup of an organism at all. Many make the argument that it is unethical to have patents on genes because of that fact that genes and genetics are/were discovered not created.
The laws for patent eligibility state that “Machines or processes are patent-able subject matter, but the laws of nature are not”. Others would argue that yes genetics have been around since the beginning of time, but the inventors had put hard work as well as time into the development and alteration of such genes, classifying the new altered plants as something new therefore allowing the newly altered plants to be eligible for a patent.
