Table of Contents

Business Ethics

I N T R O DU CT IO N .......................................................................................................................................3
1 H I S TORY
2

W HY

OF

A RE

A N I MA LS

G E N E T I CA LLY MO D I FI E D

WHY

E NG I NE E RI NG ........................4

GENETIC

ARE

US E D

J UNE 23

2015

I NST E A D

OF

P LA NT S ?........................4
GE NE T I CA L LY

MO D I FI E D

A N I MA LS P RO DU C E D ?...........................................................................................................................5

4 I N T RI NS I C
5 M O RA L

CO N C E R N S

........................................6

A ND E T H I C A L I S S U E S ...........................................................................................................6

GENETIC ENGINEERING
IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND
MANIPULATE LIFE OF OTHERS?

Discipline: Business Ethics

Student: Anastasia Kornietskaya
Student ID: 13029281
U TI LI T Y , R I G HT S , J U S T I C E ..................................................................................................................7
C O N C LUS I O N ..........................................................................................................................................9

R E F E RE NCE S ........................................................................................................................................10

GENETIC ENGINEERING: IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND MANIPULATE LIFE 2

OF OTHERS?

I N TRO D UC TI O N
Just as the 20th century was a golden age of computing, the 21st century is the DNA age. New
technologies are transforming society and business and creating the potential for new ethical
problems. The technology I am speaking of is genetic engineering.
Things like glow-in-the-dark cats may seem to be the stuff of science fiction, but they were
actually created several years ago. You can find genetically modified animals today who have had
their DNA combined with that of other animals or altered in order to create a new group of genes.
Genetic engineering refers to a large variety of new techniques that allows change in the
genes of the cells of humans, animals, and plants. Genes, which are composed of deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA), contain the blueprints that determine which characteristics an organism will have.
Through recombinant DNA technology, for example, the genes from one species can be removed and
inserted into the genes of another species to create a new kind of organism with the combined
characteristics of both species. Businesses have used genetic engineering to create and market new
varieties of vegetables, grains, sheep, cows, rabbits, bacteria, viruses, and numerous other
organisms.
The genetic engineering of animals has increased significantly in recent years. Ethical and
technical questions swirl around discussions of genetic engineering like the wall clouds of the eye of a
hurricane. Is this kind of technology ethical? Is it wrong for business to change and manipulate life in
this way? Is it ethical for businesses to market and distribute such engineered organisms throughout
the world when the consequences are so unpredictable?

GENETIC ENGINEERING: IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND MANIPULATE LIFE 3

OF OTHERS?

1 H I S TO RY

O F GE N E TI C E N G I N E E RI NG

The first human manipulation of genes occurred during the domestication of plants and
animals through artificial selection. The dog is believed to be the first animal domesticated, most likely
arising from the grey wolf. The other carnivores domesticated in prehistoric times were the cat and
polecat.
Genetic engineering as the direct transfer of DNA from one organism to another was first
accomplished by Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen in 1973.
The first transgenic animals were mice created in 1974 by Rudolf Jaenisch. These mice
contained viral SV40 leukemia genes, and the transgenes were not only present in the
mouse but also in its offspring.
Then, in 1982, Ralph Brinster of the University of Pennsylvania inserted the
structural gene for human growth hormone into mice embryos, and noticed the mice
with the foreign gene grew much larger than those without the gene and also passed
this trait to its offspring.
Since the mid-1980s transgenic mice have become a key model for investigating disease.
Mice are the model of choice not only because there is extensive analysis of its completed genome
sequence, but its genome is similar to the human. Moreover, physiologic and behavioral tests
performed on mice can be extrapolated directly to human disease. Robust and sophisticated
techniques are also easily available for the generic manipulation of mouse cells and embryos.
Another advantage of mice is the fact that they have a short reproduction cycle. Other transgenic
species, such as pig, sheep and rats are also used, but their use in pharmaceutical research has so
far been limited due to technical constraints.
Mice being used as models, for example, to study obesity, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis,
substance abuse, anxiety, ageing, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. They are also used
to study different forms of cancer.
2 WHY

AR E AN I M AL S U S E D I N S TE AD O F GE NE TI C AL LY MO DI FI E D P L AN TS ?

There are two reasons why scientists prefer animals instead of plants.
First, animals may be preferred because of their closer biochemical similarity to humans. This
is important for making therapeutic molecules. Many animal proteins need to be
modified before they can carry out their function. Usually, the enzymes that are
needed to do this only exist in animal cells.
4 GENETIC ENGINEERING: IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND MANIPULATE LIFE
OF OTHERS?

Another reason why animals are sometimes preferred for some genetic modification is
because they can make large amounts of product.
3 WHY

AR E GE N E TI C AL LY MO D I FI E D ANI M AL S P RO DU CE D ?

The benefits of genetically modified animals to human welfare can be grouped into three
areas: agriculture, medicine and industry.
I.

Agricultural Applications

a. Breeding
Traditional breeding is a time-consuming, difficult task. When technology using molecular
biology was developed, it became possible to develop traits in animals in a shorter time and with
more precision. In addition, it offers the farmer an easy way to increase yields.
b. Quality
Transgenic cows exist that produce more milk or milk with less lactose or cholesterol, pigs and cattle
that have more meat on them, and sheep that grow more wool.
c. Disease resistance
Scientists are attempting to produce disease-resistant animals, such as influenza-resistant
pigs, but a very limited number of genes are currently known to be responsible for resistance to
diseases in farm animals.
II.

Medical Applications
a. Xenotransplantation

The worldwide demand for cells, tissues and organs for transplantation far exceeds supply.
People are

dying while on waiting lists for transplants. Patients die every year for lack of a

GENETIC ENGINEERING: IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND MANIPULATE LIFE 5

OF OTHERS?

replacement heart, liver, or kidney. For example, 5,000 organs are needed every year in the United
Kingdom.
Transplanting living cells, tissues or organs from animals to humans could solve the donation
shortfall. This is what is called xenotransplantation.
b. Nutritional supplements and pharmaceuticals
Products such as insulin, growth hormone, and blood anti-clotting factors may soon be or have
already been obtained from the milk of transgenic cows, sheep, or goats.
c. Human gene therapy
Gene therapy attempts to treat genetic diseases at the molecular level by correcting what is
wrong with defective genes.
III.

Industrial Applications

In 2001, two scientists at Nexia Biotechnologies in Canada

spliced spider genes into the cells of lactating goats. These goats
could not set webs to catch their prey, and they did not possess
super-strength. Their appearance remained the same, but the goats
began to manufacture silk along with their milk and secrete tiny silk
strands from their body by the bucketful. By extracting polymer
strands from the milk and weaving them into thread, the scientists can create a light, tough, flexible
material that could be used in such applications as military uniforms, medical microsutures, and
tennis racket strings.
4 I N TRI NS I C

CONCERNS

There are some religious critics who oppose genetic engineering for the fundamental reason
that human beings should not do what they perceive as playing God.
The essence of this concern, then, is that modern biotechnology is
trying to displace the first Creator by manipulating DNA, the basic
ingredient of all life, and in some cases crossing species boundaries
instituted by God.
The second major ethical concern is that the genetic
engineering of animals interferes with the telos of the animal. Telos is
the nature of an animal, the set of interests constitutive of its unique
form of life; the "pigness of the pig," the "dogness of the dog".
6 GENETIC ENGINEERING: IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND MANIPULATE LIFE
OF OTHERS?

5 M O R AL

AN D E TH I C AL I S S U E S

Genetic engineering has the potential to improve our health by preventing and treating
diseases, revolutionize our manner of living, help us to conserve limited resources, feed the hungry
and produce new wealth. Besides above advantages, there are also some downsides to it.
Before focusing on the moral and ethical issues concerning animal biotechnology, we need to
consider how animals and their treatment can raise any such issues at all. Why, in other words, might
animals be thought to matter ethically? We use plants, minerals and all kinds of other natural
materials for our own benefit and pleasure. Animals also can be extremely useful to us in many ways.
So what, if anything, is wrong with using a pig or a monkey or a rat for our own ends, as we might use
a tree or a rock?
The answer is that in addition to human beings, other animals have intrinsic value and are
deserving our respect and protection. The life of every animal itself has value apart from the
interests of human beings. Because of the intrinsic value of its life, each animal has certain moral
rights, in particular the right to be treated with respect.
Animal rights is the idea that some, or all, non-human animals are entitled to the
possession of their own lives and that their most basic interestssuch as the need to
avoid sufferingshould be afforded the same consideration as similar interests of
human beings.
Genetic engineering and selective breeding appear to violate animal rights, because they
involve manipulating animals for human ends as if the animals were nothing more than human
property, rather than treating the animals as being of value in themselves.
Animal experiments are widely used to develop new medicines and to test the safety of other
products. Many of these experiments cause pain to the animals involved or reduce their quality of life
in other ways. The utilitarian and rights arguments imply that it is wrong to use animals in painful test
procedures. For example:
1. Modern pigs have been bred to grow extra fast - some breeds now grow too fast for
their hearts, causing discomfort when animals are too active.
2. Broiler chickens are bred to grow fast - some now grow too fast for their legs
GENETIC ENGINEERING: IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND MANIPULATE LIFE 7
OF OTHERS?

If it is morally wrong to cause animals to suffer then experimenting on animals produces serious
moral problems.

6 U TI L I TY , R I G H TS , J U S TI C E
Utilitarianism is a general term for any view that holds that actions
and policies should be evaluated on the basis of benefits and costs they will
impose on society. The utilitarian approach argues that here,as in other
ethical decisions,a calculation has to be made of what is likely to maximise
pleasure and minimise pain.The best course of action, ethically speaking, is that which produces the
most overall satisfaction.
The main problems with this approach are concerned with how exactly to do this calculation,
particularly when we are talking about animal experiences of pleasure and pain, which are probably
different from human perception. Also, if we are aiming at the maximum overall satisfaction, how are
animal pains and pleasures to be weighed against human ones? Are human interests to be given a
heavier weighting than animal ones?
There
some

are
scientists

saying that actually

human interests are
more important than animal ones and that the potential benefits from genetic engineering are great,
and that research should continue. By continuing with genetic engineering research,

cures

for diseases could be found, prevention measures could be determined, and human

health

could actually improve. This means that society as a whole would benefit from

ongoing

research into genetic engineering. However, this manner of thinking is clearly solely
anthropocentric or human centered.
Rights are the individual entitlements to freedom of choice and well being.

Inserting

genes into animals and causing unpredictable effects can be stressful, and in some

cases lethal,

to the animals. Experimenting with deleting genes, gene mutations or defective

genes

may

cause drastic physiological and behavioral changes, which would be very traumatic to the organisms.
8 GENETIC ENGINEERING: IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND MANIPULATE LIFE
OF OTHERS?

In my opinion, animals should not be used in scientific testing, because animals have their own
interests, and these interests should not be violated.
However, there are people who believe that animals do not have any rights at all. Others agree
that animals do have rights, but wonder if animal rights should be protected at the expense of human
rights.
The last but not the least, justice refers to distributing benefits and burdens fairly
among people. Genetic engineering is a very important social justice issue. It deals
with what makes us ourselves: genes. Money will become even more eternal than
it is in our days for the sake of perfection. The lack of money will not be socially
accepted and other social justice issues such as discrimination, crimes, money
problems, and others will increase and cause more trouble than genetic engineering is doing good for
the world.

GENETIC ENGINEERING: IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND MANIPULATE LIFE 9

OF OTHERS?

C O N CL US I O N
The genetic engineering of animals is not something new, but it is controversial topic, which
raises numerous concerns. The ethics of genetic engineering, the implications for animal health and
welfare, the risk of human health of using products derived from genetically engineered animals,
religious concerns are all complicated questions that are raised with this topic.
Genetic engineering is a double edged sword. Genetic engineering has the potential to
improve our health by preventing and treating diseases, revolutionize our manner of living, help us to
conserve limited resources, feed the hungry and produce new wealth. Number of people who are
dying while waiting for transparent organ will decrease, quality of milk will improve, animal breeding
will be consume less time, meaning that productivity and profitability of businesses will increase.
Besides above advantages, there are certain issues associated with this field that make us think
whether the practices can be considered as valid and harmless on an ethical issue.
Genetic engineering is associated with a tremendous amount of animal suffering. Scientists
use hundreds to thousands animals for experiments in order to reach success. As technology is
highly inefficient, results can be largely unpredictable: animals can be hurt, diseases can be produced
inside the animal, raising further welfare concerns.
Genetic engineering appear to violate animal rights, because this process involves
manipulating animals for human needs as if the animals were nothing more than human property,
rather than treating animals as being a value in themselves. In fact, animals are sentient, capable of
feeling pain and suffering, therefore human have certain moral obligations and responsibilities.
Human interests are not more important than animal ones and even if potential benefits from
genetic engineering are great, research should not go on. By continuing with genetic engineering
research, more animals will be hurt. Benefits and burdens are not distributed equally. While human
beings are getting cures for diseases, improvements in human health, animals are suffering
Genetic engineering cannot be considered as ethical practice, because it does not satisfy three
moral standards: utility, rights and justice. It is unethical for businesses to market and distribute such
engineered organisms throughout the world, because the technology is not constant and the
consequences can be unpredictable. It is wrong for businesses to change life of animals, because we
do not have rights to replace the First Creator by manipulating the basic ingredient of all life DNA.
God created humans as intelligent creatures, so we should use our intelligence in order to improve
living environment instead of using other living creatures as if they do not have intrinsic value. Human
beings are just a part of the whole world, which means that we should respect other living creatures.
1 GENETIC ENGINEERING: IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND MANIPULATE LIFE
0 OF OTHERS?

R E F E RE NCE S
1.
2.
3.
4.

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/uploads/attachments/genetic-engineering-ethics_2.pdf
http://resources.schoolscience.co.uk/BBSRC/ethics/ethics_animal_biotech.pdf
http://www.idt.mdh.se/kurser/cd5590/Archives/07_11/GenEngineering.pdf
Fox, K., McAvoy, L. Environmental Ethics: Strengths and Dualisms of Six Dominant Themes.
< http://www.fw.umn.edu/NRES3011/FoxMcAvoy.html>
5. Boyd
Group.
Genetic
engineering:
Animal
welfare
and
ethics.
1999.
http://www.boydgroup.demon.co.uk/genmod.htm
6. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/228320168_Genetically_Modified_Organisms_and_Ju
stice_The_International_Environmental_Justice_Implications_of_Biotechnology
7. http://www.jpe.ox.ac.uk/papers/biotechnology-justice-and-health/
8. http://www.infoplease.com/cig/biology/legal-ethical-considerations.html
9. http://ilarjournal.oxfordjournals.org/content/43/2/100.full
10. http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-animalsandge.html
11. https://www.animallaw.info/article/detailed-discussion-genetic-engineering-and-animal-rightslegal-terrain-and-ethical
12. http://www.rsrevision.com/Alevel/ethics/genetic_engineering/ethics.htm
13. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/rights/introduction.shtml
14. http://www.whatisbiotechnology.org/science/transgenic

GENETIC ENGINEERING: IS IT ETHICAL TO CHANGE AND MANIPULATE LIFE 1

OF OTHERS? 1